Although there is growing recognition of the problem of dating violence, little is known about how it unfolds among young adolescents who are just beginning to date. This study examined classes (subgroups) and transitions between classes over three time points based on dating violence, bullying, and sexual harassment perpetration and victimization…

Adolescents experience various forms of strain in their lives that may contribute jointly to their engagement in cyber aggression. However, little attention has been given to this idea. To address this gap in the literature, the present longitudinal study examined the moderating influence of peer rejection on the relationship between cyber…

Despite the veritable influence of the peer context on the elaboration of adolescent aggression, few studies of relational aggression have directly identified and measured peer groups, limiting our ability to draw formal conclusions about the level and nature of peer influence. The current study used a developmental framework to examine peer group…

Cyberbullying, a modern form of bullying performed using electronic forms of contact (e.g., SMS, MMS, Facebook, YouTube), has been considered as being worse than traditional bullying in its consequences for the victim. This difference was mainly attributed to some specific aspect that are believed to distinguish cyberbullying from traditional…

Experiences with perceived discrimination (e.g., perceptions of being treated unfairly due to race or ethnicity) are expected to impact negatively youths' prosocial development. However, resilience often occurs in light of such experiences through cultural factors. The current longitudinal study examined the influence of perceived discrimination…

Several longitudinal studies and meta-analytic reviews have demonstrated that exposure to violent media is linked to aggression over time. However, evidence on effective interventions to reduce the use of violent media and promote critical viewing skills is limited. The current study examined the efficacy of an intervention designed to reduce the…

Drawing on Garcia Coll et al.'s integrative framework and the risk and resilience model, this study examined the relationships between adolescents' perceived discrimination and psychosocial adjustment and the moderating roles of adolescents', mothers', and fathers' cultural orientations and values, and adolescent gender in a sample of 246…

African American adolescents are exposed disproportionately to community violence, increasing their risk for emotional and behavioral symptoms that can detract from learning and undermine academic outcomes. The present study examined whether aggressive behavior and depressive and anxious symptoms mediated the association between exposure to…

Rejection sensitivity (RS) refers to the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to experiences of possible rejection. RS is a clear risk factor for psychological maladaptation during early adolescence. However, there is growing evidence of significant heterogeneity in the psychological correlates of RS. To investigate when…

Despite ample evidence for the benefits of parental autonomy support and the harms of parental psychological control to Chinese adolescents' well-being, little is known about what foreshadows these parenting behaviors among Chinese parents. The current research addressed this gap in the literature. It tested the hypothesis that parents'…

Each year, 1.3 million students fail to graduate, dropping the United States' high school graduation rate to 69%. One of the most salient predictors of high school dropout is socio-economic status (SES), which makes important an improved understanding of the reasons why SES affects educational outcomes. In this study, multilevel mediation models…

Research on friendship and adjustment has traditionally focused on same-sex, same-grade, and same-school peers. Recent evidence, however, suggests that many adolescents have other-sex and other-school friends that significantly impact their adjustment. The purpose of this study was to examine young adolescents' experiences with "mixed-grade"…

Although the number of students who complete high school continues to rise, dramatic differences in school success remain across racial/ethnic groups. The current study addressed Hispanic adolescents' academic performance by investigating the relationships of parental involvement, culturally responsive teaching, sense of school belonging, and…

Despite a growing body of research on parental management of peer relationships, little is known about the relationship between parental management of peers and early adolescents' social skills or the precursors to parental management of peer relationships. The goals of this short-term longitudinal investigation were to examine the relationship…

Adolescents may engage in risk behaviors that jeopardize their futures. Although adolescent risk-taking has long been attributed to faulty decision making, surprisingly little research has directly examined this link. This study examined the role of deliberative decision making (the tendency to consider options and consequences before making a…