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Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the extent to which initial levels and changes in ninth-grade adolescents' (n = 243) psychological well-being were associated with their school engagement after the transition to upper secondary education. In addition, we investigated whether a brief guided online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention program delivered during ninth grade was associated with adolescents’ subsequent school engagement through changes in their psychological well-being. Method Latent growth modeling (LGM) was used to examine the levels of and changes in well-being during ninth grade. Next, school engagement (measured by school satisfaction and dropout intentions) at the first year of upper secondary education was added to the model as a distal outcome variable. Finally, we examined the indirect effects of an online ACT intervention on subsequent school engagement through changes in psychological well-being. Effects of gender and academic achievement were controlled for in all analyses. Results A higher level of life satisfaction at the beginning of ninth grade predicted higher engagement in upper secondary education, whereas increased depressive symptoms during ninth grade predicted lower engagement in upper secondary education. Also, participation in the brief guided online ACT intervention during ninth grade promoted school satisfaction through decreased depressive symptoms. Conclusions The results suggested that psychological well-being and changes in psychological well-being during the final year of basic education are associated with school engagement after the transition to upper secondary education. The results also suggested that a brief guided online ACT intervention may increase psychological well-being, which can, in turn, support later school engagement. peerReviewed

This study aimed at investigating the reciprocal longitudinal associations between teacher- and parent-child relationships and children's adjustment behaviors during Grade 1, and the role of the child's temperament in this interplay. The longitudinal study followed Lithuanian children (229 in kindergarten [T0], 337 at the beginning of Grade 1 [T1], 341 at the end of Grade 1 [T2]), their parents, and their Grade 1 teachers (

Effective interventions applicable for young preschool-age children are needed to reduce the risk of widespread and sustained adversities that are linked to early executive function (EF) difficulties. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the effectiveness of the play-based ENGAGE intervention in improving behavioral outcomes related to EFs among Finnish preschool-age children with hyperactivity and/or inattention problems. 95 children between 4 and 5 years of age and their parents were randomly assigned to the ENGAGE intervention or a waitlist control group. Parents and early childhood education (ECE) teachers rated the children's EF difficulties and problem behaviors at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 5-month follow-up. Repeated measures linear mixed modeling was used to examine the effect of ENGAGE on child outcomes. Those receiving ENGAGE exhibited significantly greater decreases in parent-rated attentional problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and acting out behaviors than the control group did, with mostly moderate effect sizes. No consistent improvements in the teacher ratings of children's EF related difficulties were found in either group. Low dropout (8%) from the intervention and high acceptability ratings indicated that ENGAGE is a palatable intervention for parents. The present study showed that findings from an earlier RCT on ENGAGE conducted in New Zealand could be generalized to a different cultural setting, as the intervention effectively reduced young Finnish children's EF difficulties in the home context. Extending ENGAGE and other play-based interventions into different everyday contexts of children, such as ECE, could further enhance the beneficial effects on children's EFs and behavior.

Theories on social-emotional information processing suggest that facial expression recognition (FER) is an important early step in understanding other people's feelings and intentions, enabling children to appropriately navigate social situations (Camras & Halberstadt, 2017; Crick & Dodge, 1994; Lemerise & Arsenio, 2000). Empirical studies on children’s FER indicate that by middle childhood, children typically demonstrate high accuracy in recognizing happiness while anger and sadness are more challenging, and fear is the most difficult to identify, although the order of difficulty for negative emotions may vary slightly across studies (Garcia & Tully, 2020; Lawrence et al., 2015; Staff et al., 2021). There is limited research on the development of recognition biases, which refer to the tendency to misinterpret facial expressions as certain emotions when a different emotion is actually being expressed. However, preliminary evidence suggests that in middle childhood, children often show a bias towards happiness (Garcia & Tully, 2020). To date, FER research has primarily employed a variable-oriented approach, which concentrates on changes in individual variables during development while assuming homogeneity within the population. However, studies on other aspects of emotional development and social cognition indicate, that implementing person-oriented approach might provide a more nuanced understanding of individual differences (Denham et al., 2013; e.g., Dixon-Gordon et al., 2015). Adopting a person-oriented approach in FER research would enable the identification of distinct FER profiles characterized by differences in accuracy and biases during middle childhood, as well as the investigation of stability or changes in these profiles over time. Considering the broader context of social-emotional development is essential when examining FER development. For instance, difficulties in accurately recognizing other’s emotions and biases towards specific emotions, such as anger or sadness, have shown to associate with children's social-emotional functioning, such as peer relationship problems, emotional problems, and behavioral problems (Ciucci et al., 2014; Goodfellow & Nowicki, 2009; Schepman et al., 2011; Wells et al., 2020). Furthermore, the family environment is likely to play a crucial role in FER development. For example, negative parental comments and hostile attitudes have been linked to lower accuracy in recognizing anger and sadness, while greater parental warmth is associated with higher accuracy in recognizing sadness and a reduced bias towards anger (Burley et al., 2022; Paine et al., 2021). These findings highlight the need to consider both individual and environmental factors in understanding children's FER development. While several studies have found significant relationships between children’s FER, social-emotional functioning, and family environment, these findings are not consistently observed across the literature (e.g., Dunn et al., 2018). Also, the effect sizes observed in previous research have been relatively modest (Cooper et al., 2020; Nowicki et al., 2019). One possible reason for these ambiguous findings is the predominant use of a variable-oriented approach, which assumes population homogeneity regarding these associations and may underestimate their effects (Magnusson, 2003). Therefore, in addition to the FER profiles, person-oriented approach might also provide further insight into the associations between FER development and individual and environmental factors. Taken together, the aim of the present study is to address the following research questions: (1) What are the different FER profiles in middle childhood, and how do they differ in terms of accuracy and biases? (2) How stable these FER profiles are across early school years? (3) Are these FER profiles (and potential changes in them) associated with children’s social-emotional functioning and family environment? Answering these questions would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of children's social-emotional development.

Using data from adolescents in Helsinki, we investigate loneliness trajectories and their predictors, i.e., belonging to different groups, and outcomes, i.e., life satisfaction, depression, grades, school burnout and engagement, and drug use.

