Victims of school-based peer harassment face a range of risks including psycho-social, physical, and academic harm. The aim of the present study was to examine the behavioral coping responses used by early adolescents when they face peer victimization. To meet this aim, 216 sixth grade students (55% girls) from two urban middle schools and 254…

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…

Past research has shown that adolescent peer groups make a significant contribution to shaping behavior but less is known about the role of peer groups in adolescent dating relationships. This longitudinal study examined the contribution of aggressive peer group norms on relationship quality and dating violence among dating adolescents. At the…

Peer victimization is a common problem among adolescents that has been linked to a variety of adjustment problems. Youth involved in peer victimization represent a heterogeneous group who may differ not only in their levels of victimization and perpetration, but also in the factors that influence their behavior. The current study used latent class…

Levels of civic engagement are assumed to vary according to numerous social and psychological characteristics, but not much is known about online civic engagement. This study aimed to investigate differences and similarities in young people's offline and online civic engagement and to clarify, based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB),…

Stress is known to amplify the link between pubertal timing and psychopathology. However, few studies have examined the role of peer stress as a context for this link. The present study examined the interaction between perceived pubertal timing and peer stress on symptoms of psychopathology in early adolescence. The sample consisted of 264…

Although peer networks have been implicated as influential in a range of adolescent behaviors, little is known about relationships between peer network structures and risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) among youth. This study is a descriptive analysis of how peer network "types" may be related to subsequent risk for IPV…

Drawing from an ecological assets framework as well as research and theory on positive youth development, this study examined the relationship of early adolescents' satisfaction with life to trait optimism and assets representing the social contexts in which early adolescents spend most of their time. Self-reports of satisfaction with life,…

This study examines the relationship between perceived discrimination and self-reported proficiency in English and non-English languages among adolescent children of immigrants. Data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study was used. The average age of participants was 17.2 years; 1,494 were females and 1,332 were males. Among 2,826…

Few studies have explored the possible contribution of the peer group to dating violence victimization. The current study tested the hypothesis that a risky lifestyle would mediate the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and dating violence victimization among adolescent girls. The proposed mediation model was derived from lifestyles and…

While prior research has examined family, school, and peer factors as potential predictors of problem behavior, less attention has been given to studying when these factors are most predictive of problems and if and when changes in these factors signal risk. Using annual data on a community sample of 1,040 individuals (47% female; 81% White), this…

This study examined the heterogeneity of bullying among adolescents. It was hypothesized that bullying behavior serves different social functions and, depending on these functions, bullies will differ in their skills, status and social behavior. In a total sample of 806 8th graders, 120 adolescents (52 boys, 68 girls) were identified as bullies…

Studies with adults of social dominance orientation (SDO), a preference for inequality among social groups, have found correlations with various prejudices and support for discriminatory practices. This study explores the construct among adolescents at an age when they are beginning to recognize the social groups in their environment, particularly…

This study examined adolescent peer-on-peer sexual assault victimization occurring within and outside school. The sample consisted of 1,086 7th through 12th grade students, with a mean age of 15. Most of the respondents were White (54%) or Black (45%), and approximately half of respondents were female (54%). A modified version of the Sexual…

The present study analyzed the long-term effects of perceived friend use and perceived peer use on adolescents' own cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use as a series of parallel growth curves that were estimated in two developmental pieces, representing middle and high school (N = 1,040). Data were drawn from a large drug abuse prevention trial,…