Search

This longitudinal study investigated bidirectional associations between pupils' social competence and their interpersonal relationships and classroom climate in segregated special education schools for pupils with emotional and behavioral disorders in the Netherlands. Participants were in Grade 4 and 5 in School Year 1 (N = 441) and Grade 5 and 6 in School Year 2 (N = 504) (M[subscript age Time1] = 10.82, SD = 0.86). Digital surveys were administered to pupils and teachers twice each school year to gather information about pupils' relationships with teachers and peers, classroom climate (structure, atmosphere), and social competence. Structural path models were estimated separately for each school year. Altogether, classroom structure and peer relations were inconsistently linked with teacher and self-reported social competence. Peer relationships (first school year) and structure (second school year) predicted teacher-reported social competence. Self-reported social competence predicted peer relationships, while teacher-reported social competence predicted structure (second school year). Explanations and implications of the findings are discussed.

Although insight in how adolescents' food intake is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is critical, knowledge is limited. Hence, this longitudinal study (N = 691, M[subscript age] = 14.30, SD[subscript age] = 0.62; 52.5% female) investigated changes in adolescents' unhealthy (sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet snacks, savoury snacks) and healthy (fruit and vegetables) food intake (in total, obtained from home, and from outside the home) from pre-pandemic (Spring 2019) to the first lockdown (Spring 2020) and to six months later (Fall 2020). Moreover, several moderating factors were assessed. Results showed that the intake of unhealthy and healthy food in total and obtained from outside the home decreased during the lockdown. Six months later, unhealthy food intake returned to pre-pandemic levels, while healthy food intake remained lower. COVID-19 stressful life events and maternal food intake further qualified these longer-term changes in intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit and vegetables, respectively. Future work is warranted to elucidate longer-term COVID-19 effects on adolescents' food intake.

This longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between special education pupils' teacher-child relationship characteristics (quality, satisfaction, and conflict), classroom structure, and behavioral problems (externalizing and attention-hyperactivity). A secondary goal was to investigate the extent to which severity of behavioral problems moderated the prospective associations. Participants were 586 pupils (86% boys) in Grades 4 to 6 (M[subscript age time 1] = 10.82 years, SD = 0.86) from 13 special education schools in the Netherlands and their teachers. Findings indicated that primarily teacher-child conflict was related to increased externalizing problems. More classroom structure was related to decreased attention-hyperactivity problems, but higher teacher-child relationship quality was linked to increases in attention-hyperactivity problems. Moreover, both types of problems were related to increases in conflict. Severity of behavior problems did not moderate these associations. Although findings were not consistent in both school years, they suggested that particularly reducing conflict and instilling more classroom structure were the most effective strategies in reducing behavioral problems. Furthermore, disrupting negative transactional associations between conflict and externalizing behavior is important to reduce externalizing behavior.

This study investigated the role of behavioral norms on concurrent links between problem behaviors (externalizing problems, internalizing problems, attention-hyperactivity problems) and social status (acceptance, rejection) in special education classrooms at four time points within and across school years. Two opposing models were considered, the "person-group similarity model," suggesting moderation of behavioral norms, and the "social skill model," suggesting no moderation. The sample included a total of 580 pupils (88% boys, M[subscript age Time1] = 10.82 years, SD = 0.86) attending 37 classrooms from 13 Dutch schools for special education. Multilevel analyses revealed that the data generally supported a "social skill model," meaning that higher individual levels of attention-hyperactivity problems and externalizing problems were related to lower acceptance and higher rejection, independent of behavioral norms. Support for behavioral norms as moderators of the link between individual behaviors and social status was limited to pupils with attention-hyperactivity problems being less rejected in classrooms in which this behavior was normative. In sum, these results provide an initial exploration of the role of behavioral norms in special education. Various explanations for the results, including special education characteristics and the value of behavioral norms, are discussed.

Despite ample research on empathy development, its social origins have been understudied, particularly in the context of peer relations. This two-wave study of Swedish adolescents (N = 318; M[subscript ageT1] = 16.28, SD = 0.49; 55% females) examined longitudinal associations between youth friendships and empathy. The results showed that adolescents befriended peers with similar levels of empathy and that, controlling for the initial similarity in empathy, youth who had more empathic friends increased in empathy over time compared with youth with less empathic friends. These selection and influence effects were comparable for the affective and cognitive empathy components (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking). These results provide strong evidence for the role of friendships in the development of empathy. They underscore the importance of peer-based, social-emotional programs to foster adolescent empathy.