While many children and adolescents experience psychological problems with up to 20 percent estimated to develop a mental health problem, only few receive treatment. Online interventions can help respond to the need of support among young people without requiring considerable resources. However, relatively few studies have examined the efficacy of online interventions for youth and more research is needed to understand individual differences in benefiting from these interventions. The current study sought to examine different developmental trajectories of experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms and their association to health behaviors measured at baseline during a brief guided online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention implemented in the school context. A total of 123 ninth grade adolescents aged 14–16 years completed the five-week intervention including online support. The mixture modeling identified three separate sub-groups based on baseline and changes during the intervention: 1) high and decreasing experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms (16%), 2) average and stable experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms (36%) and 3) low experiential avoidance and mildly decreasing depressive symptoms (46%). The results show that two thirds of adolescents benefited during online ACT, with the adolescents with high initial symptoms benefiting more than adolescents with low initial symptoms. Finally, adolescents following the trajectory of high and decreasing experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms during the intervention reported poorer health and sleep, higher substance abuse and less physical activity before the intervention than adolescents from other trajectories. The results suggest that guided online ACT may significantly reduce experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms among those adolescents reporting high-risk health behaviors, high depressive symptoms and experiential avoidance at baseline.

As early school leaving and dropping out from education pose a challenge for later life adjustment, it is important to identify antecedent factors for the risk of school dropout to tailor individual support for adolescents. Consequently, this study examines the role of adolescents' motivational beliefs and behaviors (i.e., success expectations, planning, and task-avoidance) as well as their temperament (i.e., extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity, effortful control, and affiliativeness) in their dropout intentions in the first year of upper secondary education.Participants were Finnish adolescents' (n = 536; 57% girls, mean age 12.39 at outset, standard deviation = 0.35) and their motivational beliefs and behaviors were measured in Grades 6 and 9. Their temperament was also measured in Grade 9. As for dropout intentions, they were measured in upper secondary education. The effects of gender, academic achievement, task value, and educational track were controlled for in the analyses.The results of latent growth modeling showed that, of motivational beliefs and behaviors, high success expectations and low task avoidance independently predicted lower dropout intentions. Success expectations in Grade 6 also mediated the effects of extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity and effortful control on subsequent school dropout intentions, whereas an increase in task avoidance in lower secondary school was a mediator between extraversion/surgency and dropout intentions.Our study provides novel understanding about how temperament is linked with motivational beliefs and behaviors and what roles they together play in subsequent school dropout intentions. Supporting students with different temperaments and achievement motivations would be important to prevent adverse consequences for both the individual and society.

In this study, we examined whether maternal perceived job insecurity (JI) affected depressive symptoms in their adolescent children. Specifically, we tested a mediator-moderator model in which we hypothesized that maternal JI was related to adolescent depressive symptoms indirectly via maternal depressive symptoms. Most importantly, we also explored whether this indirect path was moderated by two buffering resources, i.e., maternal off-job recovery and adolescent self-esteem. There is little research on the effects of parental JI on adolescent children from the viewpoint of buffering moderators. Due to growing insecurity in the labor markets we need more information about resources that mitigate the harmful effects of JI within families. We tested the model via structural equation modeling among Finnish mother-adolescent dyads (N = 601, mothers aged 32–60 years; adolescents aged 14–18 years). Our results showed that mothers’ depressive symptoms did not mediate the relationship between mothers’ JI and adolescents’ depressive symptoms, but mothers’ JI was directly related to increased depressive symptoms among both adolescents and their mothers. Mothers’ off-job recovery and adolescents’ self-esteem buffered against mothers’ JI in relation to depressive symptoms. When off-job recovery (in mothers) and self-esteem (in adolescents) were high, the higher level of JI was not associated with increased depressive symptoms. Off-job recovery among working mothers should be improved as it has potential to protect against JI. Moreover, adolescents’ self-esteem should be boosted as it mitigates the effects of mothers’ job stress (e.g., JI) on adolescents’ well-being.

This study examined the role of temperament type and gender of adolescents and teachers in adolescents’ well‐being in school. The sample consisted of 677 Finnish students and 56 classroom teachers. Parents rated adolescent temperament and teachers rated their own temperament in autumn of Grade 6. Self‐reports of school well‐being among adolescents were obtained in autumn and the fall of Grade 6. The results showed that being a girl and having resilient temperament type predicted higher school well‐being. In turn, boys with undercontrolled temperament, who were otherwise at risk for decreased school well‐being, particularly benefited from having a female teacher with resilient temperament. Overall, the results suggest that both adolescent temperament type and gender play important roles in adolescents’ well‐being in school. peerReviewed

Purpose Mental health problems affect 10-20% of adolescents worldwide. Prevention and early interventions for promoting adolescent mental health are therefore warranted. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of a 5-week web-intervention (Youth COMPASS) based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on adolescents’ depressive symptoms, life satisfaction and psychological flexibility. Methods The sample comprised 243 adolescents at the age of 15-16 years (51%females) from 15 lower secondary schools. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups of which two groups received an ACT-based online-intervention including support via WhatsApp. The two ACT interventions + WhatsApp contact differed from each other regarding the amount of personal support (iACT + two face-to-face sessions vs iACT with no face-to-face sessions). These two iACT interventions were compared to no intervention (control). Adolescents’ psychological wellbeing was measured pre and post intervention using the Depression Scale (DEPS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (ATQ-Y). Results Adolescents showing more avoidance of unpleasant thoughts and feelings, and cognitive fusion reported more depressive symptoms and a lower level of satisfaction with life. This association was stronger among girls than boys. The iACT online-intervention + WhapApp contact with two face-to-face meeting or without them decreased adolescents’ depressive symptoms and increased life satisfaction among those who had completed more than half of the program (d = 0.20). No significant effect was obtained for avoidance (psychological flexibility). The iACT intervention including face-to-face contact showed different effects on girls and boys in regards to depression symptoms and psychological flexibility skills. Conclusions Findings showed that the ACT-based web-intervention for adolescents could be a viable early intervention for preventing mental health problems in adolescents and for promoting adolescent wellbeing. Our findings call for further studies investigation whether girls and boys benefit of different type online interventions.

