High School Peer Research Articles

Going to College With a Posse: How Having High School Peers on Campus Supports College Achievement

The social experience of transitioning to a 4-year university varies widely among students. Some attend with few or no prior contacts or acquaintances from their hometown; others attend with a large network of high school alumni. Using a sample (N = 43,240) of undergraduates spanning 7.5 years at a public university, we examine what factors predict high school peer prevalence (HSPP) on campus and whether HSPP predicts college achievement above and beyond such factors. Analyses found that HSPP was predicted by variables associated with societal privilege (e.g., being White, continuing generation). Above and beyond these variables, HSPP independently predicted higher grades in gateway STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses and, among first-generation college students, higher retention. The role of HSPP in fostering equity and inequity is discussed. A preprint of this article is available at https://psyarxiv.com/xhpuc/ .

Not only in my genes: The effects of peers’ genotype on obesity

We use data from three waves of Add Health to study the short- and long-run effects of high school peers’ genetic predisposition to high BMI—measured by grade-mates’ average BMI polygenic scores—on adolescent and adult obesity in the U.S. We find that, in the short-run, a one standard deviation increase in peers’ average BMI polygenic scores raises the probability of obesity for females by 2.8% points, about half the size of the effect induced by a one standard deviation increase in one's own polygenic score. No significant effect is found for males. In the long-run, however, the social-genetic effect fades away, while the effect of one's own genetic risk for BMI increases substantially. We suggest that mechanisms explaining the short-run effect for females include changes in nutrition habits and a distorted perception of body size.

The Effect of Grade Retention on Adult Crime: Evidence from a Test-Based Promotion Policy

This paper presents the first analysis in the literature of the effect of test-based grade retention on adult criminal convictions. We exploit math and English test cutoffs for promotion to ninth grade in Louisiana using administrative data on all public K-12 students combined with administrative data on all criminal convictions in the state. Our preferred model uses the promotion discontinuity as an instrument for grade retention, and we find that being retained in eighth grade has large long-run effects on the likelihood of being convicted of a crime by age 25 and on the number of criminal convictions by age 25. Effects are largest for violent crimes: the likelihood of being convicted increases by 1.05 percentage points, or 58.44%, when students are retained in eighth grade. Our data allow an examination of mechanisms, and we show that the effects are likely driven by declines in high school peer quality and educational investments that result in lower non-cognitive skill acquisition. We find little effect on juvenile crime. Using the method proposed by Angrist and Rokkanen (2015), we also estimate effects of grade retention away from the promotion cutoff and show that our results are generalizable to a larger group of low- performing students. Our estimates indicate that eighth grade test-based promotion cutoffs lead to nontrivial private and social costs in terms of higher levels of long-run criminal convictions that are important to consider in the development and use of these policies.

Teaching them, teaching me: youth conceptualize benefits of being a mentor in an indigenous high school peer mentoring program

ABSTRACTIn this mixed methods case study, we investigated the benefits of being a youth mentor to younger peers as part of the Fourth R: Uniting Our Nations Peer Mentoring Program for Indigenous youth. Data were collected from 11 youth mentors via interviews and returned to them for interpretation and meaning-making through a statement sorting and rating activity as part of a group concept mapping procedure. The group concept mapping revealed three themes: (a) Cultural Connections, (b) Benefits to Self, and (c) Relationships with Family and Friends. Implications for programming are discussed and the benefit of group concept mapping as a culturally appropriate methodology is highlighted.

Youth Suicide in Korea Across the Educational Stages

Background: Youth suicides have diverse characteristics according to the young people's developmental stages. Warning signs and communication of suicidal intent can be vague among early adolescents, while mental health problems may be more evidently related to suicidal ideation in older adolescents. Understanding the developmental characteristics of youth suicide is necessary for effective suicide prevention. Aims: We explored the differences between children and adolescents who died by suicide and the characteristics of these young people as observed by their school teachers. Method: We analyzed teachers' mandatory postmortem reports of suicides among 308 Korean students. We compared: suicide-related information including personal, familial, and school factors; stressful life events; and participation in interventions among elementary, middle, and high school students who died by suicide. We also assessed the distribution of student suicides per month. Results: Suicide among elementary school students increased during school vacations, and suicide among middle and high school students increased during the school semester. According to the teachers' reports, elementary school students who died by suicide were more extroverted and had better academic achievements than their high school peers, and had significantly lower levels of substance/tobacco use. Elementary school students who died by suicide showed significantly less academic stress and use of external professional help than did other groups. Limitations: Because this research is based on mandatory teacher reports, the subjective opinions of teachers may have affected the reliability of the data. Suicide by out-of-school youth was not included. Conclusion: School-based suicide prevention should be implemented in accordance with young people's developmental characteristics.

