Showing papers on "Peer group published in 2006"

Small Groups: Key Readings

Abstract: About the Editors. Acknowledgments. Small Groups: An Overview. Part 1. Group Composition. Introduction. Reading 1. The Contribution of Influence and Selection to Adolescent Peer Group Homogeneity: The Case of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking. Ennett & Bauman. Reading 2. Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women. Kanter . Reading 3 Effects of Crew Composition on Crew Performance: Does the Whole Equal the Sum of Its Parts? Tziner & Eden. Part 2. Group Structure. Introduction. Reading 4. Status, Expectations, and Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and Test of the Theory. Driskell & Mullen. Reading 5. Asymmetries in Attachments to Groups and to Their Members: Distinguishing Between Common-Identity and Common-Bond Groups. Prentice, Miller, & Lightdale. Reading 6. The "Friendly" Poker Game: A Study of an Ephemeral Role. Zurcher. Part 3. Conflict in Groups. Introduction. Reading 7. Effects of Group Identity on Resource Use in a Simulated Commons Dilemma. Kramer & Brewer. Reading 8. Status, Ideology, and Integrative Complexity on the U.S. Supreme Court: Rethinking the Politics of Political Decision Making. Gruenfeld. Reading 9. Being Better by Being Right: Subjective Group Dynamics and Derogation of In-Group Deviants When Generic Norms Are Undermined. Marques, Abrams, & Serodio. Reading 10. Does Power Corrupt? Kipnis. Part 4. Group Performance. General Introduction. A. Decision Making. Introduction. Reading 11. Collective Induction. Laughlin & Shippy. Reading 12. Social Transition Schemes: Charting the Group's Road to Agreement. Kerr. Reading 13. Pooling of Unshared Information in Group Decision Making: Biased Information Sampling During Discussion. Stasser & Titus. Reading 14. Threat, Cohesion, and Group Effectiveness: Testing a Social Identity Maintenance Perspective on Groupthink. Turner, Pratkanis, Probasco, & Leve. Reading 15. The Effects of Repeated Expressions on Attitude Polarization during Group Discussions. Brauer, Judd, & Gliner. B. Productivity. Introduction. Reading 16. Many Hands Make Light the Work: The Causes and Consequences of Social Loafing. Latane, Williams, & Harkins. Reading 17. Impact of Group Goals, Task Component Complexity, Effort, and Planning on Group Performance. Weingart. Reading 18. Transactive Memory: Learning Who Knows What in Work Groups and Organizations. Moreland. C. Leadership. Introduction. Reading 19. Self-Monitoring and Trait-Based Variance in Leadership: An Investigation of Leader Flexibility across Multiple Group Situations. Zaccaro, Foti, & Kenny. Reading 20. The Contingency Model: A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. Fiedler. Reading 21. Self-Categorization and Leadership: Effects of Group Prototypicality and Leader Stereotypicality. Hains, Hogg, & Duck.. Reading 22. The Romance of Leadership. Meindl, Ehrlich, & Dukerich. Part 5. Group Ecology. Introduction. Reading 23. Coming Out in the Age of the Internet: Identity "Demarginalization" Through Virtual Group Participation. McKenna & Bargh. Reading 24. Stability, Bistability, and Instability in Small Group Influence Patterns. Arrow. Reading 25. Socialization in Organizations and Work Groups. Moreland & Levine. Reading 26. Beyond Task and Maintenance: Defining External Functions in Groups. Ancona & Caldwell

Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: Patterns and psychological correlates.

Abstract: This article presents results from a 3-year longitudinal study of the growth patterns and correlates of perceived discrimination by adults and by peers among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. Results revealed a linear increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by adults, whereas perceptions of discrimination by peers remained stable over time. Asian American and non-Puerto Rican Latino adolescents (primarily Dominican) reported higher levels of peer and/or adult discrimination than did Puerto Rican youth, whereas Black adolescents reported a steeper increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by peers and by adults than did Puerto Rican adolescents. Peer and adult discrimination was significantly associated with decreased self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms over time. Ethnic identity and ethnicity were found to moderate the relationships between perceived discrimination and changes in psychological well-being over time. Results underscore the need to include perceptions of discrimination when studying the development and well-being of ethnic minority adolescents.