Background Early appearing temperamental differences and the psychological flexibility skills of individuals are proposed factors influencing stress and depression among adolescents. We test the theoretical assumption that temperament may form a basis for facing the outer world, while the development of psychological flexibility being another such basis and a mediator in well-being outcomes. Methods Using data on 740 adolescents (Mage = 15.7 years, 57% female) assessed at the beginning and end of the final grade of basic education, structural equation modeling (SEM) with mediation analysis was conducted to examine the associations between the key temperament dimensions, changes in psychological flexibility, and changes in symptoms of stress and depression. Results The results indicate that both temperament and psychological flexibility had unique, direct associations with changes in symptoms of stress and depression. There were also indirect links between temperament and changes in symptoms achieved via psychological flexibility: adolescents with negative affectivity (NA) showed an increase in symptoms of stress and depression mediated by lower psychological flexibility, while adolescents with effortful control (EC) and extraversion (EX) showed a decrease in symptoms, mediated by higher psychological flexibility. Limitations More research with longer-term follow-up study designs is needed to explore these associations thoroughly. Conclusions Temperamental patterns play a significant role in the development of psychological symptoms. However, these associations are modified by psychological flexibility. Together, temperamental dimensions and psychological flexibility form cumulative patterns influencing psychological symptoms. The practical implications of the findings are discussed in this study. peerReviewed

OBJECTIVEThis study investigated the roles of adherence and usage activity in adolescents’ (n = 161) gains during a 5-week web intervention program based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).METHODProgram adherence was calculated as adherence percentage in relation to intended usage, whereas completion percentage, usage time, and usage weeks were used as indicators for usage activity. Subjective well-being was measured by self-reported life satisfaction and stress before and after the intervention.RESULTSFirst, regression analysis results showed that higher adherence predicted an increase in life satisfaction during intervention. Second, three subgroups of adolescents were identified using K-means cluster analysis in regard to adherence, usage activity and intervention gains: (1) “Adhered, committed users with relatively large intervention gains” (35%), (2) “Less committed users with no intervention gains” (42%), and (3) “Non-committed users with no intervention gains” (23%). The results showed that the highest gains from the Youth Compass intervention program are most likely obtained when the program is used as intended in its design. In addition, time investment and engagement in doing exercises seem as important as filling the minimum adherence criterion.CONCLUSIONSThe results support the feasibility of ACT-based web intervention programs in promoting adolescent well-being, although more attention should be paid to motivating adolescents to commit to them and invest enough time in them.

Background Although some adolescents managed to cope well with the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the well-being of many was adversely affected due to school closures, distance education, restrictions on gathering with friends, and limited access to mental health services. Many adolescents reported increased anxiety and depression as well as decreased psychological wellbeing due to the pandemic. Consequently, there is a need for psychological support that exceeds the strained resources available to schools to support young people during times of crisis and societal pressure. Objective The present study aimed to explore the effects of an online-delivered ACT intervention to promote adolescent psychological flexibility and self-compassion and decrease psychological distress during the second wave of COVID-19 in the fall of 2020. Methods A total of 348 adolescents aged 15–16 were randomly divided into three equal groups: 1) the iACT student coach + virtual coach group, n = 116; 2) the iACT virtual coach group, n = 116; and 3) the control group with no intervention, n = 116). Among these adolescents, 234 participated in a pre-measurement (iACT, n = 154; control, n = 80; intent-to-treat) and completed measures of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, anxiety, and depression. Results An investigation of all the adolescents who participated in the pre-measurement (intent-to-treat analysis, n = 234) revealed no significant differences between the three groups with regard to psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, upon combining the two intervention groups and examining the adolescents who completed at least 30% of the Youth Compass program (per-protocol analysis, n = 137), small but significant differences between the iACT intervention and control groups were found regarding the psychological flexibility subscale valued action, self-compassion, and anxiety in favor of the intervention group. Conclusions Active use of an ACT-based online intervention under adverse circumstances may decrease symptoms of anxiety and increase psychological flexibility skills in adolescents. publishedVersion

Background Academic emotions (e.g., enjoyment of learning or anxiety) play a significant role in academic performance and educational choices. An important factor explaining academic emotions can be students’ temperament and the goodness-of-fit between their temperament and their social environment, including parents. Objective This study investigated the unique and interactive effects of early adolescents’ and their parents’ temperament types on adolescents’ academic emotions in literacy and mathematics. Method The participants in the study consisted of 690 adolescent–parent dyads. Parents rated their own and their adolescents’ temperaments, and adolescents reported their positive and negative emotions in literacy and mathematics. Results The results showed that adolescents’ temperament type was significantly related to their negative emotions in both school subjects. Adolescents with an undercontrolled temperament reported more anger compared to adolescents with a resilient or overcontrolled temperament, and more anxiety, shame, and hopelessness compared to resilient adolescents. In addition, undercontrolled adolescents reported more boredom in mathematics than resilient or overcontrolled adolescents. The parents’ temperament type was related to positive emotions. Adolescents of resilient parents reported greater pride in mathematics than adolescents of undercontrolled or overcontrolled parents and higher hope in mathematics than adolescents of overcontrolled parents. Finally, overcontrolled adolescents with a resilient or overcontrolled parent reported higher enjoyment of mathematics and literacy in comparison to overcontrolled adolescents with an undercontrolled parent. Conclusions The findings of the study provide new knowledge about the role of temperament in the school context by showing that differences in temperamental reactivity and regulation relate to adolescents’ academic emotions.

This study examined to what extent teacher–student conflict and closeness, on the one hand, and students’ self-concepts of ability in literacy and mathematics, on the other, are related to students’ achievement emotions (enjoyment, anxiety and boredom) in mathematics and literacy among Finnish early adolescents (N = 854). We also investigated the extent to which these associations are moderated by student temperament (surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity and effortful control). The results showed, after accounting for relevant covariates, that in both school subjects, teacher–student conflict was negatively related to enjoyment and positively to anxiety and boredom, whereas teacher–student closeness was positively related to enjoyment and negatively to boredom. Self-concepts of ability in both school subjects were positively related to enjoyment and negatively to anxiety, whereas the self-concept of ability was only negatively related to boredom in mathematics. Student temperament also moderated some of the associations in the literacy domain. Lower levels of conflict in the teacher–student relationship were related to higher levels of enjoyment in literacy, particularly among students who had lower levels of surgency/extraversion. Also, a closer relationship with the teacher or a lower self-concept of ability in literacy was related to higher levels of anxiety, particularly among students who had low effortful control. In the mathematics domain, the associations between the self-concept of ability and achievement emotions were somewhat stronger than in literacy, and the domain-specific associations were not dependent on student temperament.

