This exploratory study examines the use of explanations for refusal as a drug-resistance strategy for rural Native Hawaiian youths. Fourteen gender-specific focus groups were conducted within seven middle or intermediate schools on the Island of Hawai'i (N = 64). Participants were asked to describe drug-resistance strategies in response to 15…

The link between adolescent sexual activity and psychological well-being is a controversial issue in developmental psychology. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between three aspects of teenage sexuality (genital sexual experience, age of sexual onset, and number of sex partners) and positive well-being (hedonic, eudaimonic,…

By understanding what motivates students to learn mathematics, instructors can adapt their teaching strategies to help students achieve a level of engagement conducive to learning mathematics. There is a substantial body of research on motivations and academic achievement at the elementary and high school levels, but less is known at the college…

We investigated whether personality moderates group influence of classmates on academic achievement and whether these so-called context effects can be attributed to peer pressure. The sample consisted of 2498 students in their first year of Dutch secondary education. The data were analyzed by a two-level (students within classes) analysis,…

Peers influence children's social-emotional development and school engagement in important and unique ways. Recent research on peer social networks documents that children are affected by the nature of the school-based peer ecology, as well as by their personal peer experiences. Yet, little is known about how teachers affect the peer ecology, nor…

This study focuses on the national identity of high-school adolescents in Russia and Ukraine in the post-perestroika period. Adolescents studying in public high schools in 12 medium-size and large cities completed questionnaires in 1999 (n = 468) and 2007 (n = 646). Russian adolescents consistently reported a more positive attitude towards their…

This study explored age differences in preschoolers' temporal and social discounting and the association of these abilities. Research indicates that 4-year-olds are sensitive to rewards of differing magnitude (Lemmon & Moore, 2007). However, it is unclear whether preschoolers are able to consider length of time when making a choice to delay…

The authors examined the nature of dominant students in Grades 3-5 in a midwestern school system in the United States. Previous research has indicated 2 ways a student may gain dominance--through bullying and prosocial behaviors. A cluster analysis for dominant children was conducted using social interdependence attitude scores, children's…

Research suggests that peer mentoring can positively impact on emotional literacy competencies. This study explored the effects of peer mentoring on the emotional literacy competencies of Year 7 peer mentees using a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design. Results supported the hypothesis that peer mentoring has a positive…

Adolescence is a period of development particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol use, with recent studies underscoring alcohol's effects on adolescent brain development. Despite the alarming rates and consequences of adolescent alcohol use, gifted adolescents are often overlooked as being at risk for early alcohol use. Although gifted…

This study integrates diverse literatures on peer group influence by conceptualizing and examining the relationship of peer group injunctive norms to the academic adjustment of a large and ethnically diverse sample of rural early adolescents' academic adjustment. Results of three-level hierarchical linear modeling indicated that peer groups were…

This study examined the developmental processes linking childhood bullying to criminal offending in adulthood, using data from a 30-year longitudinal study. The linkages between bullying in childhood and three criminal offending outcomes in adulthood were estimated both before and after control for a range of confounding factors. A series of…

The classroom is an emotional place. Students can be excited during studying, hope for success, feel pride in their accomplishments, be surprised at discovering a new solution, experience anxiety about failing examinations, feel ashamed over poor grades, or be bored during lessons. In addition, social emotions play a role and students also bring…

Improving student reading skill and attitudes toward reading creates challenges in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of reading partnerships on the reading skills and attitudes of kindergarten and second-grade students. Participants included two kindergarten and two second-grade intact classes in a pretest…

The use of alcohol by adolescents is a growing problem. Adolescents drinking and driving continues to be of great concern to society, as adolescent death from drinking and driving is not only untimely and unwarranted, but also preventable. Consequently, the need to find an intervention that speaks directly to adolescents about the negative effects…