Peer exclusion and victimization: Processes that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children's classroom engagement and achievement?

Abstract: Longitudinal data from a study of kindergarten through 5th graders were used to estimate a structural model in which chronic peer exclusion and chronic peer abuse were hypothesized to mediate the link between children's early peer rejection, later classroom engagement, and achievement. Peer exclusion and abuse were expected to predict changes in 2 forms of school engagement (classroom participation and school avoidance), and changes in both forms of engagement were expected to predict changes in achievement. The model fit the data well and lent support to the premise that distinct forms of peer maltreatment and classroom engagement mediate the link between early peer rejection and changes in children's achievement. Early peer rejection was associated with declining classroom participation and increasing school avoidance, but different forms of chronic peer maltreatment mediated these relations. Whereas chronic peer exclusion principally mediated the link between peer rejection and classroom participation, chronic peer abuse primarily mediated the link between rejection and school avoidance. Children's reduced classroom participation, more than gains in school avoidance, anteceded decrements in children's achievement.

Clean Evidence on Peer Effects

Abstract: We study subjects who were asked to fill letters into envelopes with a remuneration independent of output. In the “pair” treatment, two subjects worked at the same time in the same room, and peer effects were possible. In the “single” treatment, subjects worked alone, and peer effects were ruled out. We find evidence of peer effects in the pair treatment because the standard deviations of output are smaller within pairs than between pairs. Moreover, average output is higher in the pair treatment: thus, peer effects raise productivity. Finally, low‐productivity workers are the most sensitive to the behavior of peers.

Social behavior and peer relationships of victims, bully‐victims, and bullies in kindergarten

Abstract: Background: Although the prevalence of bully/victim problems in school-age children and adolescents has been investigated in many countries, only a few studies have been carried out among younger children. This study examines social behaviors and peer relationships of children involved in bully/victim problems in kindergarten. Methods: Three hundred and forty-four five- to seven-year-old children participated. Children were categorized as victims, bully-victims, bullies, and non-involved by means of teacher ratings and peer nominations. Teachers completed questionnaires on children's social behavior patterns. Peer relationships were assessed by means of peer nominations and social cluster mapping. Results: Compared to non-involved children, victims were more submissive, had fewer leadership skills, were more withdrawn, more isolated, less cooperative, less sociable, and frequently had no playmates. As expected, bullies and bully-victims were generally more aggressive than their peers. In addition, bully-victims were less cooperative, less sociable, and more frequently had no playmates than non-involved children. Bullies were less prosocial, and had more leadership skills than non-involved children. Bullies belonged to larger social clusters and were frequently affiliated with other bullies or bully-victims. Conclusions: We were able to establish distinct behavior patterns for bullies, bully-victims, and victims. Some of these social behaviors may be considered as risk factors for being victimized or becoming a bully. Our findings also emphasize the significance of peer relationships in bully/victim problems. On the one hand, victimized children's lack of friends might render them psychologically and socially vulnerable, and thus more prone to becoming easy targets. On the other hand, bullies seemed to be preferred playmates, particularly for other aggressive boys. This affiliation of aggressive children might lead to an increase in bullying behavior. Our understanding of the social and interactional nature of bullying and victimization has practical implications for prevention and intervention against bully/victim problems.

Peer victimization in early adolescence: association between physical and relational victimization and drug use, aggression, and delinquent behaviors among urban middle school students.