A youth’s ability to adapt during educational transitions has long-term, positive impacts on their academic achievement and mental health. Although supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers are protective factors associated with successful educational transitions, little is known about the reciprocal link between the quality of these interpersonal relationships and school well-being, with even less known about how these two constructs affect academic achievement. This longitudinal study examined how the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being worked together to affect academic achievement during the transition from primary school to lower secondary school. Data were collected from 848 Finnish adolescents (54% girls, mean age at the outset 12.3 years) over the course of sixth and seventh grade. The results support a transactional model illustrating the reciprocal associations between the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being during the transition to lower secondary school. As such, the presence of high quality interpersonal relationships promoted higher academic achievement through increased school well-being, whereas high school well-being promoted higher subsequent academic achievement through increased quality of interpersonal relationships. Overall, the results suggest that promoting learning outcomes and helping adolescents with challenges during educational transitions is a critical part of supporting school well-being and the formation of high-quality interpersonal relationships.

The present study compares two methods for assessing peer influence: the longitudinal actor–partner interdependence model (L-APIM) and the longitudinal social network analysis (L-SNA) Model. The data were drawn from 1,995 (49% girls and 51% boys) third grade students ( Mage= 9.68 years). From this sample, L-APIM ( n = 206 indistinguishable dyads and n = 187 distinguishable dyads) and L-SNA ( n = 1,024 total network members) subsamples were created. Students completed peer nominations and objective assessments of mathematical reasoning in the spring of the third and fourth grades. Patterns of statistical significance differed across analyses. Stable distinguishable and indistinguishable L-APIM dyadic analyses identified reciprocated friend influence such that friends with similar levels of mathematical reasoning influenced one another and friends with higher math reasoning influenced friends with lower math reasoning. L-SNA models with an influence parameter (i.e., average reciprocated alter) comparable to that assessed in L-APIM analyses failed to detect influence effects. Influence effects did emerge, however, with the addition of another, different social network influence parameter (i.e., average alter influence effect). The diverging results may be attributed to differences in the sensitivity of the analyses, their ability to account for structural confounds with selection and influence, the samples included in the analyses, and the relative strength of influence in reciprocated best as opposed to other friendships.

Children who are not accepted in their peer group are at risk of developing internalizing problem behaviors. It is possible, however, that supportive parenting can provide a buffer against the detrimental effects of low peer acceptance. This study examined maternal and paternal affection and psychological control as moderators of the association between children’s peer acceptance during the critical transition to primary school and level and subsequent development of internalizing problem behaviors from first to sixth grade. A total of 608 children (264 girls, 344 boys) were rated by their teachers on their internalizing problems in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Children’s peer acceptance was measured in the first grade using a sociometric nomination procedure. At the same time point, mothers (n = 432) and fathers (n = 281) completed questionnaires measuring their levels of affection and psychological control. The results of latent growth curve modelling showed, first, that on average children’s internalizing problems decreased over the school years. Second, peer acceptance was associated with the development of internalizing problems: the higher the peer acceptance, the bigger the decrease—and the lower the peer acceptance, the smaller the decrease—in the level of internalizing problems across time. However, high maternal affection provided a buffer against this impact of low peer acceptance. Among boys, low levels of maternal psychological control also provided a buffer against the effects of low peer acceptance. No significant results were found on the moderating role of fathers’ parenting styles. Overall, the results suggested that mothers’ emotionally sensitive and supporting caregiving may protect children from the harmful long-term effects of low peer acceptance.

The present study examines associations between learning difficulties (LD), academic emotions, and academic achievement among 845 Grade 6 adolescents (455 girls, 390 boys). Reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) were identified based on tested reading and math skills in the fall semester of Grade 6. At this time, the students also rated their hope, enjoyment, and anxiety regarding literacy and math. Information on students' achievement in literacy and math, as well as their overall academic achievement, was gathered using questionnaires in both the fall and spring semesters of Grade 6. The results show, first, that students with RD had lower hope and higher anxiety toward reading than those without RD. Also, students with MD reported lower enjoyment, lower hope, and higher anxiety than those without MD. Furthermore, the results show that hope partly played a mediating role between LD and academic achievement in both the literacy and math domains. In addition, enjoyment played a mediating role in the math domain. The present study's results indicate that subject-specific academic emotions should be taken into account when considering relations between LD and academic achievement.

This study examined the role of adolescents' (n = 190) temperament in their emotional reactions in achievement situations. Adolescents rated their temperament (i.e., surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity, effortful control) and completed achievement tasks in Grade 6. They also reported their emotions before and during challenging and non-challenging tasks. In addition, adolescents' autonomic nervous system reactions (i.e., skin conductance levels) were recorded. The results showed that high effortful control was related to higher levels of positive emotions independent of the degree of task difficulty. Low negative affectivity and high effortful control were related to lower levels of negative emotions before and during the achievement tasks. High surgency/extraversion was related to lower levels of negative emotions only before the achievement tasks. Finally, low negative affectivity and high effortful control were related to higher skin conductance level before the achievement tasks, whereas high effortful control was related to higher skin conductance level during both challenging and non-challenging achievement tasks. The findings enhance current understanding of the connection between adolescents' temperament and emotions in real-time achievement situations.