Higher accepted friends are known to influence the alcohol misuse of lower accepted friends, but not the reverse. The present study was designed to address the origins of this influence: Are higher accepted friends particularly "influential" or are lower accepted friends particularly "susceptible" to influence? To address this question, we introduce an innovative application of longitudinal social network techniques (RSIENA) designed to distinguish being influential from being susceptible to influence. The results revealed that influence was a product of heightened susceptibility among low accepted adolescents, rather than heightened influence among high accepted adolescents. The findings are consistent with claims that low accepted youth fear the consequences of nonconformity and adjust their behavior to more closely resemble their affiliates.

We examined whether word recognition accuracy and latency of words children encounter during primary school across the upper primary school grades can be predicted from word form (word length, mean Levenshtein distance, and mean frequency of neighbors), word meaning (free association network markers) and word exposure (corpus frequency and contextual diversity). As a measure of word recognition, 1454 children (M = 10.1 years, SD = 11.8 months, 52.4% girls) in grade 3, 4 and 5 of Dutch regular primary schools completed a lexical decision task. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that word characteristics could be reduced to latent constructs of form, meaning, and exposure. Structural equation models indicated that word form and exposure predicted word recognition accuracy, and that word recognition accuracy, word form, and word meaning predicted word recognition latency. The present study provided empirical evidence that word form, word meaning, and word exposure differentially predict word recognition accuracy and latency of words children encounter during primary school across the upper primary grades.

Word knowledge acquisition is an incremental process that relies on exposure. As a result, word knowledge can broadly range from recognizing the word's lexical status, to knowing its meaning in context, and to knowing its meaning independent of context. The present study aimed to model incremental word knowledge in 1454 upper primary school children from grades 3 to 5 by investigating their abilities on three word knowledge tasks originating from the same set of 300 words: lexical decision, context decision, and definitional decision. A mixed-effects model showed significant differences in performance between tasks and between grades, and a significant interaction indicating that task differences were different for children in grade 5 compared to children in grades 3 and 4. In order to examine further the different task relation patterns at the word level, a cluster analysis was performed using the observed item means, which were corrected for the guessing chance. The analysis showed that for most words, recognition of its lexical status was easier than knowing its meaning in context, which in turn was easier than knowing its meaning independent of context. It is concluded that task relation patterns differ based on mean log frequency as a proxy of word exposure.

This four-wave longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations among pupils' social status (preference and popularity) and teacher-child relationship characteristics (quality, support, satisfaction, and conflict) in special education. Participants included 586 pupils (86% boys) initially attending Grades 4 and 5 (M[subscript age Wave 1] = 10.82 years, SD = 0.86) and their teachers. Reports of teacher-child relationships were collected from teachers and pupils through questionnaires. Peer nominations were used to assess preference and popularity. Autoregressive cross-lagged models indicated that preference predicted changes in satisfaction between school years. Conflict in the teacher-child relationship predicted preference, and preference and popularity predicted conflict within and between school years. Bidirectionality of the associations depended on the aspect of the teacher-child relationship and the dimension of social status. Conflict was more robustly related to social status than satisfaction, support, and pupil-reported relationship quality. The associations within school years were not more robust than associations between school years.