Abstract: This study examined associations between two forms of peer victimization, physical and relational, and externalizing behaviors including drug use, aggression, and delinquent behaviors among a sample of 276 predominantly African American eighth graders attending middle school in an urban public school system. Regression analyses indicated that physical victimization was significantly related to cigarette and alcohol use but not to advanced alcohol and marijuana use; relational victimization contributed uniquely to all categories of drug use after controlling for physical victimization. Physical victimization was also significantly related to physical and relational aggression and delinquent behaviors, and relational victimization made a unique contribution in the concurrent prediction of these behaviors. Physical victimization was more strongly related to both categories of alcohol use, aggression, and to delinquent behaviors among boys than among girls. In contrast, relational victimization was more strongly related to physical aggression and marijuana use among girls than among boys, but more strongly related to relational aggression among boys than among girls. These findings provide information about the generalizability of prior research and have important implications for intervention efforts.

Effects of Parental Monitoring and Peer Deviance on Substance Use and Delinquency

Abstract: From socialization theory, it was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring as well as peer deviance would influence individual trajectories of alcohol misuse, other substance use, and delinquency. Six waves of data were analyzed using interviews with 506 adolescents in a general population sample. Results from multilevel modeling showed that monitoring significantly predicted adolescents' initial levels (intercepts) of alcohol misuse and delinquency. Parental monitoring strongly predicted the rates of increase (slope) in all 3 problem behaviors. Peer deviance significantly predicted initial levels of all problem behaviors and the rates of increase in them. This study provides evidence that both effective parenting and avoidance of associations with delinquent peers are important factors in preventing adolescent problem behaviors. Key Words: adolescence, alcohol misuse, delinquency, parental monitoring, peer deviance, substance use. Alcohol misuse, illicit substance use, and delinquency increase during adolescence. Furthermore, these behaviors have been shown to co-occur constituting what has been called a syndrome of problem behaviors (Donovan & lessor, 1985; lessor, Donovan, & Costa, 1991). Although many adolescents with problem behaviors phase out of this pattern of behavior as they acquire stable roles in young adulthood (Bachman et al., 2002; Moffitt, 1993), many young people with an early pattern of drinking, other substance use, or antisocial behavior set a course for persistent problems later in adulthood (Grant & Dawson, 1997; Moffitt). Thus, developing a better understanding of which factors have the potential to change the upward trajectory of problem behaviors in adolescence is critically important for prevention and social policy. Comprehensive reviews document the numerous risk and protective factors associated adolescent alcohol use (e.g., Windle, 1999), substance use (e.g., Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992), and delinquency (e.g., Hawkins, 1996). From the large body of research on adolescent problem behaviors, parental and peer influences are among the most widely cited predictive factors. Our theoretical model depicts the central importance of the parental and peer socialization process in the development of adolescent alcohol misuse and related problem behaviors after taking into account key sociodemograhic factors, such as gender, age, and race, and individual factors, such as adolescent temperament and family history of alcohol abuse (see elaboration of the model in Barnes, 1990; Barnes & Farrell, 1992). Family Socialization Factors On the basis of classical family theory and decades of empirical research (e.g., Barnes & Farrell, 1992; Farrell & Barnes, 2000; Rollins & Thomas, 1979), two key constructs, parental support and control, have been found to be critically important in the family socialization/parenting process. Parental support is denned as parental behaviors toward the child, such as praising, encouraging, giving affection, which convey to the child that she or he is valued and loved. Conceptually related terms include nurturance, affection, cohesion, acceptance, and open communication. The parental control dimension includes parental behaviors toward the child that are intended to direct the child's behavior in a manner acceptable to the parent. Positive control attempts include the related concepts of discipline, supervision, and monitoring of adolescent behavior (Barnes & Farrell; Farrell & Barnes, 2000; Rollins & Thomas). Parental support and control are viewed as common factors that influence multiple, co-occurring adolescent behaviors: alcohol misuse, other substance use, and delinquent behaviors (Barnes & Farrell). Using a three-wave structural equation model, we showed that the sequencing of these two parenting behaviors on alcohol misuse occurred as follows. Higher levels of Wave 1 family support predicted increased levels of Wave 2 monitoring (also characterized as adolescents' receptivity to be monitored); these two parenting factors predicted decreased levels of Wave 3 alcohol misuse. …