This study examined three aspects of maternal homework involvement (i.e., the quantity, quality, and source of initiative) and their direct and indirect associations with adolescents’ task-avoidant behavior in homework situations and academic achievement. The sample consisted of Finnish mothers and their adolescents who were transitioning from primary to lower secondary school. Mothers rated the quantity of their homework involvement (i.e., monitoring and help), quality of their homework involvement (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control), and source of initiative (i.e., mother- vs. adolescent-initiated monitoring and help) at the beginning of Grade 6. They also reported on adolescents’ task avoidance in homework situations at the beginning of Grade 7. Information on adolescents’ academic achievement in the spring terms of Grades 5 and 7 was obtained from school registers. The results showed that high maternal psychological control and mother-initiated monitoring were associated with poorer subsequent academic achievement directly and indirectly through higher levels of adolescent task avoidance. Moreover, poor prior academic achievement was associated with higher levels of subsequent task avoidance directly and indirectly through high maternal psychological control and mother-initiated monitoring. Overall, the results highlight the importance of bringing mothers’ knowledge and awareness to their self-initiated and controlling involvement practices and helping them to support adolescents’ learning and motivation in more optimal ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) peerReviewed

Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-1-jbd-10.1177_0165025421992866 for A comparison of dyadic and social network assessments of peer influence by Dawn DeLay, Brett Laursen, Noona Kiuru, Adam Rogers, Thomas Kindermann and Jari-Erik Nurmi in International Journal of Behavioral Development

Understanding adolescent usage activity and experiences in web-based psychological intervention programs helps in developing universal programs that can be adopted for promotion of adolescent well-being and prevention of mental health problems. This study examined the usage activity, perceived usefulness (i.e., learning of mindfulness, acceptance and value-related skills), and program satisfaction of 157 Finnish ninth-grade adolescents, who participated in a school-based five-week universal acceptance and commitment therapy web intervention called Youth Compass. Individual and growth environment-related antecedents were measured before the five-week intervention, adolescents' usage activity during the intervention, and perceived usefulness and satisfaction after the intervention. The results showed that female adolescents and adolescents with high self-regulation were more active program users and had more positive experiences of the program. Most of the adolescents used the program on at least a moderate level and perceived it to be moderately or highly useful and satisfactory. Four subgroups of adolescents were identified based on their usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction: adolescents in the satisfied group (41%) had average activity and high perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, the dissatisfied group (18%) had low activity and very low perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, the active group (8%) had very high activity and average perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction, and the moderate group (33%) had average activity, perceived usefulness and intervention satisfaction. Gender, academic achievement, closeness to mother and teacher, and conflict with teacher were significantly related to subgroup membership. The results suggested that adolescent usage activity, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction with the Youth Compass program may to some extent be predicted based on different factors., Highlights • Most of the adolescents (82%) were moderately to highly satisfied with Youth Compass. • Program usage and experiences were connected mainly to gender and self-regulation. • Four user profiles were identified: satisfied, dissatisfied, active, and moderate. • Profile membership was associated with various individual and environmental factors.

Friends provide important social contexts for student development. Research has shown that adolescent friends are similar to each other in their interest and values for different school subjects. Yet our current understanding does not extend to knowing whether selection, deselection, or socialization processes are responsible for this phenomena. Without this knowledge, it is very difficult for parents, teachers, and schools to know how and when to intervene. This study investigated selection, deselection, and socialization effects on adolescent students’ task values for academic (languages, math and science, and social sciences) and non-academic subject areas (the arts and physical education). A social network approach was used to examine two waves of annual data collected from school-based networks of adolescents in the first and second years of high school education in Finland (N = 1419; female = 48.6%; mean age at first measurement point = 16). The results revealed that adolescents tended to select friends with similar levels of task values (friend selection) for the arts and physical education, but friends did not become more similar in these areas over time (friend socialization). In contrast, there was evidence of friend socialization, but not friend selection, for the academic school subjects. Across all subjects, differences in task values did not predict friendship dissolution (friend deselection). These findings suggest that to a significant extent, students make agentic choices in developing friendship with schoolmates based on their task values in non-academic subjects. The resultant friend contexts that individuals created, in turn, affected their task values in academic subject areas. These results shed light on the complexity of friend effect mechanisms on task values at the subject domain-specific level.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the child-related competence beliefs of mothers are associated with the development of Finnish adolescents' self-concept of mathematics and literacy ability during their transition from primary to lower secondary school and whether these associations depend on adolescents' level of performance. The results showed that, first, adolescents' self-concept of mathematics and literacy ability decreased over time. The impact of maternal beliefs on the linear trend of the self-concept of mathematics and literacy ability was dependent on the level of students' performance. Mothers' high beliefs buffered against the decrease in adolescents' self-concept of ability in mathematics, but only among high-performing adolescents. In turn, mothers' high beliefs in adolescents' literacy ability were detrimental to the development of low-performing adolescents' self-concept of ability in literacy, whereas mothers' beliefs had no effect on the change in the self-concept of students with average or high literacy performance. peerReviewed

The present study examines whether characteristics of parents predict the stability of a child’s best friendships across the primary school years. Participants included 1,523 Finnish children (766 boys) who reported involvement in a total of 1,326 reciprocated friendship dyads in the 1st grade (M = 7.16 years old). At the onset of the study, mothers and fathers completed questionnaires describing their own parenting (i.e., behavioral control, psychological control, and affection toward the child) and depressive symptoms. Child scores for peer status (i.e., acceptance and rejection) were derived from 1st grade peer nomination data. Discrete-time survival analyses predicted the occurrence and timing of friendship dissolution, across 1st to 6th grades, for friendships that began in 1st grade. Parent depression and parent psychological control uniquely predicted subsequent child friendship dissolution, above and beyond the contribution of peer status variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) peerReviewed

This cross-lagged longitudinal study examines the evocative impact of a child’s psychological adjustment on teachers’ affective response and instructional support for a child, and the influence this support and response has on the child’s subsequent adjustment. A hundred and seventeen Finnish teachers self-rated the instructional support they gave, and the affect they experienced while teaching 307 children from school grades 1, 2 and 3. Teachers also rated the level of prosocial and externalizing problem behaviour among children. Results showed that the more children exhibited externalizing problem behaviour in grades 1 and 2, teachers not only did provide more instructional support for them a year later but, at the same time, they reported feeling less positive affect. Low levels of positive affect were also reported by teachers a year later with regard to children who had received more instructional support from them in grades 1 and 2.

The present study examines whether mothers’ positive work-related experiences, work engagement and recovery from work, are indirectly linked to their children’s life satisfaction via mothers’ perceived life satisfaction and closeness with their children. Theoretically the study is based on the spillover and crossover models of work–family interface with a particular focus on positive interface, as this is a gap in the existing research. The sample consisted of 671 Finnish mother–child dyads. Survey-based data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that mothers’ work engagement and recovery from work were positively and indirectly associated with children’s life satisfaction via mothers’ life satisfaction and closeness with their children. The findings suggest that work-to-family crossover of positive work-related experiences does indeed occur from mothers to children. Employers should pay attention to mothers’ work engagement and recovery from work, because these positive work-related experiences are likely to promote mothers’ life satisfaction and a positive mother–child relationship which, in turn, may be reflected in children’s life satisfaction. Job resources and mental detachment from work while not working are vital for work engagement and recovery from work, and should be promoted.

