Children with peer adjustment problems: Sequential and nonsequential analyses of school behaviors.

Compared the behavior of 48 4th- and 6th-grade boys with positive (P) and negative (N) peer status in a naturalistic school setting. N Ss differed more from P Ss in the older sample than in the younger sample. N Ss also showed an excess of playful aggressive behavior, suggesting a deficit in aggression socialization. Sequential analyses provided general support for the reciprocity hypothesis, which posits that individuals tend to match the affective quality of a response to that of the previous response. Peer interactions beginning with negative and neutral responses, however, progressed differently for N and P Ss. Whereas negative exchanges with P Ss became neutralized over time, negative exchanges with N Ss tended to persist in a negative manner. Paradoxically, N Ss showed a greater tendency to respond in a friendly positive manner after receiving neutral peer contacts than P Ss. The utility of sequential analyses for identifying interaction patterns that might contribute to the development of maladaptive behaviors and the importance of social systems-oriented intervention strategies are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of reciprocal peer tutoring on mathematics and school adjustment: A component analysis.

Examined the relative impact of structured peer tutoring and group reward components of the reciprocal peer-tutoring intervention on the mathematics performance of elementary school students at high risk for academic failure. 64 students were selected randomly from a pool of 80 4th- and 5th-grade students. Students were assigned randomly to 4 conditions: structure plus reward; reward only; structure only; and no structure, no reward. Findings indicate that students who received both components showed the highest levels of accurate math computations. Analyses of collateral measures revealed that students in the group-reward conditions received higher classroom conduct reports than students in the nonreward conditions. Students in the structured conditions reported higher levels of scholastic competency and self-control than did students in the nonstructured conditions. Data were reported on treatment integrity and teacher and student satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early prospective studies of the high school dropout.

A limited number of empirical studies conducted between 1950 and 1970 used longitudinal designs to examine the relations between psychological characteristics of students and subsequent high school dropout. Five prospective studies demonstrated that modest but significant relations existed between completing high school and measures of personality gathered in the seventh, eighth or ninth grades. Stronger relations were found in three early studies that examined the link between sociometric measures gathered in late elementary school and high school graduation 6 or 7 years later. Results clarified some methodological requirements for useful research on school completion and suggested that social and emotional variables explain some of the variance in school dropout that is independent of academic performance. Implications are drawn for effective school dropout research, policies, and practices at the local, state, and national levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of adolescent peer networks.

Structural aspects of school-based peer networks of adolescents in 6th to 12th grade were mapped in 3 school systems. Female students were more connected to the peer network than were male students, and peer networks became more exclusive with increasing grade. The results also suggest that numeric minorities usually are less connected to school peer networks than the majority group. There was mixed evidence for hierarchical organization of the peer network. Best friends were highly embedded in friendship groups, but neither friendship group nor best friendship was highly embedded in social crowd. Adolescents name friends who are not in their friendship group and usually do not name everyone in the friendship group as a friend. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early adolescent adjustment to recent parental divorce: The role of interparental conflict and adolescent sex as mediating variables.

The present study examined the 1st-year postdivorce functioning of young adolescents and the role of interparental conflict and adolescent sex as mediating variables for divorce effects. Ninety-six adolescents were assigned to one of eight groups based on parent's marital status, interparental conflict (high vs. low), and adolescent sex. Teacher-completed measures and behavioral observations were used to assess social and social withdrawal behavior, cognitive functioning, and externalizing problems. Marital status did not exert a significant main effect on any of the dependent measures, and sex of adolescent did not serve as a mediating variable. Interparental conflict exerted a significant main effect on social and social withdrawal behavior and, for cognitive functioning, interacted with marital status such that adolescents from divorced, high-conflict homes performed less well than other adolescents. The relative roles of divorce and interparental conflict in adolescent functioning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent influences on adolescent peer orientation and substance use: the interface of parenting practices and values

This study examines how experiences in the family domain may magnify or mitigate experiences in the peer domain, and how processes in both milieus may influence adolescent substance use. The data derived from 666 European American mother-adolescent dyads and 510 European American father-adolescent dyads. Consistent with individuation-connectedness theory, mothers' responsiveness lessened their adolescents' orientation to peers, which, in turn, reduced adolescent substance use. This process was moderated by maternal values regarding adolescent alcohol use; that is, the relation of maternal responsiveness to adolescent substance use depended on the extent of maternal approval or disapproval of adolescent alcohol use. Among fathers, closer monitoring was directly associated with less adolescent substance use, with stronger effects among fathers who held more disapproving values regarding adolescent alcohol use. Theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic implications are given.     

Sex role orientation and resolution of Eriksonian crises during the late adolescent years.