Intervening in Children's Lives: An Ecological, Family-Centered Approach to Mental Health Care

Abstract: Thomas J. Dishion and Elizabeth A. Stormshak describe their family-centered, ecological approach, which engages children, adolescents, and their families; may be used as a periodic preventive checkup and as a more intensive intervention; and may be delivered in community settings such as schools in order to have the greatest public health impact. The authors demonstrate how they examine psychopathology in children and adolescents in the context of the ecology (families, peer groups, communities, and schools) in which they live. They present their empirically derived approach and illustrate how developmentally and culturally relevant interventions are shaped. An ecological approach works within a health maintenance teamwork. Given individual variation in vulnerability to environmental stress, periodic assessments and interventions are used to prevent, treat, or reduce harm associated with problem behavior and emotional distress. The literature reveals promising findings, in that the highest-risk youth are more likely to respond well to ecologically based interventions.

Relations Between Neighborhood Factors, Parenting Behaviors, Peer Deviance, and Delinquency Among Serious Juvenile Offenders

Abstract: The present study examined relations among neighborhood structural and social characteristics, parenting practices, peer group affiliations, and delinquency among a group of serious adolescent offenders. The sample of 14-18-year-old boys (N=488) was composed primarily of economically disadvantaged, ethnic-minority youth living in urban communities. The results indicate that weak neighborhood social organization is indirectly related to delinquency through its associations with parenting behavior and peer deviance and that a focus on just 1 of these microsystems can lead to oversimplified models of risk for juvenile offending. The authors also find that community social ties may confer both pro- and antisocial influences to youth, and they advocate for a broad conceptualization of neighborhood social processes as these relate to developmental risk for youth living in disadvantaged communities.

Peer Victimization, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Physical Activity in Overweight and At-Risk-For-Overweight Youth

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between peer victimization and child and parent reports of psychosocial adjustment and physical activity in a clinical sample of at-risk-for-overweight and overweight children and adolescents. METHODS: The Schwartz Peer Victimization Scale, Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, Social Physique Anxiety Scale, PACE+ Adolescent Physical Activity Measure, and Asher Loneliness Scale were administered to 92 children and adolescents (54 females) aged 8-18 years. The youth's parent/guardian completed the Child Behavior Checklist. RESULTS: Peer victimization was positively related to child-reported depression, anxiety, social physique anxiety, and loneliness, and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Peer victimization was negatively related to physical activity. Depressive symptoms and loneliness mediated the relations between peer victimization and physical activity. CONCLUSION: Recognition of the magnitude of the problem and the means of evaluating for peer victimization is important for clinicians who work with overweight youth. Assessing peer experiences may assist in understanding rates of physical activity and/or past nonadherence to clinician recommendations. Language: en

Aggression and social status: the moderating roles of sex and peer‐valued characteristics

Abstract: Research on peer rejection has long emphasized links between aggressive behavior and peer liking, with aggressive children and adolescents being more rejected by peers. However, recent research shows that at least some aggressive students enjoy considerable power and influence and are perceived as "popular" within the peer group. To understand the processes underlying links between aggression and social status, the present research considered three distinct indices of social status (social preference, perceived popularity, and power) and investigated the degree to which the possession of peer-valued characteristics moderated the links between status and aggression and whether these links varied by sex. A sample of 585 adolescents (grades 6-10) completed peer evaluation measures assessing social status, aggression (overt/physical, indirect/relational), and the degree to which peers possessed eight different peer-valued characteristics (e.g., attractiveness, athleticism, etc.). Although sociometric indices of status were significantly related to perceived popularity, especially for boys, perceptions of power were more strongly linked to perceived popularity than to sociometric likeability. Moreover, the three indices of social status were differentially related to peers' assessments of aggression and to peer-valued characteristics, with notable sex differences. As predicted, regression analyses demonstrated that the observed relationships between social status and aggression were moderated by the possession of peer-valued characteristics; aggressive students who possessed peer-valued characteristics enjoyed higher levels of perceived popularity and power and less disliking than those who did not. This relationship varied as a function of sex, the type of aggression considered, and the status construct predicted. Language: en