Anxiety and Depression Among Socioeconomically Vulnerable Students with Learning Disabilities: Exploratory Meta-analysis

This study explored the hypothesis that socioeconomically vulnerable children and adolescents who have learning disabilities (LDs) more prevalently experience anxiety and depression than their otherwise similar peers in elementary or high school who are not socioeconomically vulnerable. A systematic search found eight relevant surveys published between 2000 and 2019 that were synthesized with an exploratory meta-analysis. The overall sample-weighted synthesis found that 56% of students with LD scored higher on validated measures of anxiety and depression than did their typical peer without LD [d = 0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04, 0.28]. In comparison, the sample-weighted synthesis among socioeconomically vulnerable students found that 74% of them with LD scored higher on anxiety and depression measures than did their typical peer without LD (d = 0.63, 95% CI 0.45, 0.81). This novel synthetic comparison supported the exploratory hypothesis that socioeconomically vulnerable children and adolescents with LD are at much greater risk of being anxious and depressed than are more socioeconomically resourceful students with LD. This review-generated finding, especially given the relatively modest database available for meta-analysis, is probably best considered a screened hypothesis for future primary research testing. Future research needs are discussed. Preliminary practical implications are also discussed.

Comparison of risk-behaviors among young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) versus high school students. A cross-sectional study

Background: Young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) have been identified as a vulnerable group at risk of poor social functioning, lower educational achievement, limited job opportunities and financial hardship. Being NEET has also been associated with increased risk of mental and physical health problems, but only a few studies have identified the prevalence of certain health-risk behaviors among NEET youth. The present study contributes to fill the existing knowledge gaps by investigating a broad range of risk behaviors in this vulnerable group compared to their high school peers.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 96 NEET youth and 384 age and gender-matched high school students. A self-report questionnaire was used to assess differences in several risk behaviors, including substance use, low consumption of healthy food and high consumption of unhealthy food and beverages, low leisure time physical activity and low sleep duration. Logistic regression models were adjusted for gender, age and parental education.Results: NEET youth had higher odds of using cannabis (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.3), smokeless tobacco (1.7;1.0-2.8), smoking cigarettes (2.6;1.5-4.4), having an irregular consumption of breakfast (2.6;1.5-4.5), lunch (3.1;1.8-5.4) and dinner (1.9;1.1-3.2), having low consumption of vegetables (3.0;1.3-6.7), fruit and berries (5.3;1.6-18.1) and fish (3.0;1.8-5.1) and short sleep duration on weekends (2.6;1.4-4.9) than students. On the other hand, being NEET was associated with decreased odds of short sleep duration on weekdays compared to their high school peers (0.3;0.2-0.5). No differences in alcohol intoxication, consumption frequency of evening meals, consumption of unhealthy food items and beverages and leisure time physical activity were shown between these groups.Conclusions: NEET youth have higher odds of using tobacco, short sleep duration on weekends and lower consumption of healthy food items including vegetables, fruit and fish compared to high school students. These results contribute to identify risk behaviors that are more prevalent among NEET youth compared to students and needs to be addressed through targeted intervention studies.

Weight, reference points, and the onset of eating disorders

We investigate whether the development of eating disorders, in the form of purging, is influenced by peers’ body size through interpersonal comparisons. Using detailed information on recent cohorts of U.S. teenagers, we document a sizeable and significant negative effect of high school peers’ body mass index (BMI) on purging behavior during the adolescence for females, but not for males. Interpersonal comparisons operate through the formation of a distorted self-perception: teenage girls with relatively thin female peers perceive themselves as heavier than they actually are. The girls who are more susceptible to peer influences are those having peers who are thinner, more popular, more (verbally) able, and with more educated parents.