Administered the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Industry Inferiority and Identity vs Identity Diffusion scales from the Inventory of Psychosocial Development (IPD) to 182 male and 222 female undergraduates. Results indicate that the androgynous Ss had the highest difference scores on the IPD scales, with masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated Ss having progressively lower mean scores. Androgynous, masculine, and feminine Ss had equivalently low scores on the scales measuring unsuccessful resolution, with the undifferentiated Ss obtaining the highest scores on these scales. It is suggested that the androgynous and sex-typed Ss view themselves as varying along a dimension of successful resolution. These groups did not vary on measures of unsuccessful resolution. The undifferentiated Ss saw themselves not only as less successful in resolving the crises but also as more unsuccessful. Further analyses revealed that the masculine component of the sex role was the more important for predicting better resolution of the 2 crises. The importance of employing multiple measures of adjustment, the importance of theory-guided research, and the consideration of the relative contributions of masculinity and femininity to adjustment are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression in adolescent peer groups: Links with academic performance and school attendance.

This article reports a short-term longitudinal study focusing on popularity and social acceptance as predictors of academic engagement for a sample of 342 adolescents (approximate average age of 14). These youths were followed for 4 consecutive semesters. Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression were assessed with a peer nomination inventory, and data on academic engagement were obtained from school records. For adolescents who were highly aggressive, increases in popularity were associated with increases in unexplained absences and decreases in grade point average. Conversely, changes in social acceptance were not predictive of changes in grade point average or unexplained absences. These results highlight the importance of multidimensional conceptualizations of social standing for research on school adjustment during adolescence and emphasize the potential risks associated with popularity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More problems and less support: Early adolescent adjustment forecasts changes in perceived support from parents.

This study examines longitudinal associations between adolescent adjustment and perceived parental support across the middle-school years (ages 11 to 13) in a diverse sample of 197 girls and 116 boys. Growth curve models revealed associations between the slope of change in perceptions of support in relationships with mothers and fathers and the slope of change in adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms such that declining support accompanied increasing problems. After controlling for this correlated change, there was still evidence of child-problem effects on changes in relationship support (i.e., initial levels of adolescent externalizing symptoms predicted subsequent changes in perceived parental support), but there was no evidence of parent-support effects on changes in adjustment (i.e., initial levels of relationship support did not predict changes in adolescent externalizing symptoms). Declines in perceived parental support were steeper at high-initial levels of adolescent externalizing than at average or low levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Openness arrangements and psychological adjustment in adolescent adoptees.

This is the 1st national study to examine whether the level of contact between adoptive and birth family members is associated with the behavioral and emotional adjustment of adolescents adopted in infancy (n = 92). Adoptive family members were interviewed twice, 8 years apart, to determine the level of contact taking place throughout adoptees' childhood and adolescence. The Child Behavior Checklist (T. M. Achenbach, 1991a) and Youth Self-Report (T. M. Achenbach, 1991b) were administered in adolescence. Adoptive parents' reports indicate no significant associations between openness and adolescent adjustment. Adoptees experiencing long-term direct contact reported significantly lower levels of externalizing than adoptees without contact. Adoption policies and legal procedures will best serve families by facilitating voluntary openness agreements that accommodate openness decisions on a case-by-case basis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continued high or reduced interparental conflict following divorce: Relation to young adolescent adjustment.

Three groups of young adolescent subjects were compared on several measures of adjustment in the school setting. The three groups of subjects included (a) a group from recently divorced families in which high levels of interparental conflict prior to parental separation and after the divorce had been reported, (b) a group from recently divorced families in which high levels of interparental conflict prior to parental separation but low levels after the divorce had been reported, and (c) a comparison group from intact families. Adolescents from the first group were found to be functioning at a lower level than those from the other two groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beginning adolescent drug use and peer and adult interaction patterns.

Interaction patterns among drug users, their peers, and significant adults have been implicated as causal factors of later drug abuse. Data were collected from 1,634 adolescents about their current use of 13 substances and about their interactions with peers and significant adults. Five canonical dimensions were necessary to explain the significant covariation in each of 2 comparable samples. The replicated pattern of rotated canonical loadings indicated that users of various classes of substances associated with other individuals who used the same substances. Other indicators of interaction patterns did not suggest that the drug users had friends who were particularly deviant. Adolescent drug users do not appear to form subcultures delineated from nonuser subcultures along interaction dimensions other than that of drug use. The results are consistent with an interactionist-socialization viewpoint of the development of drug use. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Homophily of internalized distress in adolescent peer groups.

Examined various homophilic mechanisms by which adolescents affect, and are affected by, levels of internalized distress within their immediate peer groups. The sample included approximately 6,000 14- to 18-yr-olds who were assessed twice over a 1-yr period. Results showed that adolescents tend to associate with peers who report similar levels of internalized distress and that internalizers are no less successful than others at establishing friendships. Moreover, homophily of internalizing symptoms develops from 3 distinct sources: (1) Adolescents tend to choose friends who possess similar levels of internalized distress (selection effect); (2) in male, but not female, peer groups, individual distress levels grow increasingly similar to peer levels over time (socialization effect); and (3) peer group distress levels vary according to the distress of individual members (contagion effect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting early adolescent disorder from childhood aggression and peer rejection.