Trajectories of aggression from toddlerhood to age 9 predict academic and social functioning through age 12

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we examined behavior problems and social and academic outcomes from ages 9 through 12 in children classified into five trajectories of physical aggression, on the basis of maternal ratings obtained from 24 months through 9 years (N = 1195). METHODS: Outcome data were obtained from teacher reports, observations of children's behavior, and children's self-reports. RESULTS: Children on the high-stable aggression trajectory (3% of sample) showed the most severe adjustment problems, including poorer social skills, higher levels of externalizing problems, and more self-reported peer problems; those on the moderate-stable aggression trajectory (15%) showed poor regulation and inattention. Although children with moderate levels of early aggression that decreased sharply by school entry (12%) appeared well adjusted at follow-up, those who showed a low level of stable aggression (25%) evidenced some unanticipated social and behavior problems. Children in the contrast group (45%) were consistently very low in aggression from toddlerhood onward. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight links between different patterns (stable or decreasing) and levels (high, moderate, low, very low) of aggression across childhood and children's later adjustment. For example, even quite low aggression that is stable appears to be a risk factor for some social problems; in contrast, moderate aggression that decreases sharply to no aggression by school entry is associated with good adjustment at age 12. Language: en

The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: a prospective study

Abstract: This study aimed to prospectively examine the role of peer and media influences in the development of body satisfaction (incorporating the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance) in young girls, as well as the relationship between body satisfaction and self-esteem. A sample of 97 girls 5-8 years of age completed individual interviews at Time 1 and 1 year later at Time 2. Linear panel analyses found that Time 1 perception of peers' desire for thinness was temporally antecedent to girls' desire for thinness, appearance satisfaction, and self-esteem 1 year later. In addition, the watching of appearance-focused television programs was temporally antecedent to appearance satisfaction. Finally, girls' desire for thinness was found to temporally precede low self-esteem. Thus, as early as school entry, girls appear to already live in a culture in which peers and the media transmit the thin ideal in a way that negatively influences the development of body image and self-esteem.

Extracurricular Involvement and Adolescent Adjustment: Impact of Duration, Number of Activities, and Breadth of Participation

Abstract: The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the associations between a variety of measures of extracurricular participation and indicators of youth development. We use data from the Childhood and Beyond Study, a larger longitudinal study of adolescent development. The sample is primarily White middle-class adolescents in Grades 7 through 12. First, we examined the relation between the duration of involvement in school clubs and in organized sports over a 3-year span and youth development. Second, the linear and nonlinear relations between the number of extracurricular activities and youth development 1 year later were examined. Finally, we tested the link between the breadth of participation and youth development 1 year later. In general, across all 3 sets of analyses, our findings indicate that greater involvement in extracurricular activities is associated with academic adjustment, psychological competencies, and a positive peer context. The results were strongest for the oldest group of youth.

Peer Contagion of Aggression and Health Risk Behavior Among Adolescent Males: An Experimental Investigation of Effects on Public Conduct and Private Attitudes

Abstract: Peer contagion of adolescent males' aggressive/health risk behaviors was examined using a computerized "chat room" experimental paradigm. Forty-three 11th-grade White adolescents (16-17 years old) were led to believe that they were interacting with other students (i.e., "e-confederates"), who endorsed aggressive/health risk behaviors and whose ostensible peer status was experimentally manipulated. Adolescents displayed greater public conformity, more internalization of aggressive/health risk attitudes, and a higher frequency of actual exclusionary behavior when the e-confederates were high in peer status than low. Participants' level of social anxiety moderated peer contagion. Nonsocially anxious participants conformed only to high-status peers, whereas socially anxious participants were equally influenced by low- and high-status peers. The role of status-maintenance motivations in aggression and risk behavior, and implications for preventive intervention, are discussed.

