Modeling relations between hassles and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescents: a four-year prospective study

This study examined the relations between hassles and internalizing and externalizing symptoms across 4 years in adolescents who varied with regard to their risk for psychopathology. The sample comprised 240 adolescents assessed in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades regarding their level of peer and academic hassles and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to construct latent variables of hassles and internalizing and externalizing syndromes. Results varied by informant about the teens' symptoms. For adolescent report, the stress exposure model fit the data best for internalizing syndromes; that is, higher levels of stressors predicted significantly higher levels of self-reported symptoms 1 year later. For mother report of adolescents' symptoms, the stress generation model fit the data best for both internalizing and externalizing syndromes; that is, higher levels of adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as reported by their mothers, significantly predicted higher levels of hassles 1 year later.     

Relations among peer acceptance,inhibitory control,and math achievement in early adolescence

This study examined relations among peer acceptance, inhibitory control, and math achievement in ninety-nine 4th and 5th grade early adolescents. Teachers rated students on peer acceptance and students completed a computerized executive function task assessing inhibitory control. Math achievement was assessed via end of year math grades. Results indicated that both inhibitory control and peer acceptance were positively and significantly related to math achievement. In addition, peer acceptance significantly mediated the relationship between inhibitory control and math grades when all three variables were entered simultaneously in a linear regression model. These results suggest that peer acceptance is an important indicator of social functioning and plays a significant part in academic success in the classroom. Results also suggest that indicators of social functioning – such as peer acceptance – need to be included in addition to cognitive functioning, when examining academic achievement in early adolescence.     

Peer rejection, negative peer treatment, and school adjustment: Self-concept and classroom engagement as mediating processes

Data gathered from a short term longitudinal study within fifth grade classrooms (n = 378) were used to evaluate two process-oriented models linking peer rejection and negative peer treatment to children's self-concept, school engagement and adjustment. Both structural models linked peer rejection, victimization, and exclusion to children's self-concept, classroom engagement, and change in achievement (fall of fifth grade to the spring). The model evaluations indicated that peer rejection predicted both exclusion and victimization and that these forms of peer treatment, in turn, predicted academic self-competence. Academic self-competence, however, only partially mediated linkages to achievement change. Parallel (i.e. direct) linkages from exclusion and victimization to both academic self-competence and engagement were required for adequate model fit, as were direct links from academic self-concept and engagement to achievement change. An alternative model representing the hypothesis that academic self-concept fully mediated the relationships between the forms of negative peer treatment and children's engagement and achievement did not fit the data well.     

Longitudinal Links Between Childhood Peer Victimization, Internalizing and Externalizing Problems, and Academic Functioning: Developmental Cascades

Developmental cascade models linking childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning were examined in a sample of 695 children assessed in Grade 3 (academic only) and Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Results revealed several complex patterns of associations in which poorer functioning in one domain influenced poorer outcomes in other areas. For example, a symptom driven pathway was consistently found with internalizing problems predicting future peer victimization. Support for an academic incompetence model was also found— lower GPA in Grade 5, 6, and 7 was associated with more externalizing issues in the following year, and poor writing performance in Grade 3 predicted lower grades in Grade 5, which in turn predicted more externalizing problems in Grade 6. Results highlight the need to examine bidirectional influences and multifarious transactions that exist between peer victimization, mental health, and academic functioning over time.     

童年晚期亲社会行为与儿童的心理社会适应

对2097名六年级儿童(平均年龄12.27岁, 男生1093名)的亲社会行为以及多种心理社会适应指标进行测量, 主要运用个体定向的方法考察童年晚期亲社会行为与儿童心理社会适应之间的关系。结果发现:(1)亲社会行为与孤独感、攻击等不良适应呈中等程度负相关, 与同伴接纳、社交自我概念等积极适应呈中等程度正相关;(2)童年晚期儿童的心理社会适应表现为内化问题、外化问题、同伴拒绝与正常发展4种模式;(3)个体亲社会行为水平越高, 越可能属于正常发展组, 越不可能属于不良适应组;在各种不良适应组中, 个体亲社会行为水平越高, 更可能属于内化问题组, 而非外化问题和同伴拒绝组;(4)高亲社会组的儿童有6.8%存在内化问题;低亲社会组的儿童有50.2%适应良好;与普通儿童相比, 低亲社会组的儿童表现出更多的适应不良。     

A longitudinal study of children's depressive symptoms, self-perceptions, and cognitive distortions about the self

This longitudinal study examined how depressive symptoms relate to children's self-perceptions and to estimates of children's cognitive distortions about the self in a nonclinical sample of children who were followed from 4th grade (n = 248) through 6th grade (n = 227). Report card grades measured children's academic competence, and teachers' ratings of children's level of peer acceptance at school indicated social acceptance. Self-reported depressive symptoms predicted a change in children's negative views of the self. Moreover, the self-perceptions of children who exhibited more symptoms of depression appeared to reflect an underestimation of their actual competence. Children's negative self-perceptions and underestimations about the self were not associated with a subsequent change in depressive symptoms. The implications of the findings for cognitive theories of depression and future research with this population are discussed.     