Not Only in My Genes: The Effects of Peers' Genotype on Obesity

We use data from three waves of Add Health to study the short- and long-run effects of high school peers' genetic predisposition to high BMI – measured by grade-mates' average BMI polygenic scores – on adolescent and adult obesity in the U.S. We find that, in the short-run, a one standard deviation increase in peers' average BMI polygenic scores raises the probability of obesity for females by 2.8 percentage points, about half the size of the effect induced by a one standard deviation increase in one's own polygenic score. No significant effect is found for males. In the long-run, however, the social-genetic effect fades away, while the effect of one's own genetic risk for BMI increases substantially. We suggest that mechanisms explaining the short-run effect for females include changes in nutrition habits and a distorted perception of body size.

Contemporary College Students' Reflections of their High School Peer Crowds.

High school peer crowds are fundamental components of adolescent development with influences on short-and long-term life trajectories. This study provides the perspectives of contemporary college students regarding their recent high school social landscapes, contributing to current research and theory on the social contexts of high school. This study also highlights the experiences of college-bound students who represent a growing segment of the adolescent population. 61 undergraduates attending universities in two states participated in 10 focus groups to reflect on their experiences with high school peer crowds during the late 2010s. Similar to seminal research on peer crowds, we examined crowds and individuals along several focal domains: popularity, extracurricular involvement, academic orientation, fringe media, illicit risk taking, and race-ethnicity. We find that names and characteristics of crowds reflect the current demographic and cultural moment (i.e., growing importance of having a college education, racial-ethnic diversity) and identify peer crowds that appear to be particularly salient for college-bound youth. Overall, this study illuminates how the retrospective accounts of college-bound students offer insight into high school social hierarchies during a time of rapid social change.

Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity

AbstractWe study whether a woman’s labor supply as a young adult is shaped by the work behavior of her adolescent peers’ mothers. Using detailed information on a sample of U.S. teenagers who are followed over time, we find that labor force participation of high school peers’ mothers affects adult women’s labor force participation, above and beyond the effect of their own mothers. The analysis suggests that women who were exposed to a larger number of working mothers during adolescence are less likely to feel that work interferes with family responsibilities. This perception, in turn, is important for whether they work when they have children.

Silenced Partners: Language Learning and the Role of Bilingual Peers in High School

Background In schools, a major obstacle to drawing on emergent bilingual students’ knowledge and skills in their first language is a widespread lack of awareness about language use among adolescent English learners, including how peer talk can connect knowledge and abilities in both languages to school-based learning. Although research often acknowledges the importance of engaging students’ home language and culture to bridge to academic literacies in English, few have explicitly examined bilingual peer talk as a resource for language learning during adolescence. Purpose This study explores how emergent bilinguals engaged multiple linguistic codes to scaffold their own academic language development with peer support. Research Design Ethnography and discourse analysis of student interactions were used to contextualize and analyze the academic language use of four Spanish-speaking adolescent immigrant students, taking into account the affordances of classroom discourse structures and peer talk. Conclusions The study describes the linguistic resources available to Spanish-speaking adolescent immigrant students through their peers and shows that emergent bilingual youth used academic language in both Spanish and English most frequently—and in more elaborated interactions—while off-task or in less supervised spaces. Classroom discourse structures often limited student participation, particularly when students used nonstandard linguistic codes.

Starting over on Campus or Sustaining Existing Ties? Social Capital during College Among Rural and Non-Rural College Graduates

Rural youth currently graduate from four-year colleges at a similar rate to peers from other locales, even though they are more likely to come from lower SES backgrounds. Scholars attribute their successes to “small town” community social capital; yet the processes through which young people translate social capital into educational attainment remain unspecified. Through analysis of in-depth interviews with disadvantaged rural and non-rural college graduates (n = 43), this study examines how successful students engage social capital to support academic attainment during college. All graduates tended to rely on family social capital for emotional support, high school social capital for academic preparedness, and on-campus peers and mentors for emotional and academic support. Support from community social capital varied, with some rural students severing hometown ties and others keeping them close. Community social capital offered direct benefits for rural students who maintained close ties, and data from this study suggest possible ways that even rural students who severed ties continued to indirectly benefit, such as feeling comfortable seeking out supportive resources and relationships because they are accustomed to being known. Non-rural students, in contrast, benefitted from continued relationships with high school peers on campus, but no other forms of community social capital.

