It has long been assumed that children and adolescents want to be with their peers and therefore make active efforts to engage with them. However, a sizable minority of youth avoid peers for internal reasons (e.g., anxiety, preferences for solitude) or because they are socially withdrawn. Although by definition, withdrawn youth tend to stay away…

The objective of this study is to explore the inclusiveness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents in junior high school from the perspective of LGBTQ adolescents in Sweden. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 GBTQ adolescents aged 16 to 19. The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review…

Contemporary research on mental health and well-being highlights the importance of understanding the complexities of adolescent life. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage, marked by various challenges and opportunities that shape mental health outcomes. Our study aims to explore both positive and negative experiences related to school,…

The aim of this study was to define whether, and to what extent identity formation in late adolescence is disability specific. Ninety-eight adolescents participated in this study, including 43 students with motor disability and 55 students without disability. Identity exploration and commitment was measured by the Utrecht-Groningen Identity…

The article reviews recent classroom research developed in South America related to child and adolescent development. We review work about three themes: ethnicity, school climate and violence, and the learning process. The few studies found on ethnicity and classroom experiences told a story of invisibility, if not exclusion and discrimination.…

The authors begin their commentary by saying that Sommer, Leuschner, and Scheithauer (2014) did an admirable job of reviewing and integrating research on school shootings across a broad array of studies that relied on varied conceptualizations, operational definitions, coding strategies, and samples of shootings. The authors agree with Sommer et…

Longitudinal, mixed method research on friendships, conducted over the past two decades with Black, Latino, Asian, and European American boys, reveals three themes: (1) the importance for boys of being able to share their secrets with their close friends; (2) the importance of close friendships for boys' mental health; and (3) the loss of but…

Trusting relationships at school and within other social networks emerge as protective factors that are crucial to the positive development of early adolescents. School is one of the critical environments where they can develop a sense of belonging. This study involved 20 qualitative interviews with school staff and youth workers recruited from…

This article offers suggestions for strengthening school-based grief support following an adolescent's death. Such interventions must be considered within the context of: (a) development during adolescence; (b) the role of peers in adolescent development; and (c) the fact that an adolescent peer's death is a non-normative life crisis in developed…

This paper investigates the growth of early adolescent self-esteem and self-concept as students progress through the middle level years (sixth through eighth grade). Based on mixed method longitudinal research conducted from 2004 to 2007, the study's findings suggest that this sample of 104 urban students' self-esteem changed most significantly…

This study treated a key relationship in the developmental ecology of adolescence, friendships, as multidimensional and context specific. First, it examined 4 characteristics of friends (academic achievement, alcohol use, emotional distress, and extracurricular participation) as independent factors and as components in holistic friendship group…

The authors test biosocial models that posit interactions between biological variables (testosterone, estradiol, pubertal status, and pubertal timing) and social context variables (family, peer, school, and neighborhood) in predicting adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol in a sample of 409 adolescents in Grades 6 and 8. Models…

Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children's development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children's development and to describe various…

Interview data from 40 inner-city seventh graders challenge the stereotype that adolescents' peer conflicts (APCs) are senseless, wasteful, and destructive. Rather, these conflicts raise important micropolitical concerns about power, conflict, coalition, and policy. APCs can increase the relevance of education, play an important role in social…

A study of 643 adolescents and 474 young adults explored relationships among young people's observations and opinions of exclusionary behavior and their reports of whether exclusion affects their social and academic adjustment. Findings indicated that, unlike young adults, adolescents' perceptions of, and attitudes about, school ecologies…