This study examined the developments in children’s externalizing problems and interest in reading during their first four years of school (Grades 1–4) and investigated whether this development predicted the children’s Grade 6 reading skills and educational aspirations. Data comprised (1) teachers’ ratings of externalizing problems and children’s (N = 642; 43% girls) self-ratings of their interest in reading, collected between Grades 1 and 4, and (2) measures of reading fluency and comprehension, and children’s self-reports of educational aspirations, collected at Grade 6. First, latent growth modeling showed that a higher level of externalizing problems in Grade 1 was associated with a lower concurrent interest in reading. Second, a positive association between the initial level of interest in reading and a linear change in externalizing problems indicated that children with a lower interest in reading in Grade 1 were rated by teachers as exhibiting higher levels of externalizing problems, which nonetheless declined over the course of their first four years of school more than among other children. Third, a higher initial level of externalizing problems with a linear change in these problems across Grades 1–4 was a predictor of lower subsequent educational aspirations and poorer reading comprehension in Grade 6. Analysis of the indirect effects indicated that a higher level of externalizing problems was associated with a lower concurrent interest in reading, which, in turn, was related to poorer future reading fluency and lower educational aspirations. The findings imply that problem behaviors are interlinked with academic skill development and motivation across the first six years of school. peerReviewed

Preterm birth is associated with low mathematical skills in children. This study on five-year-old Finnish children investigated whether mathematical skill profiles would differ between prematurely and full-term born children and how such profiles and other cognitive skills would be related. Mathematical skills included digit knowledge, spontaneous focusing on numerosity, arithmetic, counting and geometric skills. The investigated cognitive skills were phonological processing, working memory, instruction comprehension, speeded naming, inhibition and visuomotor skills. The participants were 119 preterm children with birth weight

Background. Academic buoyancy refers to students’ ability to come through ordinary challenges they face in the academic context, and it can positively contribute to students’ beliefs and behaviours in learning situations. Although buoyancy has been found to be related to positive academic outcomes, previous studies have not examined how buoyancy influences academic emotions in learning situations and how these emotions further affect students’ learning-related expectations and behaviours. \ud Aims. This study investigated to what extent academic buoyancy predicts students’ failure expectations, avoidance behaviour, and task-oriented planning in learning situations, and to what extent academic emotions mediate the effect of academic buoyancy on these expectations and behaviours.\ud Sample. A total of 845 Finnish students in the sixth grade of primary school.\ud Methods. Self-report data for academic buoyancy and academic emotions in the autumn semester and learning-related expectations and behaviours in the spring semester were analysed using structural equation modelling, controlling for gender, grade point average, and previous levels of learning-related expectations and behaviours.\ud Results. The findings showed that high academic buoyancy indirectly predicted lower avoidance behaviour, fewer failure expectations, and higher task-oriented planning via academic emotions. High academic buoyancy was related to high enjoyment and hope as well as low boredom and hopelessness, which further predicted low failure expectations. High hope and low boredom also predicted low avoidance behaviour and high hope was associated with high task-oriented planning.\ud Conclusions. The findings suggest that academic buoyancy supports positive expectations and adaptive behaviours in learning situations through the regulation of emotions.

Highlights • Boys with higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had better academic achievement than those with lower levels of physical activity at baseline. • Physical activity was not associated with academic achievement at follow-up in boys or girls. • Continuously inactive adolescents had poorer academic achievement over the follow-up period than their more active peers. • Girls with more advanced pubertal status had better academic achievement than other girls., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract, Objective We sought to investigate the longitudinal associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and pubertal development with academic achievement in adolescents. Methods A total of 635 adolescents (283 boys, 352 girls) aged 11–13 years participated in the study. MVPA was assessed by the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study questionnaire, and pubertal development was assessed by the Pubertal Development Scale at beginning of the 6th grade (baseline) and end of the 7th grade (follow-up). Grade point average (GPA) at the end of Grades 5 and 7 was computed from data acquired from the school registers. The data were analyzed using linear regression and analyses of covariance. Results In boys, MVPA was positively associated with GPA at baseline after adjustment for age (β = 0.144, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.028−0.260, p = 0.028). In girls, the Pubertal Development Scale was positively associated with GPA at baseline (β = 0.104, 95%CI: −0.004 to 0.211, p = 0.058) and follow-up (β = 0.104, 95%CI: −0.002 to 0.211, p = 0.055) after adjustment for age, and these associations strengthened after further adjustment for MVPA (p < 0.05). Adolescents who were inactive at baseline or at baseline and follow-up had lower GPA during follow-up than their continuously highly active peers (mean difference = −0.301, 95%CI: −0.543 to −0.058, p = 0.009) and all other adolescents (mean difference = −0.247, 95%CI: −0.475 to −0.019, p = 0.029). These differences were greater in girls than in boys. Conclusion Lower levels of MVPA were associated with lower GPA in boys at baseline. Girls who were continuously inactive had lower GPA over the follow-up period than those who were continuously active. Finally, earlier pubertal development was associated with better academic achievement in girls.

This study examined the extent to which teaching practices and teaching experience predict mathematics skills of children’s in the third through fifth grade by focusing on three cognitive components: (1) knowing facts and procedures, (2) applying this knowledge and (3) using reasoning. This study was longitudinal. The data was collected from 1810 students and 90 teachers attending Estonian- and Russian-speaking schools. The students’ were tested twice, at the beginning of the third and at the beginning of the fifth grade. The teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their teaching practices. The results revealed that teachers from Estonian-speaking and Russian-speaking schools’ classrooms differed in their use of teaching practices and teaching experience. Teachers in Russian-speaking schools were slightly more experienced, and they reported using more teacher-centred practices compared to teachers in Estonian-speaking schools. The study showed different effects on the outcomes of the children attending classrooms where the study language was Estonian and Russian in solving arithmetic word problems when accounting for the teachers’ use of different learner-centred teaching practices in the classroom.