Peer Support for African American Male College Achievement: Beyond Internalized Racism and the Burden of “Acting White”:

Abstract: Theorists posit that the social reinforcement of racially oppressive assumptions eventually works its way into the psyche of African Americans and negatively shapes the way they see themselves and others within their race. Some scholars have attempted to prove and others have subsequently disputed the idea that school achievement within African American peer groups is seen as “acting White.” In this study, internalized racism and Fordham and Ogbu’s (1986) Acting White Hypothesis were explored among high-achieving African American male undergraduates at six predominantly White universities. Findings from individual interviews contradict the hypothesis and reveal ways through which peer support for leadership and achievement were negotiated within African American peer groups on the six campuses. There was no evidence of internalized racism in the domains of academic achievement and African American male leadership. Instead, the participants attributed much of their college success to the support offered by their same-race peers.

A meta-analytic review of social, self-concept, and behavioral outcomes of peer-assisted learning.

Abstract: Meta-analysis was used to examine social, self-concept, and behavioral effects of peer-assisted learning (PAL) interventions with elementary school students. An electronic search of PsycINFO and ERIC databases resulted in 36 relevant PAL studies. Overall, effect sizes were small to moderate across the 3 outcome variable domains. Both social and self-concept outcomes were positively correlated with academic outcomes. Specific PAL components--student autonomy, individualized evaluation, structured student roles, interdependent group rewards, and same-gender grouping--were related to effect sizes. PAL interventions were more effective for low-income versus higher income, urban versus suburban-rural, minority versus nonminority, and Grades 1-3 students versus Grades 4-6 students. Results suggest that PAL interventions that focus on academics can also improve social and self-concept outcomes.

Straddling Boundaries: Identity, Culture, and School

Abstract: This article presents the results of an investigation of the following questions: How do low-income African American and Latino youths negotiate the boundaries between school and peer group contexts? Do variable forms of negotiation exist? If so, what are they, and how do they manifest? In addressing these questions, the author posits two arguments that directly challenge the “acting white” thesis. The first is that black and Latino students' academic, cultural, psychological, and social experiences are heterogeneous. This article examines three groups of low-income African American and Latino students who differ in how they believe group members should behave culturally—the cultural mainstreamers, the cultural straddlers, and the noncompliant believers. Second, this article returns to the sociological signification of four dimensions of the phenomenon of (resistance to) acting white and highlights the varied responses of the three groups to the social boundaries that collective identities engender and th...

Gender and the Meanings of Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Focus on Boys

Abstract: Many studies of the adolescent period have focused on peer interactions and relationships, but less is known about the character of adolescents' early dating experiences. Researchers have recently explored girls' views of romance and sexuality, but studies of boys' perspectives are noticeably lacking. Theorizing in this area leads to the expectation that as adolescents cross over into heterosexual territory, boys will do so, on average, with greater confidence, while being relatively less engaged emotionally (i.e., the notion that boys want sex, girls want romance), and ultimately emerging as the more powerful actors within the relationship. This article develops a symbolic interactionist perspective to examine the experiences of adolescent boys and girls in the context of the romantic dyad. It focuses on the nature of communication, emotion, and influence within adolescent dating relationships. Findings based on structured interviews with over 1,300 adolescents provide a strong contrast to existing portr...

Becoming a Social Partner With Peers: Cooperation and Social Understanding in One- and Two-Year-Olds

Abstract: One- and two-year-old peer dyads were presented with a simple cooperative task. Age differences were found in amount of coordinated activity, monitoring the peer's activity and location in relation to the goal, and attempting to achieve the goal when the peer was (or was not) available as a partner. One-year-olds' coordinated actions appeared more coincidental than cooperative whereas older children appeared to be more actively cooperating toward a shared goal. Differences in coordinated activity with peers were associated with differences in attention sharing with an adult and with language about self and other. The ability to cooperate with peers, becoming a true social partner, develops over the 2nd and 3rd years of life in concert with growing social understanding.

