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ERIC Number: EJ1342233
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-May
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0165-0254
EISSN: N/A
Engagement Norms Buffer Academic Risks Associated with Peer Rejection in Middle School
Lessard, Leah M.; Juvonen, Jaana
International Journal of Behavioral Development, v46 n3 p200-207 May 2022
The current study examined school variations in academic engagement norms and whether such norms affect those most susceptible to peer influence. We presumed that behaviors associated with perceived popularity make norms salient and are most likely to affect socially marginalized (rejected) youth. Focusing on differences across 26 middle schools, the main aim was to test whether academic engagement norms moderate the association between peer rejection and subsequent academic difficulties. The U.S. public school sample included 5,991 youth (52% girls): 32% Latino/a, 20% White, 14% East/Southeast Asian, 12% African American, and 22% from other specific ethnic groups. Multilevel models were used to examine whether engagement norms moderated the association between sixth-grade peer rejection and changes in grade point average (GPA) and academic engagement across middle school (i.e., from sixth to eighth grade). Consistent with our contextual moderator hypothesis, the association between peer rejection and academic engagement was attenuated--and in the case of GPA eliminated--in schools where higher engagement was a salient norm. The study findings suggest that the behaviors of popular peers affect those on social margins and that academic difficulties are not inevitable for rejected youth.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1R01HD05988201A2; 0921306