The Journal of Early Adolescence

The current study examined how racial and sociobehavioral similarities were associated with friendship stability and friendship quality. Cross-race friends were not significantly similar to each other in peer-nominated shyness/withdrawal, victimization, exclusion, and popularity/sociability. Relative to same-race friends, cross-race friends were significantly less similar in peer-nominated popularity/sociability, exclusion, and victimization. Although same-race friendships were more prevalent than cross-race friendships, only similarity in friends’ aggressive behavior (but not racial homophily) was related to friendship stability. Neither racial nor sociobehavioral similarity predicted friendship quality beyond adolescents’ individual sociobehavioral characteristics. Taken together, findings suggest that although racial similarity may affect initial friendship formation, racial similarity may not impact friendship stability or friendship quality when also accounting for friends’ similarity in sociobehavioral characteristics.

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 context. A sample of 343 French-Canadian participants (140 girls) was followed annually from kindergarten until age 15. Externalizing and internalizing behaviors during childhood were reported by teachers, whereas early sexual onset was self-reported from age 13 to 15. Controlling for sociofamily risk, pubertal status, social preference and sexual abuse, results showed a significant interactive link between externalizing and internalizing behaviors with early sexual onset, albeit only among boys. Specifically, boys high on externalizing and low on internalizing problems in childhood were at increased risk of early sexual onset in early adolescence, whereas externalizing boys with high levels of internalizing problems were not. Externalizing and internalizing problems did not predict early sexual onset for girls. The developmental and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

The goal of this study was to test if both effortful control (EC) and impulsivity, a reactive index of temperament, uniquely predict adolescents’ academic achievement, concurrently and longitudinally (Time 1: N = 168, x ¯ age = 12 years). At Time 1, parents and teachers reported on students’ EC and impulsivity. At both time points, spaced 2 years apart, parents and teachers reported on students’ achievement. In a concurrent regression, both EC and impulsivity were positively related to achievement. At T1, there was evidence of a nonlinear relation between impulsivity and achievement, and the shape of the quadratic was dependent on if EC was simultaneously considered. Results from a longitudinal analysis demonstrated that although parent-reported impulsivity was generally negatively correlated with achievement, EC, but not impulsivity, was prospectively, uniquely related to achievement. The discussion highlights the value of considering adolescents’ EC and impulsivity in models of school success.

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 predictor of current use, lifetime alcohol initiation, and intentions to initiate drinking. Poorer parent–child relationship quality also increased adolescents’ odds of lifetime initiation and current alcohol use. After accounting for peer and family factors, greater perceived availability of alcohol was significantly associated with increased odds of current and lifetime use. Both community context risk predictors were significantly associated with increased risk of intending to initiate alcohol use among nonusers. Results demonstrated some support for gender moderating these relationships; poor family relationship quality increased girls’ odds of initiating alcohol use while more permissive community norms increased boys’ odds of initiating alcohol use.

The current study explored how parental inductions and punitiveness were related to the prosocial moral reasoning through perspective taking and sympathy. Data were collected from three ethnic groups: 106 European American, 202 Mexican American, and 196 Taiwanese fifth and sixth graders (approximately 50% girls). Using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the results generally indicated that the relation between parental inductions and prosocial moral reasoning was partially mediated by perspective taking and sympathy, and that punitiveness had direct relations to prosocial moral reasoning. Furthermore, some ethnic group differences were found such that Taiwanese early adolescents reported less parental inductions and weaker effects of parental punitiveness than early adolescents from the United States. Discussion focuses on the socialization of prosocial moral reasoning across cultural groups.