Opposites detract: middle school peer group antipathies

A Short-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Relation of Forms of Antipathy Relationships to Children's Loneliness, Peer Optimism, and Peer Sociability Behaviors

Researchers have focused on children's friendship relationships more than antipathy (disliking) relationships. The present one-year longitudinal research examined the relation of different forms of antipathy nominations (Mutual, Unilateral Given, Unilateral Received) to children's social competence (self-reports of loneliness and peer optimism, classroom peer nominations for sociability behaviors) for 121 third and fourth graders (fourth and fifth graders in Year 2). From path analyses, the pattern between forms of antipathy relationships to the measures of social competence was identical for concurrent findings at Time 1 and between forms of antipathy relationships and the measures of social competence one year later. Higher numbers of Mutual Antipathies and higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to greater loneliness and fewer peer nominations for sociability behaviors. In addition, higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to less peer optimism. Interestingly, numbers of Unilateral Given Antipathies were not significantly related to any of the social competence measures at Time 1 or one year later. These findings suggest that dislike relationships, whether mutual or unilateral received, may have important negative associations for children's concurrent and later social competence.

Classroom Seat Proximity Predicts Friendship Formation

The present study tests the hypothesis that friendships form on the basis of classroom seating proximity. Participants included 235 students (129 boys, 106 girls) in grades 3–5 (ages 8–11) who nominated friends at two time points (13–14 weeks apart). Teachers described seating arrangements. Concurrent analyses indicated that students sitting next to or nearby one another were more likely to receive friend nominations and be involved in reciprocated friendships than students seated elsewhere in the classroom. Longitudinal analyses indicated that classroom seating proximity was associated with the formation of new friendships. Most results for randomly selected outgoing friend nominations and randomly selected reciprocated friend dyads were replicated in analyses that included all friend nominations and all friend dyads.

Toward understanding the functions of peer influence: A summary and synthesis of recent empirical research

Compelling evidence demonstrates that peer influence is a pervasive force during adolescence, one that shapes adaptive and maladaptive attitudes and behaviors. This literature review focuses on factors that make adolescence a period of special vulnerability to peer influence. Herein, we advance the Influence-Compatibility Model, which integrates converging views about early adolescence as a period of increased conformity with evidence that peer influence functions to increase affiliate similarity. Together, these developmental forces smooth the establishment of friendships and integration into the peer group, promote interpersonal and intragroup compatibility, and eliminate differences that might result in social exclusion.

From emotional exhaustion to cynicism in academic burnout among Korean high school students: Focusing on the mediation effects of hatred of academic work

This study aimed to investigate the effect of academic hatred, referring to the hatred of academic work, on the developmental process of the core dimensions of academic burnout, namely, emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Data were collected from 1015 (57.3% female) senior high school students in South Korea. The results showed that emotional exhaustion, cynicism and academic hatred were stable across three waves. An autoregressive cross-lagged model showed that emotional exhaustion was predictive of future academic hatred, which in turn was associated with future cynicism. Significant mediation pathways were also identified, with academic hatred mediating the longitudinal link between emotional exhaustion and cynicism. This longitudinal study can strengthen the understanding of academic hatred within the developmental process of academic burnout. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Bullies, victims, and antipathy: the feeling is mutual

In this study we consider whether bullies and victims are disliked by most of their classmates, or whether antipathy is concentrated among the occupants of these roles. Antipathy nominations were collected from a community sample of 699 Finnish adolescents (14 to 17 years of age), who described their own bullying and victimization, as well as problem behaviors and school engagement. Victimization was associated with antipathy, but the strength of the association differed according to characteristics of the nominator. Victimization was related to antipathy when the nominator was high on bullying but not low. Similarly, bullying was related to antipathy when the nominator was high on victimization, but not low. The findings indicate that although bullies and victims have elevated mean levels of rejection, they are not disliked by most peers but rather by those who report themselves to be high on these attributes.

Social network influences on smoking, drinking and drug use in secondary school: centrifugal and centripetal forces

We explore how school experiences and social networks structure young people's substance use in different institutional contexts. The concepts of 'selection' and 'influence' are situated within the context of bounded agency, counter-school cultures and Bourdieusian notions of capital. We employed individual and group interviews, network-mapping, and observations at two contrasting English secondary schools. Both schools were characterised by extended social network structures that appeared to influence patterns of substance use, although the mechanisms via which this occurred varied according to school context. At Grange House school (suburban context) a minority of students from disadvantaged families were alienated by the attainment-focused regime, marginalised by a strong peer-led centrifugal force pushing them outwards, and substance use was an alternative source of bonding and identity for these students. In contrast, at North Street a centripetal force operated whereby the majority of students were pulled towards highly-visible, normative markers of 'safe', 'road culture', such as cannabis use and gang-involvement, as they attempted to fit in and survive in an inner-city school environment. We conclude that health inequalities may be reproduced through these distinctive centrifugal and centripetal forces in different institutional contexts, and this should be the focus of quantitative examination in the UK and elsewhere.

Students with reading and spelling disabilities: peer groups and educational attainment in secondary education

The present study investigated whether the members of adolescents' peer groups are similar in reading and spelling disabilities and whether this similarity contributes to subsequent school achievement and educational attainment. The sample consisted of 375 Finnish adolescents whose reading and spelling disabilities were assessed at age 16 with the Finnish dyslexia screening test. The students also completed a sociometric nomination measure that was used to identify their peer groups. Register information on participants' school grades also was available, and educational attainment in secondary education was recorded 5 years after completion of the 9 years of basic education. The results revealed that the members of adolescent peer groups resembled each other in reading disabilities but not in those of spelling. Reading disabilities and academic achievement shared within the peer group also contributed to educational attainment in secondary education. Finally, reading disabilities played a larger role in educational attainment among males than among females.

The role of peer groups in male and female adolescents' task values and physical activity

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the role of peer groups and sex in adolescents' task values and physical activity. The participants were 330 Finnish Grade 6 students (173 girls, 157 boys), who responded to questionnaires that assessed physical education task values during the spring semester (Time 1). Students' physical activity was assessed one year later (Time 2). The results indicated that adolescent peer groups were moderately homogeneous in terms of task values toward physical education and physical activity. Girls' peer groups were more homogeneous than those of boys in regards to utility and attainment values. Furthermore, the results for both girls and boys showed that particularly intrinsic task value typical for the peer group predicted group members' physical activity. The findings highlight the important role of peer group membership as a determinant of future physical activity.