Educational tracking and juvenile confidence in the police in China

ABSTRACTJuvenile confidence in the police (JCP) has become an important research topic in policing. In spite of an increasing amount of research literature on JCP, the influence of educational tracking especially vocational tracking on juveniles’ confidence in the police has received limited scholarly attention. Extant literature suggests a noticeable difference in family backgrounds, attitudinal perceptions, and problematic behaviours between vocational school students and regular high school students. Using the survey data of 3628 students collected from these 2 distinctive segments of educational tracking in a southwestern Chinese city, this study examines if and how youths in vocational schools perceive the local police differently from their regular high school counterparts. The findings indicate that vocational school students had more confidence in the police than their regular high school peers. In addition, school contexts played a significant role in shaping their respective attitudes toward the police. Implications of these findings are discussed.

High prevalence of prior contact sports play and concussion among orthopedic and neurosurgical department chairs.

OBJECTIVE Increased understanding of the consequences of traumatic brain injury has heightened concerns about youth participation in contact sports. This study investigated the prevalence of high school and collegiate contact sports play and concussion history among surgical department chairs. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was administered to 107 orthopedic and 74 neurosurgery chairs. Responses were compared to published historical population norms for contact sports (high school 27.74%, collegiate 1.44%), football (high school 10.91%, collegiate 0.76%), and concussion prevalence (12%). One-proportion Z-tests, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used to analyze differences. RESULTS High school contact sports participation was 2.35-fold higher (65.3%, p < 0.001) for orthopedic chairs and 1.73-fold higher (47.9%, p = 0.0018) for neurosurgery chairs than for their high school peers. Collegiate contact sports play was 31.0-fold higher (44.7%, p < 0.001) for orthopedic chairs and 15.1-fold higher (21.7%, p < 0.001) for neurosurgery chairs than for their college peers. Orthopedic chairs had a 4.30-fold higher rate of high school football participation (46.9%, p < 0.001) while neurosurgery chairs reported a 3.05-fold higher rate (33.3%, p < 0.001) than their high school peers. Orthopedic chairs reported a 28.1-fold higher rate of collegiate football participation (21.3%, p < 0.001) and neurosurgery chairs reported an 8.58-fold higher rate (6.5%, p < 0.001) compared to their college peers. The rate at which orthopedic (42.6%, p < 0.001) and neurosurgical (42.4%, p < 0.001) chairs reported having at least 1 concussion in their lifetime was significantly higher than the reported prevalence in the general population. After correction for worst possible ascertainment bias, all results except high school contact sports participation remained significant. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of youth contact sports play and concussion among surgical specialty chairs affirms that individuals in careers requiring high motor and cognitive function frequently played contact sports. The association highlights the need to further examine the relationships between contact sports and potential long-term benefits as well as risks of sport-related injury.

Mental Well-Being and Changes in Peer Ability From High School to College

While transitions to college can be stressful, links between distinct types of college transitions and changing student well-being remain unclear. For instance, peer ability often shifts from high school to college, though students differ markedly in how much peer ability change they experience. Here, we draw on national longitudinal data (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health [Add Health]; Waves 1 and 3; N = 1,453) to demonstrate how peer ability transitions from high school to college relate to changes in depressive symptoms and self-esteem, net of student personal background and school-average levels of peer ability. We find that depressive symptoms increase by 27% for students experiencing lowered peer ability across their college transition, relative to no substantial change in peer ability. Meanwhile, heightened peer ability in college links to neither diminished nor enhanced student well-being across the transition. Overall, student well-being relates more closely to collegiate than high-school peer ability.

