The goal of this study was to advance the conceptualization and measurement of adolescent popularity by exploring the commonly used composite score (popularity minus unpopularity). We used standardized peer nominations from 4,414 early adolescents (ages [approximately equal to] 12-14 years) from three samples collected in two countries. Popularity…

The present study sought to investigate the friendship formation of ethnic in-and out-group friendships, as well as differences in stability and quality, while accounting for the network structure (such as the tendency to befriend friends of friends). We analyzed longitudinal data from 770 students from 42 Austrian primary school classes collected…

This study examined pathways from prosocial behaviour in the beginning of the school year to emotional health and academic achievement in the end of the year, taking into account the mediating role of peer acceptance. Participants were 734 grade 4 to 7 students in public elementary schools (51% female) in Western Canada. As expected, pathway…

Gender-typical characteristics are associated with popularity and acceptance, suggesting that gender typicality is an important component of how adolescents are perceived by peers. The current study addressed the contributions of self- and peer-perceived gender typicality in predicting popularity and liking among same- and other-sex peers.…

The main aim of this study was to examine one potential mediator of the prospective association between depressive symptoms and peer victimization: sadness rumination. Data were collected from 302 early adolescents (M[subscript age] = 10.53, SD =0.16; 55.3% girls), at two waves, 1-year spaced, using self-reports. Depressive symptoms preceded…

This short-term, longitudinal study examines evidence that the level of popularity among adolescents' peer role models exacerbates the emotional impact of mistreatment by peers. We recruited 469 adolescents (255 boys, 214 girls; [X-bar] age = 12.7 years) from an ethnically diverse middle school and followed these youth for a 1-year period. We…

Many adolescents want to be popular. Popularity goals are associated with adolescents' relational and overt aggression and aggression has been linked to greater risk for victimization. The current study sought to examine if popularity goals may be linked to victimization through associations with aggression and if self-perceived popularity 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…

This study examined the association of friendships and popularity with adolescents' first-time involvement in a romantic relationship (referred to as romantic relationship debut). The aim of this article was twofold: first, to disentangle the unique effects of friendships and perceived popularity; second, to separate same- and cross-gender peer…

In this study, we explored the longitudinal linkages among Chinese early adolescents' unsociability, peer rejection, and loneliness. Participants were N = 445 primary school students in Shanghai, P.R. China followed over 3 years from Grades 6 and 7 to Grades 8 and 9. Measures of adolescents' unsociability, peer rejection, and loneliness were…

Rejection sensitivity (RS) is a cognitive and affective disposition to defensively expect, perceive, and overreact to signs of rejection by others. The current study examined the role of RS as a mediating mechanism underlying the relation between school relations with peers and teachers and solitude in early adolescence. Italian middle school…

This study examined the association between adolescents' obesity and sociometric status among their peers across 1 year. The participants were 2,528 junior high school students from Taiwan (mean age = 13.31 years). The negative associations discovered between obesity and sociometric status were both concurrent and cumulative. Moreover, the…

Despite its omnipresence, quantitative research examining both the nature and the function of adolescent gossip has been limited. The present study aimed to address this limitation in the literature by examining the nature and function of adolescent gossip; in particular, it aimed to explore observed differences between the gossip of those popular…

This study examined the longitudinal and bidirectional relations between same-sex (SS) and other-sex (OS) popularity and preference across one school year. Participants were 271 sixth-grade students who completed peer nomination measures at three time points in their schools. Tests of cross-lagged autoregressive models indicated that SS popularity…

Anger regulation among adolescents is important to investigate given theoretical and empirical support for its critical association with peer relationships. This study examined two aspects of anger regulation (i.e., inhibition, dysregulation) using self-report and peer-nominations and their associations with social acceptance among 163 Black and…