This study aimed to examine associations between motivation, emotion, and task performance in simulated achievement situations. A group of sixth grade students (n = 190) completed an achievement task. Situational information on task value, success expectations, emotions, effort, task performance, and causal attributions was collected and information on subsequent academic achievement was obtained from school registers. The results showed, first, that high task value, high expectancy of success, and high positive emotions before a task contributed to a higher level of effort during the task. This, in turn, was related to better task performance. Second, high expectancy of success predicted increased positive emotions during the task, and these in turn, were related to better task performance. Conversely, high negative emotions during the task were related to poorer task performance. Third, high task performance was related to higher levels of effort, higher attributions of success to ability, and increased positive emotions after the task. Finally, both high task performance and attributions of success to ability were related to better subsequent academic achievement.

Classroom research has typically focused on the role of teaching practices and the quality of instruction in children’s academic performance, motivation and adjustment—in other words, classroom interactions initiated by the teacher. The present article presents a model of classroom interactions initiated by the child, that is, the notion that a child’s characteristics and active efforts may evoke different instructional patterns and responses among teachers. Then follows a review of previous research on the role of children’s academic performance, their motivation and their socio-emotional characteristics in their teachers’ instruction methods and teacher–child relationships. Some of the mechanisms that may be responsible for these “evocative impacts” are discussed. Classroom interactions initiated by the child, and those initiated by the teacher will then be considered from the perspective of the transactional theory of teacher–child interactions. Finally, some conclusions are drawn concerning possible future classroom research.

In the present study, we examined the extent to which the responses of teachers and mothers toward a particular child are similar in respect to their instructional support and affect, and whether child characteristics predict these responses. The data of 373 Finnish child–teacher–mother triads (178 girls, 195 boys) were analysed. Teachers and mothers reported their instructional support and affective responses toward a child in the school/homework context in Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. At the beginning of Grade 1, the children’s performance in reading and math was tested, and teachers evaluated the children’s externalizing and internalizing problem behaviour. The results demonstrated that mothers and teachers showed similar instructional support and affective responses toward a particular child at the end of Grade 1. Moreover, children’s poor performance in reading and math at the beginning of Grade 1 was associated with high amounts of both teachers’ and mothers’ instructional support at the end of Grade 1, while children’s externalizing problem behaviour was strongly related particularly to teachers’ but also to mothers’ negative affective responses at the end of Grade 1. The results provide evidence for the evocative impact of child characteristics on the child’s interpersonal environment at the start of child’s school career.

This study examined cross-lagged associations between positive teacher and peer relations and academic skill development. Reading and math skills were tested among 625 students in kindergarten and Grade 4. Teacher reports of positive affect toward each student and classmate reports of peer acceptance were gathered in Grades 1-3. The results showed, first, that positive teacher affect toward the student and peer acceptance were reciprocally associated: Positive teacher affect predicted higher peer acceptance, and higher peer acceptance predicted a higher level of positive teacher affect. Second, the effect of positive teacher affect on academic skill development was partly mediated via peer acceptance, while the effect of early academic skills on peer acceptance was partly mediated via positive teacher affect. The results suggest that a warm and supportive teacher can increase a student's peer acceptance, which, in turn, is positively associated with learning outcomes.

This longitudinal study investigated the associations among children’s externalizing problems, task-avoidant behavior, and academic performance in early school years. The participants were 586 children (43% girls, 57% boys). Data pertaining to externalizing problems (teacher ratings) and task-avoidant behaviors (mother and teacher ratings) were gathered, and the children were tested yearly on their academic performance in Grades 1–4. The results were similar for both genders. The analyses supported a mediation model: high externalizing problems in Grades 1 and 2 were linked with low academic performance in Grades 3 and 4 through increases in task-avoidant behavior in Grades 2 and 3. The results also provided evidence for a reversed mediator model: low academic performance in Grades 1 and 2 was associated with high externalizing problems in Grades 3 and 4 via high task avoidance in Grades 2 and 3. These findings emphasize the need to examine externalizing problems, task-avoidant behavior, and academic performance conjointly to understand their developmental dynamics in early school years.

The aim of the study was to examine the extent to which contextual factors predict children’s mathematics skills in different cognitive domains. The sample consisted of 1734 students from 26 Estonian- and 17 Russian-language schools in Estonia. Mathematics and non-verbal reasoning tests were carried out at the beginning of the third grade. In addition, teachers were asked about their classroom management practices. The results of multilevel modelling showed that applying supportive practices in the classroom contributes to higher achievement in mathematics. Teachers from Estonian- and Russian-language schools were also found to differ with regard to their management practices, and these practices were shown to have different effects on children in Estonian- and Russian-language schools in terms of mathematics achievement.

Item does not contain fulltext This longitudinal study from Grades 1 to 4 investigated (a) the extent to which children select peers based on similarity in reading skills and (b) the extent to which children are influenced by the level of their peers' reading skills. The sample consisted of 1003 Finnish children in Grades 1-4, for whom reading fluency and comprehension were assessed. The same children were interviewed about their self-concept of reading ability at the end of kindergarten. The results of social network analysis showed that children had a tendency to choose new friends based on earlier similarity in reading fluency but not in reading comprehension. Furthermore, children became more similar to their friends in reading fluency and reading comprehension. Children with a high self-concept of reading ability and high reading fluency were particularly likely to be positively influenced by peers with high reading fluency. 28 p.

Research on adolescence has previously shown that factors like depression and burnout are influenced by friendship groups. Little research, however, has considered whether similar effects are present for variables such as hope and subjective well‐being. Furthermore, there is no research that considers whether the degree of hope of an adolescent's friends is associated with well‐being over the individual's level of hope. Data were collected in 2012 from a sample of 15‐year‐olds (N = 1,972; 62% Caucasian; 46% identified as Catholic; 25% had professional parents) from the East Coast of Australia. Findings suggest that individuals from the same friendship group were somewhat similar in hope and well‐being. Multilevel structural equation modeling indicated that friendship group hope was significantly related to psychological and social well‐being.