Two large cohorts of Black 3rd-grade children from low-income families were followed into early adolescence. Adjustment at the end of the 1st year of middle school was assessed by teacher and parent ratings and by adolescent self-reports. Childhood peer social status predicted parent-reported externalized and internalized disorder and self-reported internalized disorder. Childhood aggression predicted self-reported externalized and internalized disorder and parent-reported externalized disorder. Teacher ratings of school adjustment were predicted by aggression, rejection, and sex of the child. Consensus judgments of poor adjustment were predicted by both aggression and peer rejection, with sex moderating the effect of peer rejection. Both childhood aggression and peer rejection appear to be significant predictors of adolescent disorder, with each making a predictive contribution uniquely its own. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boys with peer adjustment problems: Social cognitive processes.

30 4th-grade and 30 6th-grade males with positive (P) or negative (N) peer status were asked to generate alternative solutions to hypothetical problems, evaluate possible solutions, describe self-statements, and rate the likelihood of possible self-statements to investigate the hypothesis that maladjusted Ss (N peer status) would lack specific social cognitive skills. Hypothetical problems were presented in interviews that emphasized situations involving acts of aggression. Interviews were conducted in 2 parts, involving knowledge of interpersonal problem-solving strategies and attributional style assessment. Results indicate that N Ss generated fewer alternative solutions, proposed fewer assertive and mature solutions, generated more intense aggressive solutions, showed less adaptive planning, and evaluated physically aggressive responses more positively and positive responses more negatively than did P Ss. Data support the notion that boys with social adjustment problems are deficient in the cognitive problem-solving skill of generating multiple alternative solutions. Findings suggest that differences in knowledge and/or attitudes concerning normative social behavior may contribute to the more negative behavior patterns observed in socially maladjusted boys. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting and psychological adjustment of adolescent immigrants in Israel.

Parental and familial factors and their association with adolescents’ mental health were examined among former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants and nonimmigrants in Israel. Questionnaires regarding parental control, inconsistency, and rejection, in addition to adolescent–family connectedness and psychological disorders, were administered to 83 FSU immigrants and 106 nonimmigrant adolescents. According to the results, FSU adolescents are less connected to their families, experience their parents as less warm and more inconsistent in their childrearing behavior, report that their mothers subject them to a higher level of control, and the psychological disorders among them are more widespread than among nonimmigrant adolescents. Maternal control, maternal temporal inconsistency, and maternal and paternal rejection were associated with psychological disorders only among nonimmigrant adolescents. No such association was found among FSU adolescents, suggesting that FSU mental health problems are associated with immigration and cultural and social factors, rather than parental and familial factors. A comprehensive intervention program is required to provide support and assistance to help immigrants overcome their psychological distresses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family economic stress and adjustment of early adolescent girls.

Proposes a family process model that links economic stress in family life to prosocial and problematic adolescent adjustment. With a sample of 220 7th-grade girls living in intact families in the rural Midwest, the theoretical constructs in the model were measured using both trained observer and family member reports. In general, results were consistent with the proposed model. Economic pressures led to depression and demoralization for both parents, the result of which was greater marital conflict and disruptions in skillful parenting. The emotions and behaviors of both mothers and fathers were almost equally affected by financial difficulties, and disruptions in each parent's childrearing behaviors had adverse consequences for adolescent development. Parents' depressed mood and disrupted childrearing practices both directly affected girls' adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community violence exposure and children's social adjustment in the school peer group: The mediating roles of emotion regulation and social cognition.

This study reports a cross-sectional investigation of the relation between community violence exposure and peer group social maladjustment in 285 inner-city children in Grades 4–6 (mean age?=?10.3 years). Children completed an inventory assessing exposure to community violence through witnessing and through direct victimization. A peer nomination inventory was then administered to assess social adjustment with peers (aggression, peer rejection, and bullying by peers). In addition, social-cognitive biases and emotion regulation capacities were examined as potential mediators. Analyses indicated that violent victimization was associated with negative social outcomes through the mediation of emotion dysregulation. Witnessed violence was linked only to aggressive behavior. Social information processing, rather than emotion dysregulation, appeared to mediate this association. These results demonstrate that violence exposure is linked to multiple levels of behavioral and social maladjustment and suggest that there are distinct patterns of risk associated with different forms of exposure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of communication skill training on high school students' ability to function as peer group facilitators.

Conducted a study with 60 high school students to assess the effect of training vs nontraining on their ability to function as peer facilitators in a group setting. R. Carkhuff's Helping and Human Relations (1969) provided the basis for the training. Expert judges and peers rated training Ss significantly higher as group facilitators than they rated untrained students. In addition, trained Ss functioned at significantly higher levels of communication than did their untrained counterparts. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between maternal problem-solving style and adolescent social adjustment.

Examined the relationship between social functioning in adolescents and their mothers' conflict-handling style, categorized according to 5 conflict-handling styles identified by M. A. Rahim (see record 1983-27060-001). 89 adolescents (aged 11–17 yrs) and their mothers participated. Mothers completed a measure assessing their style of handling conflict, mothers and fathers completed measures of the adolescents' social functioning, and behavioral observations of the mothers and adolescents were conducted. Results indicate that mothers who scored high on the integrating style (a style using exchange of information and examination of differences to come to a mutually acceptable, often creative, solution) measure had adolescents who were better socially adjusted according to mother, father, and behavioral observation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)