Drawing on a developmental psychopathology perspective and research documenting gender differences in social tasks and structures of friendships, this study uses longitudinal social network analysis (SNA) methods to (a) examine how fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and gender interact to shape friendship dynamics and (b) characterize their…

We investigated how 5th-8th graders' self- and peer-identified withdrawal motivations predicted peer-reported peer relationships and aggression. Participants (N = 221; 47% male) provided self-reports and peer-nomination data (we analyzed 339 students' nominations). We hypothesized shyness, unsociability, and avoidance would predict low peer liking…

The study investigated the longitudinal relations between students' roles in bullying (i.e., bullying, defending, and victimization) and social status within the class. Moreover, we tested the hypothesis that students' perception of their own status may mediate these relations. A sample of 432 early adolescents completed peer nominations for…

This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the self-perception of primary school students aged 10-14 and their attitudes toward obese children (n = 693). There was a weak, positive, and highly significant correlation between the mean scores for the overall Attitude Toward Obese Children Scale, the Self-Perception Profile for…

Prior research links need for approval (NFA; the extent to which self-worth is contingent on peer approval or disapproval) to critical developmental outcomes, but little is known about how NFA develops over time or within social contexts. To address this gap, the present study used a sophisticated analytic approach (autoregressive latent…

We explored how gender and gender similarity affects friendship dissolution following the transition to middle school. We predicted that both gender and gender similarity (measured by perceived similarity to own-gender and other-gender peers) explain dissolution trends and that less own-gender similarity or more other-gender similarity predicts…

The study aimed to examine whether there is a significant difference between the social acceptance levels of the students with disabilities in the middle school students with normal development according to the variables of gender, grade level, number of siblings, and income level. This study was carried out in general screening model with…

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of social acceptance of students with typical development in inclusive classes towards individuals with special needs in terms of certain variables. In this study, the screening model was used, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The reason for choosing the screening model in the…

Improved survival rates of pediatric oncology patients give them the opportunity to return to school. This can present a significant challenge, as returning students often become vulnerable to peer rejection. The objective of this double-arm descriptive study was to establish a framework from which to optimize a school reintegration intervention…

This study investigated the role of school context in changes in the behaviors associated with having high social status during early adolescence. Three waves of surveys were collected from students (N = 542, 53% girls; 44% Black, 44% White, 5% Hispanic/Latinx, and 7% other; 60% free/reduced-fee lunch) in the middle of their sixth, seventh, and…

The goal of this article is to explore relations between adolescent values, interests in activities, and their bonding to school. This article presents survey research findings that examine 1,928 sixth- and seventh-grade students' responses to survey prompts about 15 terminal values adapted from Rokeach's (1973) theory of values, prompts about 11…

This study investigated how two aspects of the classroom environment (teachers' emphasis on mastery goals and descriptive norms (i.e., the average student disruptive, prosocial, and achievement-related behavior in a classroom), moderated the relationship between student behaviors and coolness. The sample included 976 students nested in 54 fifth-…

Youth with ADHD are more at-risk for peer victimization than their typically developing peers, and may not be benefiting from current interventions. Thus, we sought to examine risk (i.e., anxiety, depression, and forms of aggression) and protective (i.e., social skills and social acceptance) factors for peer victimization in this group.…

Perceptions of the ecology and middle school transition are examined in relation to interpersonal competence patterns (ICPs) of approximately 3,000 sixth graders (46.2% boys) including 415 students with disabilities from 26 metropolitan schools. Teacher ratings of students' academic competence, externalizing and internalizing behavior, popularity,…

Achievement goal orientations and self-regulated learning have become central constructs in education research, with both contributing significantly towards students' academic success. However, very little research has focused on students' social achievement goals, that is their social reasons for wanting to do well in school. The aim of the…