School moves during adolescence predict lower peer integration and higher exposure to delinquent peers. Yet mobility and peer problems have several common correlates, so differences in movers' and non-movers' social adjustment may be due to selection rather than causal effects of school moves. Drawing on survey and social network data from a…

This study of 1,601 students in the middle years of schooling (Grades 5-8, each student measured twice, 1 year apart) from 200 classrooms in 44 schools sought to identify factors explaining gains and declines in mathematics engagement at key transition points. In multilevel regression modeling, findings showed that compared with Grade 6 students…

Interpersonal traumas experienced early in life adversely impact psychological well-being in children and adolescents, yet the specific role that social support can have in reducing negative outcomes following trauma exposure is unclear. Using a general population sample of seventh-grade students in an urban public school district in the South…

We examined the influence of physical and psychosocial variables on math and reading achievement test scores. Between 1 and 5 months prior to taking annual standardized reading and math tests, a sample of (N = 1,211) sixth through eight graders (53.7% girls; 57.2% White) self-reported levels of physical activity, academic self-beliefs, general…

This exploratory study examined middle school students' (N = 380) help-seeking behaviors and other reactions to controlling behaviors in their dating relationships. Over three-fourths of the participants perpetrated and were victimized by controlling behaviors in their dating relationships. Youth used emotional/verbal and dominance/isolation forms…

This study examined early adolescents' beliefs about which academic self-presentation strategies hypothetical hard-working, high-achieving students should use with popular peers, adolescents' own use of self-presentation strategies, and links between popularity and self-presentation strategies. In response to scenarios in which popular classmates…

In this study, we examine whether a nine-lesson sex education intervention, "Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works," implemented in sixth grade, can reduce the number of adolescents who might otherwise become "early starters" of sexual activity (defined as heterosexual intercourse) by seventh grade. Participants were…

The current study examined the impact of supportive social relationships (i.e., teacher support, adult support, school relatedness) and peer victimization on middle school students' substance use. Over 3,000 middle school students reported on alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, supportive social relationships, and instances in which they were…

This study examines the relationship between peer, family, and community context risk factors and alcohol use; gender is examined as a potential moderator of these relationships. Hierarchical logistic regressions conducted in a sample of 781 seventh grade students found that normative beliefs about peers' alcohol use emerged as the most consistent…

This study had three goals: (a) assessing the predictive association of externalizing and internalizing behaviors during childhood with sexual onset during early adolescence; (b) examining the interactive link of externalizing and internalizing behaviors with early sexual onset; and (c) investigating the moderating effect of gender in this…

This research focuses on the interaction between students' domain-specific expectancies and values as a predictor of test anxiety. A subsample of adolescents from the MSALT dataset are used in the current study; students complete measures during the spring of sixth grade and again during the spring of seventh grade. Overall, findings provide…

Early adolescence is a critical transition period for the maintenance of academic achievement. One factor that school systems often fail to take into account is the influence of friends on academic achievement during middle school. This study investigated the influence of friends' characteristics on change in academic achievement from Grade 6 to…

The present study examines the relative role of three distinct types of peer relationships (reciprocated friendships, frequent interactions, and shared group membership) in within-year changes in academic self-concept and engagement before and after the transition to middle school (fifth and seventh grade). In a series of linear regression…

Students (N = 221) in an intermediate school (grades 5-8) in a rural area of the Southwestern United States completed a survey regarding their familiarity with technology and their experiences with cyberbullying during the school year. Initial evidence of survey reliability is presented. In the sample, 1.5% of participants were classified as…

The current study investigates linear and curvilinear associations between overt aggressive behavior and the adolescents' reports of the quality of their friendships over time. Moderation by gender was also investigated. The sample consisted of 246 boys and 253 girls from the sixth and seventh grades of a large public middle school. Findings…