Objective: Schools are considered an important setting for stimulating healthy weight. The current study is unique in examining effects of a multi-component school-based social network intervention on children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI). Methods: Four schools were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: a social network intervention using influence agents focusing on water consumption, physical activity, a combination of the two, or a passive control condition. Participants included a total of 201 6- to-11-year-old children (53.7% girls; Mage = 8.51, SDage = 0.93). At baseline, 149 (76.0%) participants had a healthy weight, 29 (14.8%) had overweight and 18 (9.2%) had obesity. Results: Linear mixed effect models indicated that a multi-component school-based social network intervention targeting both water consumption and physical activity was most effective in decreasing children's zBMI. Conclusion: This study suggests that schools can contribute to the intervention of childhood obesity—even without involving the parents—by targeting both children's water consumption and physical activity through influential peers, but more research is needed to identify mechanisms of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined associations between perceived popularity trajectories and changes in proactive and reactive aggression in middle adolescence. The sample included 1,374 adolescents from 5 cohorts who were followed from Grade 7 to Grade 9 (49% males, M[subscript age] = 12.67 years, SD = 0.67). Popularity trajectories were identified based on initial status and changes in status over time, and linear mixed effects models tested group differences in changes of aggression. The results partially confirmed our expectation that changes in popularity were associated with specific developmental patterns of proactive and reactive aggression and also varied as a function of status already achieved. Specifically, adolescents in groups characterized by gains in status increased in proactive aggression, and those in groups characterized by losses in status decreased in proactive aggression. A more nuanced pattern of group differences emerged for reactive aggression. Changes in reactive aggression were only found for groups characterized by changes in unpopular status. Taken together, these findings suggest that proactive aggression has universal benefits for popularity in middle adolescence, whereas reactive aggression has differential costs. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Peer status is associated with social functioning throughout childhood and adolescence, but little is known about its' long‐term implications. This study examined longitudinal associations of childhood and adolescent popularity with social behavior and status in emerging adulthood. In line with concurrent associations of popularity with social behavior, we hypothesized that childhood popularity would be associated with a positive, prosocial profile, and adolescent popularity would be associated with a powerful and forceful profile. As research has shown curvilinear associations of popularity with aggression in childhood and adolescence, we also examined whether longitudinal associations were curvilinear. Peer‐nominated popularity was measured at 9 and 16 years of age for 118 longitudinal participants. At age 24, they participated in a survey and an online video call session together with three unfamiliar peers, after which everyone in the session rated each other's social behavior. Results showed significant curvilinear associations of childhood and adolescent popularity with emerging adult social behavior and status. Childhood popularity was associated with positive, prosocial behavior and status indicators, showing that in addition to high childhood popularity, also low childhood popularity was associated with higher peer‐reported positive, prosocial behavior. High adolescent popularity was associated with both positive, prosocial, and powerful and forceful behavior and status indicators, with especially low adolescent popularity associated with lower levels of these behaviors and status in emerging adulthood. Childhood and adolescent popularity were thus uniquely and differentially associated with social behavior and status in emerging adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research has shown that sleep problems and substance use are reciprocally associated in adults, much less is known about this association in early adolescence. The main aim of the current longitudinal study was to explore bidirectional relationships between sleep problems, substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems in young adolescents. A prospective design was used incorporating two waves (approximately 1 year interval). A total of 555 young adolescents (290 females, M age = 13.96) participated in this study. All participants completed self-report measures in classrooms during regular school hours (questionnaires about sleep quality and sleep hygiene were used to measure sleep problems). The results indicated that sleep problems predicted changes in substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems over time, but problem behaviours did not predict changes in sleep problems, adjusted for gender, age and puberty. One exception was that alcohol use negatively predicted changes in sleep problems. This study suggests that sleep problems are important precursors of substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence.

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.

Objective: Theories propose that low self‐esteem and problematic eating behaviors (PEBs) negatively impact each other. While previous studies suggested bidirectional associations between self‐esteem and PEBs, they did not separate within‐person from between‐person associations. Therefore, this prospective study investigated the within‐person bidirectional associations between self‐esteem and four PEBs in adolescence, while accounting for between‐person differences. Method: We used two independent longitudinal samples of Dutch adolescents, each including three annually collected waves of data. Sample 1 consisted of 1856 adolescents (Baseline: 50.4% males; Mage = 13.79 years, SDage = 0.72), with measures of self‐esteem, emotional eating, restrained eating, and loss of control (LOC) while overeating. Sample 2 consisted of 555 adolescents (Baseline: 49.7% males; Mage = 13.13 years, SDage = 0.68), with measures of self‐esteem and LOC eating. The data were analyzed using random intercept cross‐lagged panel models (CLPMs). Results: Within persons, lower self‐esteem was associated with higher emotional and restrained eating (both Sample 1) one year later, and vice versa. Self‐esteem did not predict, nor was predicted by, LOC while overeating (Sample 1) or LOC eating (Sample 2). Between persons, self‐esteem was negatively correlated with all PEBs (Samples 1 and 2). Discussion: We found within‐person bidirectional associations between low self‐esteem and emotional and restrained eating (but not LOC while overeating/LOC eating), and between‐person correlations between low self‐esteem and all PEBs. These results have theoretical and practical implications. Within‐person processes clarify underlying mechanisms that explain the occurrence of PEBs; between‐person associations are important to identify adolescents at risk of PEBs. Public Significance: While theories indicate that low self‐esteem and PEBs are inversely associated within individuals, empirical studies have not disentangled within‐person processes from between‐person differences. This study addressed this disparity, finding that lower self‐esteem was bidirectionally associated with higher emotional and restrained eating (but not LOC eating) within persons. These findings suggest that enhancing self‐esteem is a viable option for prevention and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined adolescent personality and problem behaviours as predictors of two types of social status: social preference and popularity. Academic track (college preparatory and vocational) and gender were expected to moderate these associations. The sample included 693 students (49.0% female; M = 15.46 years) attending classrooms in two academic tracks (vocational and college preparatory). Participants completed self-report measures of personality and problem behaviours and peer-reports of preference and popularity. Results of structural path analyses indicated that academic track and gender moderated several associations. Specifically, externalising problems were associated with more popularity for males and less preference for females in college preparatory classrooms. Internalising problems were associated with popularity and preference for adolescents in vocational classrooms. The findings illustrate the complexities associated with predicting the social status of male and female adolescents attending different academic tracks. The salience of status norms and implications for intervention programmes are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to identify and validate subtypes of peer status by integrating preference and popularity into a single framework. Person-oriented analyses were performed among 3,630 children and adolescents of different cohorts in primary and secondary education. In the young age groups (Grade 3/4 to Grade 7), three clusters were found: popular-liked, average, and unpopular-disliked. In the older age group (Grade 8), four clusters were found: popular, liked, average, and unpopular-disliked. Thus, participants differentiated liked peers from popular peers at the age of 14, but not earlier. Distinct behavioral profiles were found for each subtype. Cohort-sequential analyses demonstrated high stability of cluster membership, especially among the high-status groups. Developmental implications and the importance of school transitions are discussed.

