Examines adolescents' susceptibility to peer pressure in after-school experiences in a large sample of fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth graders. Shows that adolescents who report home after school are not significantly different from those who are supervised by their parents at home during after-school hours. (HOD)

This study followed 206 adolescent boys and their families from the fourth through eighth grade to test a model for conduct-related school failure. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the sixth grade and that ineffective discipline had a…

For 720 same-sex sibling pairs from 10 to 18 years of age, parents and adolescents provided information about family environment and adolescent adjustment. Found that adolescents' perceptions of their parents' conflict-negativity mediated the relationship between parental conflict-negativity and adolescent antisocial behavior. (BC)

Examines the roles of age of rater and age of children rated in grade-related shifts in children's perceptions of aggression and withdrawal. Shows that differences across grade level reported in children's peer rating largely reflect differences in the child raters' view of behavior. (HOD)

Two studies examined children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers. Findings indicated that fourth- through eighth-graders viewed "liked others" as prosocial and "disliked others" as antisocial, but associated perceived popularity with both prosocial and antisocial behavior. Children described popular peers as…

A biopsychosocial model of the development of adolescent chronic conduct problems is presented and supported through a review of empirical findings. The model posits that biological dispositions and sociocultural contexts place certain children at risk in early life but that life experiences with parents, peers, and social institutions increment…

With a sample of 1,630 sixth-grade students from 77 classrooms, the authors used hierarchical linear modeling to examine how ethnicity within context and classroom social disorder influenced the association between peer victimization and social-psychological adjustment (loneliness and social anxiety). Victimized students in classrooms where many…

Open-ended questions were used to obtain narrative accounts of what makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular) at school. The participants were 489 African American students in Grades 1, 4, and 7 recruited from high-risk inner-city neighborhoods. Appearance and self-presentation were mentioned the most in Grades 4 and 7. Prosocial…

For boys at risk for delinquency, assessed their parents' dyadic aggression and unskilled parenting beginning when the boys were in grade four and assessed the boys' aggression to a female partner in young adulthood. Found a relation between the parents' poor parenting practices and the boys' aggression to a partner, mediated by the boys'…

In a longitudinal study of a cohort of boys, compared the characteristics of those who became adolescent fathers with those who did not, and of their children with other children. The adolescent fathers had more arrests and substance abuse problems than the other adolescents. Their children had more health problems than a group of normal control…

Used new longitudinal clustering technique to identify and compare groups of children with distinct longitudinal profiles of peer social preference during elementary school. Identified a stable popular group, stable average group, and unpopular group, all with decreasing social preference. Groups showed overlap over time with closest corresponding…

Examined the relations between family characteristics, childhood temperament, and convictions for violent and nonviolent offenses at age 18. Found that family factors were associated with both violent and nonviolent offenses, whereas childhood temperament was associated primarily with convictions for violent offenses. Results suggest potentially…

Evaluated the reliability and validity of the Child Behavior Scale (CBS), designed to assess behavioral indicators of risk and competence in young children. In the spring and fall, teachers used the CBS to rate their kindergarten children and sociometric measures were administered to children. Found that scores for six CBS subscales were…

Over a two-year period, the linkages between parental discipline and the peer relationships and antisocial behavior of preadolescent boys were studied. Preadolescent antisocial behavior had negative effects on parental discipline and peer relationships. There was a reciprocal relationship between parental discipline and children's antisocial…

Compared early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers and boys' experiences at age 10. Poor parental discipline and monitoring, peer rejection, and academic failure at age 10 predicted involvement with antisocial peers at age 12. Continuity between boys' antisocial behavior and peer contact at ages 10 and 12 was found. (BC)