Peer and teacher bullying/victimization of South Australian secondary school students: Prevalence and psychosocial profiles

Abstract: This study examined the nature and prevalence of bullying/victimization by peers and teachers reported by 1,284 students (mean age = 15.2 years) drawn from a representative sample of 25 South Australian government and private schools. Students completed a self-report survey containing questions relating to teacher and peer-related bullying, measures of psychosocial adjustment, and personality. The results showed that students could be clearly differentiated according to the type of victimization they had experienced. Students reporting peer victimization typically showed high levels of social alienation, poorer psychological functioning, and poorer self-esteem and self-image. By contrast, victims of teacher victimization were more likely to be rated as less able academically, had less intention to complete school and were more likely to be engaged in high-risk behaviours such as gambling, drug use and under-age drinking. Most bullying was found to occur at school rather than outside school and involved verbal aggression rather than physical harm. Boys were significantly more likely to be bullied than girls, with the highest rates being observed amongst boys attending single-sex government schools. Girls were more likely to be subject to bullying if they attended coeducational private schools. The implications of this work for enhancing school-retention rates and addressing psychological distress amongst adolescent students are discussed.

Peer victimization, aggression, and their co-occurrence in middle school: pathways to adjustment problems

Abstract: An ethnically diverse sample of 6th-grade students completed peer nomination procedures that were used to create subgroups of students with reputations as victims, aggressors, aggressive victims, and socially adjusted (neither aggressive nor victimized). Self-report data on psychological adjustment, attributions for peer harassment, and perceived school climate were gathered. In addition, homeroom teachers rated participating students on academic engagement and students' grades were collected from school records. Victims reported the most negative self-views, aggressors enjoyed the most positive self-views, and aggressive victims fell between these two groups, although their psychological profile more closely resembled that of victims. However, all three subgroups encountered more school adjustment problems when compared to their socially adjusted classmates. Different pathways to school adjustment problems for aggressors and victims were examined. For victims, characterological self-blame for victimization and psychological maladjustment were the key mediators, whereas for aggressors, the significant pathway was mainly through perceived unfairness of school rules. Analyses by ethnicity revealed that African American boys were most likely to be perceived as aggressive and as aggressive victims and they were doing most poorly in school. Implications for intervention with subgroups of problem behavior youth and the particular vulnerabilities of African American adolescents were discussed.

Peer victimization and depression in early–mid adolescence: A longitudinal study

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Despite considerable evidence for psychological distress among children and young people who experience peer victimization, cross-sectional studies cannot determine the direction of the relationship. Several recent studies have examined associations between victimization and distress. The majority find evidence for both directions but do not arbitrate between them; only one prior study has attempted to do this. AIMS: To use longitudinal data to: (1) test competing hypotheses about the direction of the victimization-depression association; (2) investigate gender differences in the resulting models. SAMPLE: Data were obtained from a Scottish school-based cohort (N=2,586). METHODS: Self-completion questionnaires included a depression scale and questions on victimization at each age. RESULTS: Despite shifts in and out of victim status, there was evidence of stability in both victimization and depression. Bivariate analyses showed positive relationships between victimization and depression. Structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that at age 13, this relationship was reciprocal, with a stronger path from victimization to depression than vice versa. However, at age 15, it was almost entirely due to a path from depression to victimization among boys. Models including cross-lagged paths fitted the data less well than those including simultaneous associations. CONCLUSIONS: Current policy focuses on victimization as a cause of distress; however, professionals should be aware that vulnerable children and young people are likely to be the targets of victimization. Language: en

Peer Influences on Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: A Theoretical Review of the Literature

Abstract: This article reviews several classes of theories to elucidate the relationship between adolescent cigarette smoking and friends' cigarette smoking. Perceived influence theories hinge upon an adolescent's perception of friends' smoking behavior. External influence theories are those in which friends' smoking behavior overtly influences adolescent smoking. Group level theories examine how differences at the level of subculture, gender, and race/ethnicity influence the relationship under study. Network theories are also discussed. A model integrating relevant theories into a longitudinal model representing friend influences on adolescent smoking is presented, along with implications of the results presented for adolescent tobacco prevention programs.