Heterogeneous effects of high school peers on educational outcomes

Durch die Zusammenfuhrung des Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) Datensatzes und des National Pupil Database Datensatzes soll der Zusammenhang von Begabung im Umfeld des Schulers und dessen schulischen Leistungen untersucht werden. Insbesondere konzentriert sich die Untersuchung auf den Effekt von der Begabung des Umfeldes - messbar durch Testergebnisse der (Mit-)Schuler im Alter von 14 Jahren - auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Besuchs einer Universitat, bzw. auf Testergebnisse im Alter von 16 und 18 Jahren. Die Identifikationsstrategie basiert auf der Messung der Begabung des Umfeldes des Umfeldes der Schuler. Im Speziellen wird das Umfeld derjenigen Schuler, die zusammen mit einem Individuum die High School besucht haben, beleuchtet, indem Schuler ausgewahlt werden, die mit diesen - jedoch nicht mit dem Individuum - die Grundschule, jedoch nicht die High School besucht haben. Diese peers-of-peers Begabung wird genutzt, indem Testergebnisse im Alter von 14 Jahren mit Testergebnissen im Alter von elf Jahren instrumentiert werden. Weiterhin werden Quantilsregressionen genutzt, um die Hohe des Einflusses von Mitschulern an verschiedenen Punkten der Ergebnisverteilung herauszuarbeiten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Begabung der Mitschuler einen leichten Einfluss auf die Testergebnisse mit 16 bzw. 18 Jahren hat. Besonders gros ist der negative Einfluss auf die Ergebnisse eines Individuums an einer High School mit einem hohen Anteil vergleichsweise schlechter Mitschuler. Weiterhin konnte ein starkerer Effekt auf Schuler am unteren Ende der Notenverteilung festgestellt werden, insbesondere im Alter von 16 Jahren.

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections in young adults - a school-based bio-behavioural study in urban areas, Poland, 2012 to 2015.

Context and AimOne of the most common sexually transmitted pathogens disproportionately affecting young people is Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). This study aimed to assess prevalence of CT among sexually active students (aged 18–19 years) in their final years of high school education in Warsaw and Krakow. Methods: The sample was selected from 61 clusters, each cluster representing one school. We described city, sex, type of school and their association with CT prevalence. To account for non-responders we applied inverse probability weighting. Results: Our study population consisted of 3,136 young adults eligible for CT screening, of whom 2,326 reported having had sexual intercourse within past 12 months. Of the 950 students who agreed to be tested, 39 were infected with CT. Weighted prevalence of CT was 3.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.7–5.1); however, prevalence in the students in Warsaw (6.6%; 95% CI: 3.5–12.4) was six times higher (prevalence ratio (PR) = 5.9; 95% CI: 2.0–17.3) than in Krakow (1.1%; 95% CI: 0.5–2.6). In both settings, female students attending vocational-technical schools were most affected; the prevalence in this group was more than five times higher (PR = 5.2; 95% CI: 1.7–15.6) compared with female peers in high schools and more than three times higher (PR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.0–10.7) compared with male peers attending vocational-technical schools. Conclusion: Our study suggested prevalence of CT infection among young people in Poland comparable with the European average, supporting implementation of a CT control programme as recommended in international guidelines.

Exploring Latino/a college students’ transition experiences: An ethnography of social preparedness and familial support

ABSTRACTThis ethnographic case study examined first-year, first-generation, low-income Latino/a college students’ social experiences and familial support during their transition from a charter high school to four-year universities. Through interviews and observations, we found that maintaining communication and building relationships among high school and college peers, high school faculty and staff, and college professors were essential to navigating the educational system; also, having a family that supported their academic work to allow students to only focus on their coursework was important.

School-related experiences of adolescents in foster care: A comparison with their high-school peers.

Although adolescents in foster care are known to be more at risk for school-related academic challenges, there is a paucity of research on their school-related experiences, such as victimization and relationships with teachers, compared with their same-age peers not in care. The aim of this article is to compare foster-care adolescents and their schoolmates on data that was drawn from the statewide representative California Healthy Kids survey and includes 165,815 nonfoster youth and 706 foster youth in 9th and 11th grades. Findings indicate a consistent pattern: After controlling for age, gender and race, adolescents in foster care have lower (self-reported) academic achievements and experiences that are more negative in school compared with their peers. However, hierarchical regression equations indicate that after controlling for background and school experiences, there were no significant differences in academic achievements between foster care youth and their high school peers. This finding may reflect that in-school experiences are responsible for many of the more negative academic outcomes experienced by foster youth. (PsycINFO Database Record