Despite work demonstrating that executive function development is influenced by the social environment during childhood, little is known about these processes during adolescence either inside or outside the classroom. This study examined the relationship between executive function development and two social-contextual factors, namely the impact of classroom descriptive norms regarding executive functioning, and perceived social support from teachers and peers. Self-report data was collected from 425 early adolescents ( M age T1 = 13.28; SD = 0.80, 47.1% female) at two timepoints approximately one year apart. Multilevel analyses showed that individual levels of executive functioning were a stronger predictor of executive function development than classroom levels of executive functions. Social support from teachers and peers was not related to executive function development. While these findings offer an initial suggestion that executive function development may occur relatively independently of the social environment, we offer suggestions for future studies to explore this relationship in more detail.

This study focused on examining the role of prosocial peer affiliation as a potential buffer of the bidirectional relationship between bullying victimization and perpetration, using nationally representative data of U.S. early adolescents ( N = 7973) from the fourth- and fifth-grade rounds of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K:2011). Employing the cross-lagged panel model and latent moderated structural equations approach, results indicated that prosocial peer affiliation significantly buffered the relationship between bullying victimization and later perpetration. However, prosocial peer affiliation significantly enhanced, rather than buffered, the association between bullying perpetration and subsequent victimization. Findings suggest that antibullying interventions may focus on helping children who are bullied to be affiliated with prosocial peers to prevent subsequent bullying behavior.

This study aimed to examine the developmental progression of gender similarity, an important aspect of gender identity, in early adolescence. At 11 ( Mage = 11.01) and 14 years of age ( Mage = 14.00), 156 youths (77 girls, 76 boys, 2 transgender boys, 1 gender fluid participant) reported on their perceived own-gender and other-gender similarity levels. Latent change score models suggested that mean levels of own-gender similarity remained stable over time while mean levels of other-gender similarity decreased. No gender differences were found in these mean-level trends. Using autoregressive cross-lagged models to investigate individual differences, a cross-over effect emerged for both gender groups, wherein other-gender similarity at age 11 negatively predicted own-gender similarity at age 14 (controlling for baseline levels of own-gender similarity). These results suggest that both perceived own-gender and other-gender similarity should be assessed when examining gender similarity in early adolescence, as these two subdimensions follow distinct developmental patterns.

Combined schools spanning the elementary and middle grades (like K–8 schools) can protect students from harms associated with structural transitions by offering a stable school environment at a time when youth are undergoing many physical, psychological, and social changes. Using math and reading MAP Growth assessment scores from 20,000 students in parallel prepandemic and pandemic event studies, we investigate the extent to which the protective benefits historically offered by combined schools prepandemic held during the COVID-19 pandemic—a period of prolong disruption to normal schooling conditions. We find sixth and seventh graders enrolled in combined schools before the pandemic had scores 0.12 to 0.16 standard deviation (SD) units higher than their peers in standalone middle schools. That advantage diminished during the pandemic; middle grade youth in combined schools in 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 had math and reading scores that were only 0.04 to 0.08 SDs higher than their transitional counterparts. During the pandemic, school configuration mattered more for students’ reading, but not their math, achievement if they were attending school in-person than if they were attending school remotely. Our findings raise questions about the mechanisms through which combined schools offer academic benefits under both typical and atypical schooling conditions.

Students regularly encounter challenges and difficulties in their schoolwork. Mounting evidence suggests that the ways they cope with them can make a difference to their subsequent tenacity, engagement, learning, and achievement. To learn more about the factors that can foster productive coping, we conducted a study using a model based on Self-Determination Theory that specifies a set of personal motivational resources (self-appraisals of relatedness, competence, and autonomy) and interpersonal supports (teacher motivational provisions). Results showed that teacher motivational support at the beginning of the school year predicted changes in students’ profiles of academic coping across the year, and all three self-appraisals uniquely and fully mediated these effects. Follow-up analyses of individual coping responses suggested similar mediational patterns, although for some responses the effects of teachers were only partially mediated. Findings highlight the importance of perceived competence and of teacher motivational provisions, which seem to promote coping by supporting students’ needs.

The present study investigated the role of rejection sensitivity (i.e., rejection expectancy, anxious anticipation) and exposure to relational victimization within the friendship group in conformity intentions. For 353 fourth and fifth grade students, self-reported friendship groups were used with peer nomination procedures to assess experienced and witnessed relational victimization from friendship group members. Participants completed a rejection sensitivity questionnaire and responded to hypothetical vignettes to assess intentions to conform to changes in friendship group trend-following, troublemaking, and academic behaviors. Effects of rejection sensitivity and relational victimization on conformity intentions varied across behavior domains. Higher anxious anticipation was associated with higher academic conformity but lower troublemaking conformity, whereas higher rejection expectancy was associated with lower academic and trend-following conformity intentions. Rejection expectancy moderated the relation between relational victimization and academic conformity; relational victimization was positively associated with academic conformity intent when rejection expectancy was high (+1 SD).

Past work shows that COVID-19 impacted adolescent mental health, but the moderating role of parental factors remains unclear. Ninety-one parent-adolescent dyads (ages 12–15) completed online surveys. Parents reported on COVID-19 disruption within their household, their mental health, parental reflective functioning (i.e., ability to consider the mental state of their child), and their adolescent’s emotional and behavioural difficulties. Adolescents rated their own emotional and behavioural difficulties and perception of parental support. Positive associations between household COVID-19 disruption and adolescent difficulties emerged, regardless of informant. However, parental factors linked to adolescent difficulties varied by informant. Parental reflective functioning moderated the association between COVID-19 disruption and adolescent difficulties (parent-report). COVID-19 disruption showed some stronger associations with adolescent difficulties than other parental stress measures, but not consistently. Findings replicate and extend prior work, emphasizing the negative association between COVID-19 disruption and adolescent mental health, while highlighting parental reflective functioning’s potential for mitigating adolescent difficulties.

Studies have consistently shown emotion dysregulation to be a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychological and behavioral outcomes, yet less work has identified environmental predictors of such dysregulation. Taking a social ecological approach, we investigated if proximal processes associated with micro-contexts of family, school, and peers (e.g., family conflict), as well as macro-contexts (neighborhood and socioeconomic status) and their interactions predicted overall emotional dysregulation and use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies in early adolescence. Data from Wave 4 of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were used ( N = 6251). Results showed support for hypotheses with multiple micro-contexts being associated with each ER outcome at varying strengths. Contrary to expectations, there was little evidence for macro-contexts and associated interactions as predictors of ER. Future directions are explored, with an emphasis on what factors may be more relevant to ER in early adolescence.