Deviant Peer Influences in Programs for Youth Problems and Solutions.

Abstract: Part 1. Introduction. K.A. Dodge, J.E. Lansford, T.J. Dishion, The Problem of Deviant Peer Influences in Intervention Programs. T.J. Dishion, K.A. Dodge, Deviant Peer Contagion in Interventions and Programs: An Ecological Framework for Understanding Influence Mechanisms. J.C. Anthony, Deviant Peer Effects: Perspectives of an Epidemiologist. P.J. Cook, J. Ludwig, Assigning Youths to Minimize Total Harm. J.E. Lansford, J. Rosch, Is Deviant Peer Influence a Problem, and What Can Be Done? Qualitative Perspectives from Four Focus Groups. Part 2. Reviews of Peer Effects. K.A. Dodge, M.R. Sherrill, Deviant Peer Group Effects in Youth Mental Health Interventions. W.M. Reinke, H.M. Walker, Deviant Peer Effects in Education. D.W. Osgood, L.O. Briddell, Peer Effects in Juvenile Justice. M.W. Lipsey, The Effects of Community-based Group Treatment for Delinquency: A Meta-analytic Search for Cross-study Generalizations. J. Vigdor, Peer Effects in Neighborhoods and Housing. M.N. Wilson, L.N. Woods, Iatrogenic Outcomes of the Child Welfare System: Vulnerable Adolescents, Peer Influences, and Instability in Foster Care Arrangements. J.E. Lansford, Peer Effects in Community Programs. M.W. Klein, Peer Effects in Naturally Occurring Groups: The Case of Street Gangs. Part 3. Promising Solutions and Recommendations. R.B. Silver, J.M. Eddy, Research-based Prevention Programs and Practices for Delivery in Schools That Decrease the Risk of Deviant Peer Influence. P. Greenwood, Promising Solutions in Juvenile Justice. E.P. Smith, J. Dumas, R. Prinz, Prevention Approaches to Improve Child and Adolescent Behavior and Reduce Deviant Peer Influence. J. Ludwig, G. Duncan, Promising Solutions in Housing and the Community. J. Rosch, C. Lederman, Creating a Legal and Organizational Context for Reducing Peer Influence. A. Biglan, J. Sprague, K.J. Moore, A Functional Contextualist Framework for Affecting Peer Influence Practices. T.J. Dishion, K.A. Dodge, J.E. Lansford, Findings and Recommendations: A Blueprint to Minimize Deviant Peer Influence in Youth Interventions and Programs.

They’re Cool: Social Status and Peer Group Supports for Aggressive Boys and Girls

Abstract: This study examined who among the 526 fourth to sixth graders are nominated as among the coolest kids in their class. There were two questions: (1) Are popular-aggressive (tough) children nominated as cool by a broad spectrum of their peers, or only by a select few? (2) Does variability in children’s cool nominations more closely follow their individual characteristics or group affiliations? Three-level hierarchical linear modeling (nominators in groups in classrooms) tested the study hypotheses. The main finding was that children in aggressive groups nominated tough peers as cool and children in nonaggressive groups nominated popular-nonaggressive (model) peers, regardless of nominators’ individual characteristics or the prominence of their groups across diverse classroom contexts. Girls were proportionately more likely to nominate tough than model boys, but only a minority (less than 25 percent) of relatively aggressive girls nominated any boys as cool. Findings indicate that normative boy and girl peer cultures give broad reputational support to some aggressive children.