Forms and Functions of Adolescent Peer Aggression Associated With High Levels of Peer Status

Concurrent (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) associations between adolescents’ aggression, victimization, and high status were examined to test the hypothesis that forms and functions of aggression most likely to affect the status hierarchy will be associated with reputation-based measures of popularity. In Study 1, 235 10th-grade adolescents’ overt, relational, and reputational forms of aggression and victimization were assessed. Functions of aggression (instrumental, reactive, bullying) within each form were also examined. Results supported the general prediction that aggression is associated with high peer-perceived popularity, but low likability (i.e., social preference) among peers. Significant curvilinear trends revealed a subtle association between aggression and low levels of popularity as well. Regarding forms and functions, results indicated that both the provocateurs and targets of reputational aggression had high levels of peer-perceived popularity; proactive uses of aggression were also associated with high popularity among adolescents, while reactive aggression was associated with low social preference. Longitudinal analyses of the same participants in Study 2 indicated that high peer-perceived popularity and low social preference predicted all forms of aggressive behavior over a 17-month interval. Overall, the results reveal complex associations between aggression and status that help to explain possible social reinforcement associated with aggression and clarify the pattern of heterogeneous aggressive behaviors exhibited by adolescents at various points along the status continuum

Revealing the Form and Function of Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: A Real-Time Ecological Assessment Study among Adolescents and Young Adults

Self-injurious behaviors are among the leading causes of death worldwide. However, the basic nature of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is not well understood because prior studies have relied on long-term, retrospective, aggregate, self-report assessment methods. The authors used ecological momentary assessment methods to measure suicidal and nonsuicidal SITBs as they naturally occur in real time. Participants were 30 adolescents and young adults with a recent history of self-injury who completed signal- and event-contingent assessments on handheld computers over a 14-day period, resulting in the collection of data on 1,262 thought and behavior episodes. Participants reported an average of 5.0 thoughts of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) per week, most often of moderate intensity and short duration (1–30 min), and 1.6 episodes of NSSI per week. Suicidal thoughts occurred less frequently (1.1 per week), were of longer duration, and led to self-injurious behavior (i.e., suicide attempts) less often. Details are reported about the contexts in which SITBs most often occur (e.g., what participants were doing, who they were with, and what they were feeling before and after each episode). This study provides a first glimpse of how SITBs are experienced in everyday life and has significant implications for scientific and clinical work on self-injurious behaviors.Psycholog

Forms and Functions of Adolescent Peer Aggression Associated with High Levels of Peer Status.

Concurrent (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) associations between adolescents' aggression, victimization, and high status were examined to test the hypothesis that forms and functions of aggression most likely to affect the status hierarchy will be associated with reputation-based measures of popularity. In Study 1, 235 10 th -grade adolescents' overt, relational, and reputational forms of aggression and victimization were assessed. Functions of aggression (instrumental, reactive, bullying) within each form were also examined. Results supported the general prediction that aggression is associated with high peer-perceived popularity, but low likability (i.e., social preference) among peers. Significant curvilinear trends revealed a subtle association between aggression and low levels of popularity as well. Regarding forms and functions, results indicated that both the provocateurs and targets of reputational aggression had high levels of peer-perceived popularity; proactive uses of aggression were also associated with high popularity among adolescents, while reactive aggression was associated with low social preference. Longitudinal analyses of the same participants in Study 2 indicated that high peer-perceived popularity and low social preference predicted all forms of aggressive behavior over a 17-month interval. Overall, the results reveal complex associations between aggression and status that help to explain possible social reinforcement associated with aggression and clarify the pattern of heterogeneous aggressive behaviors exhibited by adolescents at various points along the status continuum

Damaged self-esteem is associated with internalizing problems

Implicit and explicit self-esteem are assumed to be important factors in understanding the onset and maintenance of psychological problems. The current study aims to examine the association between implicit and explicit self-esteem and their interaction with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. Specifically, the relationship between the size and the direction of the discrepancy between implicit and explicit self-esteem with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness were examined. Participants were 95 young female adults (M = 21.2 years, SD = 1.88) enrolled in higher education. We administered the IAT to assess implicit self-esteem, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale to measure explicit self-esteem while psychological problems were assessed through self-reports. Results showed that discrepancies between implicit and explicit self-esteem were positively associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. In addition, the direction of the discrepancy was specifically relevant: damaged self-esteem (i.e., high implicit self-esteem and low explicit self-esteem) was consistently associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. In contrast, defensive or fragile self-esteem (i.e., low implicit and high explicit self-esteem) was solely associated with loneliness. These findings provide further support that specifically damaged self-esteem is an important vulnerability marker for depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness

Beyond Age at First Sex: Patterns of Emerging Sexual Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Purpose—Although the emergence of sexual expression during adolescence and early adulthood is nearly universal, little is known about patterns of initiation. Methods—We used latent class analysis to group 12,194 respondents from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) into one of five classes based on variety, timing, spacing, and sequencing of oral-genital, anal, and vaginal sex. Multinomial logistic regression models, stratified by biological sex, examined associations between sociodemographic characteristics and class membership. Results—Approximately half of respondents followed a pattern characterized predominately by initiation of vaginal sex first, average age of initiation of approximately 16 years, and spacing of one year or more between initiation of the first and second behaviors; almost one third initiated sexual activity slightly later but reported first experiences of oral-genital and vaginal sex within the same year. Classes characterized by postponement of sexual activity, initiation of only one type of behavior, or adolescent initiation of anal sex were substantially less common. Compared to White respondents, Black respondents were more likely to appear in classes characterized by initiation of vaginal sex first. Respondents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be in classes distinguished by early/atypical patterns of initiation. Conclusions—A small number of typical and atypical patterns capture the emergence of sexual behavior during adolescence, but these patterns reveal complex associations among different elements of emerging sexuality that should be considered in future research

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation

This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents’ technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; Mage = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technological modes (text messaging, social networking sites) and (2) competence in the romantic relationship skill domains of negative assertion and conflict management. Results of cross-lagged panel models indicated that adolescents who engaged in greater proportions of technology-based communication with romantic partners reported lower levels of interpersonal competencies one year later, but not vice versa; associations were particularly strong for boys

Adolescent Susceptibility to Peer Influence in Sexual Situations

One consistent predictor of adolescents’ engagement in sexual risk behavior is their belief that peers are engaging in similar behavior; however, not all youth are equally susceptible to these peer influence effects. Understanding individual differences in susceptibility to peer influence is critical to identifying adolescents at risk for negative health outcomes. The purpose of this project was to identify predictors of susceptibility to peer influence using a novel performance-based measure of sexual risk-taking

Randomized Trial of a Single-Session Growth Mind-Set Intervention for Rural Adolescents’ Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Objective. Adolescents living in rural regions of the United States face substantial barriers to accessing mental health services, creating needs for more accessible, non-stigmatizing, briefer interventions. Research suggests that single-session “growth mindset” interventions (GM-SSIs)—which teach the belief that personal traits are malleable through effort—may reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents. However, GM-SSIs have not been evaluated among rural youth, and their effects on internalizing and externalizing problems have not been assessed within a single trial, rendering their relative benefits for different problem types unclear. We examined whether a computerized GM-SSI could reduce depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and conduct problems in adolescent girls from rural areas of the U.S. Method. Tenth-grade girls (N=222, M age=15.2, 38% white, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States were randomized to receive a 45-minute GM-SSI or a computer-based, active control program, teaching healthy sexual behaviors. Girls self-reported depression symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and conduct problem behaviors at baseline and four-month follow-up. Results. Relative to girls in the control group, girls receiving the GM-SSI reported modest but significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms (d=.23) and likelihood of reporting elevated depressive symptoms (d=.29) from baseline to follow-up. GM-SSI effects were nonsignificant for social anxiety symptoms, although a small effect size emerged in the hypothesized direction (d=.21), and nonsignificant for change in conduct problems (d=.01). Conclusions. A free-of-charge, 45-minute GM-SSI may help reduce internalizing distress, especially depression—but not conduct problems—in rural adolescent girls

Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes

This article reviews empirical and theoretical contributions to a multidisciplinary understanding of peer influence processes in adolescence over the past decade. Five themes of peer influence research from this decade were identified, including a broadening of the range of behaviors for which peer influence occurs, distinguishing the sources of influence, probing the conditions under which influence is amplified/attenuated (moderators), testing theoretically based models of peer influence processes (mechanisms), and preliminary exploration of behavioral neuroscience perspectives on peer influence. This review highlights advances in each of these areas, underscores gaps in current knowledge of peer influence processes, and outlines important challenges for future research

Applying Depression-Distortion Hypotheses to the Assessment of Peer Victimization in Adolescents.

This study examined whether adolescents' depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior were associated with discrepancies between self- and peer-reports of peer victimization experiences. A sample of 203 10th-grade adolescents completed self-report measures of victimization and depressive symptoms as well as peer nominations of victimization and aggression. Residual scores were computed as a measure of discordance between peer- and self-reported peer victimization. Adolescents' aggressive behavior was associated with underestimations of peer victimization on self-reported measures, as compared to peer-reports, whereas depressive symptoms were associated with overestimations of peer victimization on self-report, as compared to peer-reports. Different patterns of findings were revealed for different forms of victimization (overt, relational, reputational) and by gender. Findings have implications for studies of adolescent peer victimization using multiple reporters and suggest that adolescents with high levels of depressive symptoms may be vulnerable to misperceptions of their social experiences among peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)(from the journal abstract)This work was supported, in part, by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to Andres De Los Reyes (F31–MH67540) and Mitchell J. Prinstein (R01–MH59766)