Research suggests a link between precocious transitions to adulthood (e.g., high school dropout) and maladaptation, and this association is typically assumed to be uniform. We propose that this monolithic portrayal of precocious transitions as problematic for adult functioning is unwarranted, particularly across identities defined by gender,…

The purpose of this study is to examine the debt burdens, perceived capabilities, and mental health of young adults. Panel data constructed from the 2009 to 2013 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its Transition to Adulthood (TA) supplement are used in this study. The multinomial logistic regression analysis findings showed…

This study investigates whether friendship quality, academic achievement, and mastery goal orientation predict each other across the transition to middle school. Participants were 146 Latino students (75 girls) followed from the end of elementary school through the first year of middle school. Measures included positive and negative friendship…

The academic impact of the transition from elementary to middle school has significant consequences for many early adolescents. This study examines academic growth across the transition, as well as sociodemographic moderators. Rather than defining the transition effect as a decline in student achievement between fifth and sixth grade, these data…

Interactions between teachers and students contribute to the quality of the classroom setting and growing evidence that the affective undertone of these interactions matters when considering outcomes for both the students and the teachers they serve. Although numerous measures of teacher-student interactions exist, relying on self-report or…

To what extent does maternal and paternal autonomy support enhance well-being across the major transitions of high school? We tested the degree to which perceived autonomy supportive parenting facilitated positive changes in self-esteem and life satisfaction and buffered against negative changes in depressive symptoms and school related burnout in…

This longitudinal study of adolescents in the first year of secondary school, examined the relationship between psychological functioning at the beginning of year 7 (mean age 11.25 years) with attainment at the end of year 7 (mean age 11.78 years). Depressive symptoms, school liking and conduct problems predicted lower attainment across time…

Adolescents' expectations about the timing of adult role transitions have the potential to shape their actual transitions, setting the stage for their adult lives. Although expectations about timing emerge by early adolescence, little is known about how these expectations develop across adolescence. This longitudinal study examined developmental…

The present research focuses on 2 factors that might help or hurt women to cope with the uncertainties associated with developmental transitions in modern societies (i.e., starting one's first job, graduating from high school, reentry to work after parental leave). We investigate (a) the role of openness to experience in coping with challenging…

To examine (a) how young adults' personal goals change as they progress from emerging to young adulthood in their university studies and immediately after and (b) the extent to which such changes are associated with the normative transitions and the life events they experience and their age, 297 university students completed the revised Personal…

A racially mixed random sample of 247 students at a midsized public university in the Southeast completed the Student Development Task and Lifestyle Inventory at the beginning of their first year, beginning of their sophomore year, and end of their senior year (Winston, Miller & Prince, 1987). Results showed partial support of Chickering and…

In this study we described development of boys' and girls' games on the school playground at recess as they progressed across the first year of primary school in London (UK) and Minneapolis (USA) in order to document age-related trends in games during this period and to examine the predictive role of games in children's adjustment to school and…