Longitudinal study showed that during 6th and 7th grades boys reported significantly higher levels of self-competence than girls. Boys were less depressed and anxious than girls in 7th grade, but not in 6th grade. Results support the hypothesis that self-competence is partially responsible for the emergence of gender differences in depression and…

Examined extent to which sixth and seventh grade students' (n=133) preference for outdoor activity changed during middle school. Found that boys', compared to girls', preference to play outdoors existed only in sixth grade. Factor analyses indicated three factors describing students: Teachers' Choice, Active Female Oriented, and Outdoor Male…

The purpose of this paper was to construct, refine, and test a measure of adolescent peer susceptibility. Current conceptualizations of peer susceptibility largely are one dimensional and include at most one or two domains of psychosocial functioning. In addition, most assessments of peer susceptibility are situation- or behavior-specific, thus…

Tested model of gender's moderating effects on behavior problems among early adolescents. Found that increasing girls' internalizing symptoms were partly explained by greater stability in girls' interpersonal vulnerabilities and greater magnitude in coefficients linking girls' relationships with parents and peers and internalizing problems. Boys'…

This qualitative study examined the attitudes and interests of 284 gifted readers in grades 6, 7, and 8. Students were from a high socioeconomic status, suburban school district in the midwestern United States and were either identified as gifted or had a history of involvement in a program for the gifted. Data collection instruments included a…

The current interest in identifying gender differences in young adolescents suggests a need to focus on how gender differences affect teaching and learning situations and on how middle level school educators can address these differences. This book explains what gender differences are, how gender differences affect learning, how both girls and…

This chapter discusses the development of achievement motivation during adolescence from the perspective of expectancy-value theory, and explains how adolescents' expectancies for success and achievement values change during adolescence, particularly during educational transitions such as that from elementary to middle school and from middle to…

Contrasted role of ethnic labels and identity in predicting drug use among seventh graders. Found that minority students with strong ethnic pride reported less drug use/exposure than those with weak pride; ethnically proud White students reported more. Minority students who viewed themselves as consistent with their ethnic group reported more drug…

Noting the need for middle school educators to learn directly from their students how they view the world, school, and their own learning, this book details findings from a study that used a quasi-ethnographic approach to examine the perceptions of young adolescents. Participating in the study were 2,000 adolescents, 10- to 15-year-olds. Subjects…

Noting that the middle-school years are a time when adolescents "try on" roles and attitudes, test boundaries, and draw tentative conclusions about personal and social behaviors, this book draws on findings of a survey of nearly 2,000 10- to 17-year-olds regarding perceived and real differences between girls and boys to guide teens…