In the present study, we sought to examine the relationship between perceived economic stress and adolescents' bullying victimization and extended previous literature by examining the mediating effect of self-esteem as well as the moderating effects of student-student relationships and gender in this association. The research hypotheses were…

The relation between cognition and life satisfaction is shaped by several factors. The present research investigated whether mindreading skills are linked to subjective well-being and anxiety during the transition into adolescence. Specifically, our aim was to investigate individual differences in those constructs and gendered relational patterns.…

The present study examined the relationship between online disinhibition and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and investigated whether empathy and gender would moderate this relationship. A total of 2407 Chinese adolescents aged 11-16 years completed the questionnaires to measure their online disinhibition, empathy, and cyberbullying…

Identification of goals is a key social-cognitive process that guides whether adolescents engage in aggressive or nonviolent behavior during social conflicts. This study investigated early adolescents' goals in response to hypothetical social conflict situations involving close friends and peers. Participants (n = 160; M[subscript age] = 12.7, 53%…

The experience of positive events is associated with increased positive affect, which can beneficially impact the physical and mental health outcomes of adolescents. Despite an increase in important life events during adolescence, little research has examined the influence of positive events on affect in this population. This study used Ecological…

Students who repeat a grade are at a higher risk of dropping out of high school. Previous research has examined this in a methodologically aggregated way (e.g., repeated any grade versus never repeated) or only specific grades/grade ranges (e.g., Kindergarten or elementary) leaving questions about which grades are more detrimental to repeat with…

This study used a cross-lagged panel analysis to explore the effect of impulsivity and academic achievement on the development of suicidal ideation in adolescents using three-time assessments with an interval of 6 months. A total of 211 adolescents (104 boys, 107 girls with a mean age of 13.62 ± 0.68 years in the third assessment) completed the…

We examined the prospective associations between two indicators of mother-youth emotional climate (i.e., maternal affect, dyadic cohesiveness) during a peer problem discussion and youth coping with peer stress following entry into middle school. We also investigated youth baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of these…

Prospective associations linking parental responses to peer victimization (i.e., coping suggestions, school contact) with adolescents' coping and experiences of peer victimization were examined. Participants were 203 adolescents (X-bar[subscript] age = 12.16 years, SD = 0.98) and a parent (81% mothers). At Time 1, parents provided open-ended…

This study examined gender differences in a moderated-mediation model examining whether perceived social support moderated depressive symptom and academic achievement mediation pathways from peer victimization to substance use among 1,334 U.S. early adolescents (11-14 years, 50% girls, 51% White). Surveys were administered in schools at three…

Knowledge about the role of empathy, emotional self-efficacy, and loneliness on early adolescents' depressive symptoms is scarce. The main aims of the study were to investigate the following: (a) the role of empathy and emotional self-efficacy (additive and interactive) on loneliness and depressive symptoms, taking into account gender differences…

The theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to understand mental states in others. The previous research has highlighted age- and language-dependent effects during childhood and provided inconsistent data regarding the role of gender. Notably, these variables were rarely studied simultaneously among adolescents. Accordingly, this short longitudinal…

Black and Latinx youth are situated in a maladaptive discriminatory context in the United States; however, prosociality may be one way that youth can promote their own positive development in the face of these experiences. We examined the longitudinal associations between discrimination and prosociality among 380 Black and Latinx early adolescents…

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the perceived social costs of interacting with gender-atypical peers. Our study examined the relationship between peer processes and gender socialization by exploring situational and individual-level factors that could affect the relationship. Middle school students (N = 107)…

This study investigates the impact of early adolescent internalizing symptoms on family functioning for girls and boys, as moderated by perceived stress. Surveys were administered to 1,344 middle school students (11-14 years; 51% girls; 51% non-Hispanic White) in the fall of 2016 (T1) and 6 months later in the spring of 2017 (T2). For boys,…