Discrepancies among family members' ratings on aspects of family functioning are challenging both, methodological and interpretational. Family members' perspectives and their discrepancies are indicators of family functioning, affecting adolescents' psychological development. Previous research focused on linear effects, ignoring that rather…

The current experience sampling study examined the change in distinct daily positive and negative emotions of 136 students (aged 10-12) participating in the Flourishing Students program. Students completed smartphone-based questionnaires covering emotions, daily activities, and social context at eight semi-random intervals for six days. Using a…

The increasing cultural diversity in host society schools highlights the need to better understand the conditions supporting the integration of students with an immigrant background. This study examines whether peer acceptance enhances the association between student-teacher relationship closeness and classroom emotional engagement, and whether…

Little is known regarding the processes that occur when parents support their child who is being victimized by peers. The current study utilized in-depth interviews with 11 fourth- through sixth-grade early adolescents and their mothers as to the processes that occurred when the mothers attempted to help their child cope with peer victimization.…

This study used peer nominations to identify who students ask for help in class. We describe the level of friendship affiliation that students' share with their peer helpers, and their classroom behavior reputations. Participants were 1037 fifth (49%) and sixth (51%) graders with varied gender and ethnic-racial backgrounds (51% girls; 43% White,…

This paper introduces the LIDO, or the Low-Inference Discourse Observation tool, that captures discourse moves produced by students and teachers in whole-classroom discussions. Coding methods are described, followed by analyses that explore validity of the LIDO through correlations among LIDO-coded discourse moves and between LIDO scores and…

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…

Research has shown links between emotion regulation strategies and child mental health. However, it is not well known how the characteristics of children may moderate these links. The aim of this study was to explore whether environmental sensitivity--the ability to perceive and process information about the environment--moderates links between…

Children and adolescents spend considerable time online. The current study investigated moderators of short-term longitudinal associations from social media use to changes in body satisfaction and physical activity. Participants (144 girls, 152 boys) were third-sixth grade students (ages 8-13) attending public schools in Florida (USA).…

The goal of this study was to examine the unique associations of aggression with peer status in a non-Western context. The moderating effects of peer community and teacher closeness at the classroom level and gender and grade at the individual level were considered. Participants were 1954 third to sixth grade students (M[subscript age] = 9.60…

This study examined the prospective association between peer victimization and subjective sleep quality among typically developing early adolescents. At Time 1 (T1), participants included 123 youth (50% boys; X-bar age = 12.03 years; 58.5% European American, 35% African American), along with one parent and teacher. Youth, parents, and teachers…

Friendships can provide a critical buffer against stress for youth, but the extent to which they serve this role depends on whether they provide resources that youth value most. These valued provisions may differ for girls and boys and across stages of development. This study examined whether gender differences in friendship values intensify…

Prospective associations linking parental responses to peer victimization (i.e., coping suggestions, school contact) with adolescents' coping and experiences of peer victimization were examined. Participants were 203 adolescents (X-bar[subscript] age = 12.16 years, SD = 0.98) and a parent (81% mothers). At Time 1, parents provided open-ended…

Victimization in early adolescence can have severe negative consequences later in life. Friendships are especially important in this time period. The present study investigated friendship selection and influence (contagion) processes with regard to victimization, as well as prosocial and aggressive characteristics of victims' friends. Using social…

This study examined whether compromised emotional clarity prospectively contributes to maladaptive social behavior (aggression, anxious solitude) and adverse social experiences (low social status, victimization) in early adolescence; gender differences in these effects also were explored. Youth (N = 636, [x-bar] age = 10.94, SD = 0.37) completed a…