Mediation analysis is a statistical approach used to examine how the effect of an independent variable on an outcome is transmitted through an intervening variable (mediator). In this article, we provide a gentle introduction to single-level and multilevel mediation analyses. Using single-level data, we demonstrate an application of structural…

This longitudinal study builds on research addressing changes in achievement goal orientations (AG) across the transition to middle school. We had two objectives. The first was to identify and describe different development trajectories of AG (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) from the last year of elementary school (Grade…

This study examined the experiences of peer and adult victimization of 737 12-year-old Finnish students. Of the respondents, 28.4% had experienced peer or adult, or both kinds of violence. Peer violence was the most common type of violence, while adult violence was rare. The associations between victimization and depression, somatization and…

The current study examined the role of school connectedness as a moderator of the associations between overt and relational forms of peer victimization and early adolescents' subsequent adjustment problems. Data were collected from 490 adolescents when they were initially in the sixth and seventh grades and again 1 year later. Regression analyses…

This community-based study examined differences in parenting quality and parent symptoms for youth in four categories: anxious (elevated anxiety symptoms), depressed (elevated depressive symptoms), comorbid (elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms), and nonelevated (elevations of neither type). Respondents were 976 young adolescents (mean age =…

Although autobiographical memory specificity is an important developmental feature fostering adaptation throughout life, little is known about factors related to interindividual differences in autobiographical memory specificity. The current study investigated associations with early adolescents' communication with mother about their experiences…

The current study bridges research on peer relational and physical victimization with research on ethnic victimization and situates this research in the context of ethnic diversity. Specifically, the authors investigate how ethnic, relational, and physical victimization relate to concurrent levels of depression/anxiety and physical aggression and…

Our study examined discrepancies in Mexican American adolescent-parent perceptions regarding parental autonomy promoting and their associations with adolescents' adjustment. A total of 138 Mexican American sixth graders reported their global self-worth and depressive symptoms. Adolescents and parents also reported their perceptions of parental…

Utilizing a cross-sectional design, the authors examined associations between pubertal status, peer victimization, and their interaction in relation to weight concerns and symptoms of depression in a sample of early adolescent girls (N = 261). Multivariate analyses revealed a significant interaction between pubertal status and relational…

Does anxiety lead to depression more for girls than for boys? This study prospectively examines gender differences in the relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. One hundred thirteen 11- to 14-year-old middle school students complete questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms and three dimensions of anxiety…

This study examined (a) the unique contribution of mothers' involvement in their children's organized activity, fathers' involvement in the activity, social integration in the activity peer group, and social support from the activity leader on youth adjustment and (b) the moderating effects of youths' gender and prior adjustment on these…

The present study examined the independent and interactive relations of effortful control and two family environment variables (parent-adolescent conflict and negative family relations) on the subsequent conduct problems and depressive symptoms of 459 European American and Latino adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14. Hierarchical regression…

One thousand twenty-four African American and Latino sixth graders participated in a study examining the moderating role of pubertal development on the relation between peer victimization and adolescent self-worth, depressed mood, and physical symptoms using peer and self-reported victimization. It was hypothesized that early-maturing girls who…

Research suggests that negative affect is an important mediator in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms. This study examines the mediational role of specific emotion regulation processes (i.e., negative emotionality, poor awareness of emotion, nonconstructive coping with negative emotion) in bulimic symptoms. In…