This study examined the cross-lagged associations between the quality of classroom interactions and children’s behaviors in achievement situations. The achievement behaviors in challenging test situations of 166 Finnish children from 70 classrooms were rated by trained testers in grades 1 and 2. The quality of classroom interactions in terms of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support were observed in 25 classrooms (out of 70) in grades 1 and 2. The results of multilevel modeling showed that classroom teachers’ low emotional support predicted children’s subsequent high passive avoidance, whereas high classroom organization and instructional support predicted children’s high social dependence. Furthermore, the more children showed active task avoidance, the more emotional and instructional support and classroom organization teachers showed later on in the classroom. The findings emphasize the importance of warm and supportive classroom interactions for children’s adaptive achievement behaviors. The results also suggest that teachers adapt their classroom interactions with respect to children’s active task avoidance.

This study investigated friend influence over adolescent schoolwork engagement in 160 same-sex friend dyads (94 female dyads and 66 male dyads). Participants were approximately 16 years of age at the outset. Each friend described his or her own schoolwork engagement, school burnout, and perceptions of maternal affection. The results revealed that maternal affection moderated the influence that the higher burnout friend exerted over the subsequent schoolwork engagement of the lower burnout friend. The schoolwork engagement of the friend reporting higher levels of school burnout predicted a decline in the schoolwork engagement of the friend reporting lower school burnout, but only if the latter perceived below-average maternal affection.

In the longitudinal study presented here, we tested the theoretical assumption that children’s task-focused behavior in learning situations mediates the associations between supportive interpersonal environments and academic performance. The sample consisted of 2,137 Finnish-speaking children. Data on supportive interpersonal environments (characterized by authoritative parenting, positive teacher affect toward the child, and peer acceptance) were gathered in Grade 1. The children’s task-focused behavior was measured in Grades 2 and 3, and academic performance was measured in Grades 1 and 4. The results supported our assumption by showing that all three supportive environments were positively associated with children’s subsequent academic performance via increased task-focused behavior in learning situations. These findings suggest that students’ academic performance can be promoted by increasing the support they receive from peers, parents, and teachers because such increased support leads to better task focus in learning tasks.

This study combined sociological life-course modeling on education-, employment-, residency-, and partnership/parenthood-related transitions with a psychological life-span approach to achievement and social strategies by examining the extent to which achievement and social strategies, and depressive symptoms contribute to pathways to adulthood among 182 first-year Finnish university students who were followed for 18 years. The Life History Calendar was used to collect data on individual life histories. The participants followed six pathways to adulthood that differed with respect to postponing (slow starters, singles with slow career) or being on time (career and family, fast starters, fast partnership, and late parenthood, career with unsteady partnerships) in various transitions. Those who followed a postponed pathway showed more depressive symptoms, less optimism, and more task-avoidance in both social and achievement situations at the beginning of their studies than those who followed a non-postponed pathway. Following a postponed pathway predicted a higher level of depressive symptoms later, after controlling for initial depressive symptoms.

This study examines whether friend selection, deselection, and socialization differ as a function of the level of cigarette smoking in the friendship group. A total of 1419 students (median age = 16) from upper secondary and vocational schools in Finland were included as targets in the peer network. Targets in the peer network were asked to nominate friends and describe their own cigarette smoking at two time points one year apart. Network analyses revealed similarity arising from selection and deselection on the basis of smoking. Selection effects (i.e., selecting new friends based on similarity) were stronger for adolescents in low-smoking groups. Deselection effects (i.e., dropping friends based on dissimilarity) were stronger for adolescents in high-smoking groups.

This study examined the role of reading disability (RD) risk and environmental protective factors in reading fluency in grade 4. The sample consisted of 538 Finnish-speaking students. Kindergarten measures included the students' risk for RD based on poor achievement in phonological awareness and letter knowledge as well as information on the three control variables: nonverbal ability, level of parental education, and gender. Measures in grades 1–3 included environmental protective factors: classmate reports of peer acceptance; teacher reports of positive affect for the student; and mother, father, and teacher reports of partnership between the home and the school. The students were also tested on their reading fluency in grade 4. The results showed, first, that environmental protective factors, namely, high levels of peer acceptance and positive teacher affect, uniquely predicted students' improved reading fluency in grade 4, after controlling for RD risk, nonverbal ability, level of parental education, and gender. Second, when controlling for the effects of single environmental protective factors, a higher overall number of environmental protective factors predicted students' improved reading fluency in grade 4. Third, RD risk predicted lower peer acceptance, less positive teacher affect, and lower parent–teacher partnership in grades 1–3. Finally, the effect of RD risk on subsequent reading fluency was partially mediated through the overall number of protective factors in the student's interpersonal environment.

This study examined the role of a supportive classroom climate, class size, and length of teaching experience as protective factors against children's peer rejection. A total of 376 children were assessed in kindergarten for risk for reading disabilities (RD) and rated by their teachers on socially withdrawn and disruptive behaviors. The grade 1 measures included sociometric peer assessment and teachers' self-ratings of their supportiveness in the classroom, together with information on class size and teaching experience. The results showed, first, that the studied social and learning risk factors positively predicted peer rejection in grade 1. Moreover, teacher-reported supportive classroom climate in grade 1 protected children against the detrimental impact of RD risk on peer rejection. Smaller class size, in turn, served as a protective factor against the detrimental impact of social withdrawal on peer rejection. Finally, shorter teaching experience protected against both social and learning risk factors.

Item does not contain fulltext Purpose: This study examined the role of two different types of peer socialization (convergence, contagion) in adolescents' depression, adjusting for the effects of peer selection and deselection. Methods: The sample used in this study comprised 949 Finnish adolescents (56% females; mean age: 16 years at the outset) attending classrooms in eight secondary schools. Participants identified three school peers and reported depressive symptoms twice, 1 year apart. Sociometric and behavioral data were analyzed using dynamic social network analysis. Results: Adolescents initiated relationships with peers who reported similar levels of depression before initiation of the relationship, and dissolved relationships with peers who became dissimilar in depression from time 1 (T1) to time 2 (T2). The average score of peers' depressive symptoms at T1 predicted changes in adolescent depression at T2 (convergence), but adolescents with peers who reported relatively higher initial levels of depression did not report an increase in depression (contagion). Conclusions: Over time, adolescents' depressive symptoms increasingly converged toward the average levels of their peers, but this convergence was not primarily because of contagion effects. The findings suggest that socialization processes can lead to both increases and decreases in adolescent depression, depending on peers' average level of depression. 6 p.