ADOLESCENT PEER RELATIONS: NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS FOR CONTEMPORARY YOUTH

For many decades, researchers have emphasized the importance of peer relationships for adolescents’ development and well-being. However, sociocultural changes over the last several decades have reshaped the landscape of modern teens’ experiences, including their interactions with peers. In particular, advancements in technology and the rise of social media use have led to an increased emphasis on appearances and peer status, the emergence of new settings for peer interactions, and more rapid shifts in adolescents’ friendship statuses. In light of these changes, the current studies offer three crucially important new directions for research on contemporary adolescents’ peer relationships. Study 1 examines the potential pitfalls of adolescent peer likeability, focusing on hyperconcern about peer approval as an important, yet understudied risk factor. Findings suggest that both high and low likeability are related to increased risk for a set of on and offline factors that reflect hyperawareness of and concern about one’s social standing. Study 2 demonstrates the protective effects of adolescents’ online-only friendships, an important addition to prior studies focusing on risk related to peer relationships and social media. Results reveal that online-only friendships serve to buffer the association between relational victimization and a significant mental health concern, suicidal ideation. Finally, Study 3 critically evaluates what causes adolescents’ friendships to end or change in closeness. Findings support the relevance of relational (e.g., reciprocity, friendship quality) and individual factors (e.g., depressive symptoms, peer status, gender) to changes in friendship status over time. Each of these studies offers a rare opportunity to examine longitudinal processes in multiple large, diverse adolescent samples, using a rigorous, multi-method approach. Collectively, findings offer novel insights into the role of contemporary contexts in both dyadic peer processes, such as friendships, and group-level peer processes, such as peer status. Results highlight the critical importance of examining both risks and benefits of modern-day changes for peer relations, as well as individual differences across adolescents. Future research in these areas will be essential to improve our understanding of adolescents’ peer experiences, particularly in today’s unique sociocultural climate.Doctor of Philosoph

Discrete Interpersonal Stress Experiences and Prospective Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Across the Pubertal Transition

Suicide risk dramatically increases across the pubertal transition. This study examined the relationship between two discrete interpersonal stressors, relational victimization and targeted rejection, and prospective suicide ideation and attempts. The potential moderating effects of pubertal development were also observed. 160 adolescents (ages 12 to 18) at heightened risk for self-injurious behaviors were followed over an eighteen-month interval. Participants completed phone-based assessments of suicidal thoughts and behaviors over the first nine months (Time 1) and the second nine months (Time 2). Independently coded measures of relational victimization and targeted rejection were derived from interviews of life stress at Time 1. Assessments of puberty and demographic information were collected at the beginning of Time 1. Findings from logistic regression analyses indicated that relational victimization at Time 1 was associated with increased odds of suicide attempt but not ideation at Time 2, after accounting for prior suicidality and depressive symptoms. Main and moderating effects of pubertal development were not significant. The current study sheds light on potential discrete interpersonal stress experiences associated with heightened risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescent females. Evidence-based intervention programs and screening tools that directly target relational victimization are urgently needed.Master of Art

Emotional responses to social media experiences among adolescents: Longitudinal associations with depressive symptoms

Objective: The degree to which adolescent social media use is associated with depressive symptoms has been the source of considerable debate. Prior studies have been limited by a reliance on cross-sectional data and measures of overall “screen time.” This study examines prospective associations between adolescents’ emotional responses to social media experiences and depressive symptoms, and examines gender differences in these processes. Method: A school-based sample of 687 adolescents (48.6% girls; Mage = 14.3; 38.1% White, 29.4% Hispanic, 23.0% Black) completed measures of positive and negative emotional responses to social media experiences and depressive symptoms at two time points, one year apart. Results: Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with more frequent negative emotional responses to social media experiences one year later, whereas greater positive emotional responses to social media were associated with later depressive symptoms. Girls reported overall greater emotional responses to social media experiences, but gender did not moderate associations between these emotional responses and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of examining adolescents’ positive and negative emotional experiences in the context of social media use, and the ways in which these experiences intersect with depressive symptoms, so as to identify youth who may be most vulnerable to negative effects of social media use

Preliminary associations among relational victimization, targeted rejection, and suicidality in adolescents : a prospective study

This study examined associations between multiple types of interpersonal and noninterpersonal stressors and the subsequent occurrence of suicide ideation and attempts among female adolescents. Adolescents ages 12 to 18 years old (n=160) at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors were followed for 18 months, divided into two 9-month epochs for data analysis (Periods 1 and 2). Exposure to acute relational victimization, targeted rejection, nonspecified interpersonal, and noninterpersonal life stressors over the first 9-month epoch (Period 1) was assessed using semistructured interviews and an independent life stress rating team. Participants also completed phone-based semistructured interviews of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Preliminary analyses showed significant prospective associations between acute targeted rejection and nonspecified interpersonal stress during Period 1 and suicide ideation during Period 2, as well as relational victimization and noninterpersonal stress during Period 1 and suicide attempts during Period 2. However, in logistic regression analyses that adjusted for prior suicidality and depressive symptoms, relational victimization during Period 1 (but not targeted rejection, nonspecified interpersonal or noninterpersonal events) was associated with increased odds of suicide attempt during Period 2. Therefore, acute relational victimization exposure is associated with heightened risk for suicidal behaviors in female adolescents. Future studies should examine potential mediators and moderators of this association, and these stressors should be considered for inclusion in clinical screening tools

Preliminary Associations among Relational Victimization, Targeted Rejection, and Suicidality in Adolescents: A Prospective Study

This study examined associations between multiple types of interpersonal and noninterpersonal stressors and the subsequent occurrence of suicide ideation and attempts among female adolescents. Adolescents ages 12 to 18 years old (n = 160) at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors were followed for 18 months, divided into two 9-month epochs for data analysis (Periods 1 and 2). Exposure to acute relational victimization, targeted rejection, nonspecified interpersonal, and noninterpersonal life stressors over the first 9-month epoch (Period 1) was assessed using semistructured interviews and an independent life stress rating team. Participants also completed phone-based semistructured interviews of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Preliminary analyses showed significant prospective associations between acute targeted rejection and nonspecified interpersonal stress during Period 1 and suicide ideation during Period 2, as well as relational victimization and noninterpersonal stress during Period 1 and suicide attempts during Period 2. However, in logistic regression analyses that adjusted for prior suicidality and depressive symptoms, relational victimization during Period 1 (but not targeted rejection, nonspecified interpersonal or noninterpersonal events) was associated with increased odds of suicide attempt during Period 2. Therefore, acute relational victimization exposure is associated with heightened risk for suicidal behaviors in female adolescents. Future studies should examine potential mediators and moderators of this association, and these stressors should be considered for inclusion in clinical screening tools