Differential risks of covarying and pure components in mother and teacher reports of externalizing and internalizing behavior across ages 5 to 14

In a sample of 585 children assessed in kindergarten through 8th grade, we fit a confirmatory factor model to both mother- and teacher-reported symptoms on the Achenbach checklists (CBCL, TRF) and determined that a covariation factor of externalizing and internalizing behaviors existed, in addition to the pure-form factors of externalizing and internalizing for each reporter. In 3 structural equation models, between 8 and 67% of the variance in these 6 latent factors was accounted for by a set of antecedent child, sociocultural, parenting, and peer risk variables. Each of the 6 latent factors, taken 2 at a time, was predicted by a unique set of risk variables; however, there were some patterns that held for both mother- and teacher-report symptom factors: Child temperamental unadaptability and female gender were predictors of higher internalizing symptoms; child temperamental resistance to control, parental harsh punishment, male gender, low SES, and peer rejection were related to higher externalizing symptoms whereas child temperamental unadaptability was related to lower externalizing symptoms; and peer rejection and family stress were also related to the covarying, externalizing-plus-internalizing component of both mother and teacher reports.     

Comparative self-concept variances of school children in two English-speaking West African nations

This study examined the self-concepts of elementary school children in Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8, from two West African nations, Ghana and Gambia. Measures of self-concept in the areas of physical maturity, peer relations, academic success, and school adaptiveness were obtained from 195 Ghanaian and 156 Gambian students. The mean scores of the students were subjected to a series of three-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). The independent variables were sex, grade level, and nationality. The overall analyses revealed grade level as the most potent variable in the self-concept development of both groups, whereas the sex variable indicated interaction with grade level only in Gambian children. The self-esteem of the children in both nations in the areas of physical maturity, peer relations, and academic success was relatively high and stable. Self-concept developmental patterns showed differences across grade levels in the four self-concept areas being tested.     

Children with behaviour problems: the influence of social competence and social relations on problem stability,school achievement and peer acceptance across the first six years of school

The aims of the present study were to investigate the role for problematic children of the child's social competence, teacher relations and behaviour with peers for later problem persistence, school performance and peer acceptance, in terms of moderating (protective and exacerbating) and independent effects. Groups of children with externalizing (n=26) and internalizing (n=25) problems and a non‐problematic group (n=44) were followed from grade 1–6. Teachers rated behaviour problems and social competence in the first, third and sixth grades, the teacher–child relationship in third grade, and school achievement in sixth grade. Behaviour with peers was assessed in observations in later elementary school. Peer acceptance was assessed through peer nominations in sixth grade. Both problem groups had lower social competence, school achievement and peer acceptance in sixth grade than the non‐problematic group. There were moderating and independent effects of social competence, teacher and peer relations on outcomes, but these applied mainly to children with internalizing problems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Internalizing symptomatology and academic achievement: Bi-directional prospective relations in adolescence

Prior research has documented negative, concurrent relations between internalizing symptomatology and academic achievement among adolescents. The present study provided the first rigorous, longitudinal examination of the bi-directional, prospective relations between adolescent internalizing symptomatology and academic achievement. One hundred and thirty adolescents reported depression and anxiety annually from 6th through 10th grades, and GPA records were obtained annually from schools. Results showed that (a) high depression and anxiety at the beginning of a school year predicted lower GPA during that school year, and (b) low GPA in any school year predicted higher depression and anxiety at the beginning of the following school year. These findings underscore the tight link between adolescent internalizing symptomatology and academic achievement.     

青少年早期学业成就的同伴团体社会化:感知学校氛围的调节作用

通过对1275名初一青少年开展为期半年的追踪调查,考察了同伴团体对青少年早期个体学业成就的影响,及感知学校氛围对这种影响的调节作用。结果表明:(1)在控制学校虚拟变量、年龄、性别、同伴团体规模及个体前期学业成就之后,所在班级前期的平均学业成就能显著预测个体后期学业成就;(2)同伴团体的学业成就能正向预测个体后期的学业成就变化,但班级相对于同伴团体的情境效应不显著。(3)在个体和同伴团体水平,感知学校氛围各维度不能显著预测个体后期学业成就,但同伴团体平均学业成就与该团体整体感知到的教师支持的交互项可以正向预测个体学业成就间隔半年后的变化。     

Prospective Relations Between Organized Activity Participation and Psychopathology During Adolescence

This longitudinal study examined psychopathology as a predictor and outcome of organized activity involvement during high school among 198 adolescents who varied in risk for psychopathology as a function of their mother's depression history. Higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in eighth grade significantly predicted lower levels of involvement in academic clubs during high school, over and above risk and SES. Tobacco use prior to high school predicted lower levels of involvement overall and in academic clubs and performance arts. Controlling for psychopathology prior to high school, higher levels of activity involvement were associated with lower levels of externalizing symptoms, less tobacco use, and fewer diagnoses of behavior disorders and substance abuse in 12th grade. The positive association between risk and adolescent psychopathology was not buffered by adolescent activity involvement. Overall, these findings suggest that involvement in organized activities may contribute to lower levels of externalizing psychopathology during high school even when controlling for prior psychopathology.     

Classroom engagement mediates the effect of teacher–student support on elementary students' peer acceptance: A prospective analysis

Participants were 360 (52.2% male) ethnically diverse and academically at-risk first-grade children attending one of three school districts in southeast and central Texas. Using latent variable structural equation modeling, we tested a theoretical model positing that the quality of the teacher–student relationship in first grade predicts children's peer acceptance the following year, controlling for children's previous externalizing problems and peer acceptance. We also expected that children's classroom engagement would mediate the effect of teacher–student relationship quality on peer acceptance. The hypothesized model provided a good fit to the data. Engagement fully mediated the effect of teacher support on subsequent peer acceptance. Neither ethnicity nor gender moderated the mediation findings.     

班级环境变量对儿童社会行为与学校适应间关系的影响

运用同伴提名和问卷法,对82个城市初中班级的4650名学生进行了测试,并使用多水平分析技术探讨了班级环境变量对儿童社会行为和学校适应间关系的影响。结果显示：儿童的亲社会行为可以显著地正向预测其同伴接受和学业成就,儿童的攻击、退缩行为对学业成就和同伴接受有明显的负向预测效果;在班级环境变量方面,老师支持可以减弱退缩行为和学校适应间的负向联系;老师训诫不仅可以减弱攻击行为与同伴接受间的负向关联,并且对退缩行为与学业成就之间的负向联系也具有削弱效果;同学关系这一变量的班级效果最为明显,可以明显地增强儿童问题行为与学校适应间的负向联系;而班级秩序纪律对攻击行为和学校适应间的负向关联有明显的强化效果。     

The impact of peer relations on academic progress in junior high

The purpose of this study is to examine whether peer relations within classrooms were related to students' academic progress, and if so, whether this can be explained by students' relatedness and engagement, in line with Connell and Wellborn's self-system model. We analyzed data of 18,735 students in 796 school classes in Dutch junior high schools, using multilevel analysis. Academic progress, conceptualized as regular promotion to the next year versus grade retention, moving upward, and moving downward in the track system, was measured at the time of transition between Grades 1 and 2 (equivalent to US Grades 7 and 8). The results indicated that students who were accepted by their peers had lower probabilities to retain a grade or to move downward in the track system. Although peer acceptance was associated with relatedness and engagement, these variables did not explain why peer acceptance was associated to academic progress. Furthermore, peer acceptance and relatedness were more strongly related in classes with more negative class climates.     

Low social inclusion in childhood: adjustment and early predictors

The principal aim of the present study was to obtain a deeper understanding than hitherto of the concurrent correlates and prospective predictors of loneliness and poor peer acceptance, both falling under the umbrella term low social inclusion. Problematic and socially competent behaviours were investigated as possible predictors of low social inclusion in grade 6, as defined by self‐rated loneliness and degree of peer non‐acceptance, respectively. In grade 6 808 children participated whereof 323 were followed longitudinally from first grade. Loneliness in grade 6 was distinctively associated with high levels of internalizing problems, concurrently as well as prospectively. Peer acceptance, on the other hand, emerged as a complex, multifaceted aspect, with concurrent, independent predictions from both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours as well as social competence, although prospective analyses found early externalizing problems to be the strongest predictor of peer acceptance. Moderating effects of social competence were sparse, although peer nominated social competence buffered peer acceptance for children with high levels of aggression in the concurrent analyses and social competence boosted peer acceptance for children with low problem levels in the predictive analyses. Social competence did not appear to buffer the negative impact of early problem behaviours on peer relations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender matters, too: the influences of school racial discrimination and racial identity on academic engagement outcomes among African American adolescents

The authors examined relationships among racial identity, school-based racial discrimination experiences, and academic engagement outcomes for adolescent boys and girls in Grades 8 and 11 (n = 204 boys and n = 206 girls). The authors found gender differences in peer and classroom discrimination and in the impact of earlier and later discrimination experiences on academic outcomes. Racial centrality related positively to school performance and school importance attitudes for boys. Also, centrality moderated the relationship between discrimination and academic outcomes in ways that differed across gender. For boys, higher racial centrality related to diminished risk for lower school importance attitudes and grades from experiencing classroom discrimination relative to boys lower in centrality, and girls with higher centrality were protected against the negative impact of peer discrimination on school importance and academic self-concept. However, among lower race-central girls, peer discrimination related positively to academic self-concept. Finally, socioeconomic background moderated the relationship of discrimination with academic outcomes differently for girls and boys. The authors discuss the need to consider interactions of individual- and contextual-level factors in better understanding African American youths' academic and social development.     

The storm and stress (or calm) of early adolescent self-concepts: within- and between-subjects variability

This study uses intraindividual variability and change methods to test theoretical accounts of self-concept and its change across time and context and to test the developmental implications of this variability. The 5-year longitudinal study of 541 youths in a rural Pennsylvania community from 3rd through 7th grade included twice-yearly assessments of self-concept (academic and social), corresponding external evaluations of competence (e.g., teacher-rated academic skills, peer-nominated "likeability"), and multiple measures of youths' overall adjustment. Multiphase growth models replicate previous research, suggesting significant decline in academic self-concept during middle school but modest growth in social self-concept from 3rd through 7th grade. Next, a new contribution is made to the literature by quantifying the amount of within-subject variability (i.e., "lability") around these linear self-concept trajectories as a between-subjects characteristic. Self-concept lability was found to associate with a general profile of poorer competence and adjustment and to predict poorer academic and social competence at the end of 7th grade above and beyond level of self-concept. Finally, there was substantial evidence that wave-to-wave changes in youths' self-concepts correspond to teacher and peer evaluations of youths' competence, that attention to peer feedback may be particularly strong during middle school, and that these relations may be moderated by between-subjects indicators of youths' general adjustment. Overall, findings highlight the utility of methods sensitive to within-subject variation for clarifying the dynamics of youths' self-system development.     

Resilient Adolescent Adjustment Among Girls: Buffers of Childhood Peer Rejection and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Examined a risk-resilience model of peer rejection and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a 5-year longitudinal study of 209 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse girls aged 6-13 at baseline and 11-18 at follow-up. Risk factors were childhood ADHD diagnosis and peer rejection; hypothesized protective factors were childhood measures of self-perceived scholastic competence, engagement in goal-directed play when alone, and popularity with adults. Adolescent criterion measures were multi-informant composites of externalizing and internalizing behavior plus indicators of academic achievement, eating pathology, and substance use. ADHD and peer rejection predicted risk for all criterion measures except for substance use, which was predicted by ADHD only. ADHD and peer rejection predicted lower adolescent academic achievement controlling for childhood achievement, but they did not predict adolescent externalizing and internalizing behavior after controlling for baseline levels of these constructs. Regarding buffers, self-perceived scholastic competence in childhood (with control of academic achievement) predicted resilient adolescent functioning. Contrary to hypothesis, goal-directed play in childhood was associated with poor adolescent outcomes. Buffers were not found to have differential effectiveness among girls with ADHD relative to comparison girls.     

Prospective Associations Between Peer Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescence: The Protective Role of Hope

Youth who experience aggression at the hands of peers are at an increased risk for a variety of adjustment difficulties, including depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower self-esteem. The links between peer victimization and internalizing problems are robust, but less work has been done to identify individual-level protective factors that might mitigate these outcomes. The current study investigated whether hope served as a moderator of the prospective links from peer victimization to depressive and anxiety symptoms and self-esteem during adolescence. Participants included 166 high school students (64% female; 88% Black/African American). Youth completed self-report measures at three different time points across the Spring semester of an academic year. As predicted, hope interacted with peer victimization to predict changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms over the course of the semester. That is, for youth with low levels of hope, peer victimization predicted more stable patterns of depressive and anxiety symptoms. For adolescents with average levels of hope, however, peer victimization did not influence anxiety and depressive symptoms over time. Finally, for adolescents with high levels of hope, peer victimization predicted greater decreases in anxiety symptoms over time. Hope did not interact with peer victimization to predict self-esteem. Rather, hope uniquely predicted higher levels of self-esteem, whereas peer victimization uniquely predicted lower levels of self-esteem. The current study provides initial support for the notion that hope can serve as a protective factor among youth who are victims of peer aggression.