The current study investigated how perceived popularity and collaboration quality were associated with knowledge gain of adolescents during a collaborative learning task. Participants included 264 children ages 10-12 years (52.3% boys), who collaborated 3 times in same-sex dyads on a computer assignment. Results indicated that the knowledge of the more popular member at Time 1 predicted knowledge gain of the less popular member at Time 2. Furthermore, mutual listening, reported by either member of the dyad, had a positive effect on the knowledge gain of the less popular member, whereas dominance of the more popular member negatively affected the knowledge gain of the less popular member. These findings suggest that prior knowledge of the more popular dyad member affects the learning of the less popular dyad member and that the quality of the collaboration between both dyad members appears to affect the outcome for the less popular dyad member; more mutual listening and less dominance presumably ensures equal participation and likely increases the chances of the less popular dyad member to participate sufficiently in the collaboration process.

We tested whether parents can reduce affiliation with delinquent peers through 3 forms of peer management: soliciting information, monitoring rules, and communicating disapproval of peers. We examined whether peer management interrupted 2 peer processes: selection and influence of delinquent peers. Adolescents' feelings of being overcontrolled by parents were examined as an additional moderator of delinquent selection and influence. Using network data from a community sample (N = 1,730), we tested whether selection and influence processes varied across early, middle, and late adolescent cohorts. Selection and influence of delinquent peers were evident in all 3 cohorts and did not differ in strength. Parental monitoring rules reduced the selection of delinquent peers in the oldest cohort. A similar effect was found in the early adolescent cohort, but only for adolescents who did not feel overcontrolled by parents. Monitoring rules increased the likelihood of selecting a delinquent friend among those who felt overcontrolled. The effectiveness of communicating disapproval was also mixed: in the middle adolescent network, communicating disapproval increased the likelihood of an adolescent selecting a delinquent friend. Among late adolescents, high levels of communicating disapproval were effective, reducing the influence of delinquent peers for adolescents reporting higher rates of delinquency. For those who reported lower levels of delinquency, high levels of communicating disapproval increased the influence of delinquent peers. The results of this study suggest that the effectiveness of monitoring and peer management depend on the type of behavior, the timing of its use, and whether adolescents feel overcontrolled by parents.

The present study investigated regulatory self-efficacy (RSE) as a predictor of friendship and adolescent alcohol intoxication and as a moderator of peer socialization processes related to alcohol intoxication. The longitudinal sample included 457 Italian adolescents (262 females and 195 males) ranging in age of 14 to 20 years (M = 16.1 years of age). Sociometric and behavioral data were collected at the beginning and end of the academic school year. Actor-based models were applied to simultaneously estimate selection and socialization processes accounting for interdependencies among friends' drinking behaviors. The results indicated that adolescents did not select friends with similar levels of alcohol intoxication or RSE, but adolescents did adopt their friends' drinking behaviors. RSE was negatively associated with adolescent drinking behaviors and moderated socialization processes related to alcohol use, with adolescents reporting higher levels of RSE being less likely to adopt their friends' drinking behaviors than adolescents with lower levels of RSE. (Contains 2 tables.)