Although scholars are attuned to the particular transitional dilemmas faced by middle school students, inquiry into middle school breaktimes is largely limited to research on bullying and peer victimization. This study interrogates the geography of middle school breaktime to expand understanding of student safety and recognize the ways that the…

Scholars find that social dynamics in online environments help explain variation in cyberbullying victimization. The current study examines how students' in-person activities at school shape the odds of cyberbullying victimization. This focus is motivated by opportunity theory, which emphasizes that victimization can be shaped by involvement in…

Past research has demonstrated an association between financial hardships and risk-taking behaviors (defined as delinquent or transgressive acts). However, this effect may differ based upon the provision of protective spaces, like those offered in extracurricular activities. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal effect of financial…

The present study takes a strength-based approach to understand how young people's individual needs shape their relationships with significant non-parental adults across adolescence. The analyses drew from qualitative interviews with 27 youth across five time-points (3 years). Three types of youth needs were identified and labeled using metaphors…

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers need both motivation and interpersonal skills in STEM disciplines. The aims of the study were to identify clusters of adolescents who vary in math and science motivation and interpersonal skills and to explore what factors are related to membership in a high math and science motivation and…

Adolescent sleep deprivation is a pressing public health issue in the United States as well as other countries. The contexts of adolescents' lives are changing rapidly, but little is known about the factors that adolescents themselves believe affect their sleep. This study uses a social-ecological framework to investigate multiple levels of…

Relational aggression involves excluding peers from social activities and spreading harmful rumors about the victim. Assumptions that only girls are victimized in this way are largely debunked, yet there is little research to explain why boys are victimized in this manner. This study poses the possibility that male adolescent victimization by…

There is a diverse literature that explores the relationship between youth, music, and mental health, with few attempts at systematic synthesis. This critical interpretive review included 33 studies published between 2000 and 2012 investigating the relationship between music and the mental health of young people, particularly targeting depression.…

Across the world, community-based youth organizations are engaging youth as partners with adults to promote youth civic development. A sample of 528 youth from the United States, Portugal, and Malaysia were surveyed to explore associations between youth-adult partnership (youth voice in decision making; supportive adult relationships) and two key…

Participation in youth programming fosters positive developmental outcomes for youth, yet recruitment and retention are ongoing challenges. Given the imbalance in rates of participation of ethnic minority youth, compared with White youth, it is important to gain a greater understanding of the contextual factors that promote or inhibit…

Participation in Organized Activities (OA) is associated with positive behavioral and developmental outcomes in children. However, less is known about how particular aspects of participation affect the academic achievement of high school students from different social class positions. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study…

Disadvantaged rural youth may be especially at risk for obesity and poorer health due to physical inactivity. Research suggests that extracurricular school programs can increase physical activity for this population. This study sought to determine whether local differences existed in the availability of supportive environments for extracurricular…

This article examines the patterns of emergence of gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in public high schools in the United States. These extracurricular student groups offer safe spaces, social support, and opportunities for activism to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and straight students. Combining data on various characteristics of…

Prior research finds that racial and ethnic minority students are more likely than White students to receive school punishments, yet little prior research considers students' perceptions of the fairness of school rules and their enforcement. Using data from a nationally representative survey of students, the authors consider whether African…

Using data from the Survey of Adults and Youth, the authors examine the effect of economic status on youths' involvement in both school- and nonschool-related extracurricular activities. Specifically, they assess the association between four alternative measures of economic status--recipiency of food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent…