The study of adolescent childbearing is a major public policy concern in the United States, and father involvement is particularly important. The current study examined 94 African American and Latino adolescent mothers and their children's fathers (47 co-parents) to determine whether co-parenting was a better predictor of father involvement than…

This study investigated friend influence over mathematics achievement in 202 same-sex friendship dyads (106 girl dyads). Participants were in the third grade (around age 9) at the outset. Each friend completed a questionnaire describing interest in mathematics and a standardized mathematical reasoning assessment. Peer nominations provided a…

Peer victimization appears heritable, but it is unclear whether the traits that confer genetic risk require time and familiarity with a perpetrator to manifest or whether novel and brief interactions can lead to received aggression that demonstrates similar genetic risk. We examined 20-minute, peer-play interactions between 5-year-olds, pairing…

Although relationship expectations are thought to influence all social interactions, little is known about the function of children's friendship expectations. This study examined the associations among children's friendship expectations and their behavior within their friendships, their friendship adjustment, and their socioemotional functioning.…

Children's ability to manage the expression of sadness is critical to their development and adjustment. Although parents have been the primary focus of research examining sadness socialization, many acknowledge the influence of other agents such as children's peers. The present research evaluated one type of emotion socialization--reactions to…

This study investigated the prospective association between moral disengagement and bystander behaviors in bullying situations, including both defending and passive bystanding. A diverse sample of Canadian school children (N = 130; 68 boys and 62 girls; mean age = 11.36 years) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study over a 4-month period.…

Previous research has identified school bonding as protective against substance use during adolescence. However, there is still a question as to whether school involvement predicts changes in substance use or if substance use actually predicts changes in level of school bonding. This study investigated the relationship between school bonding and…

This study assesses the relationships between children's shy and antisocial/aggressive behaviors and maternal beliefs, and concomitant parenting behaviors. Structural equation models examined 199 mothers' perceptions of aggression and shyness in their preschool-age children (average age = 59.63 months); maternal beliefs (i.e., locus of control,…

This study examined contributions of maternal personality and infant temperament to infant vocabulary and cognitive development both directly and indirectly through parental stress. Participants were recruited at birth and included 63 infant twin pairs and their mothers. Assessments were completed at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age and included…

The relations among peer victimization, effortful control, school engagement, and academic achievement were examined in a group of 390 (212 boys and 178 girls) racially diverse (38.20% Latino and 46.70% White) 6- to 10-year-old children. Specifically, a multimethod, multi-informant approach was used in which data were gathered using self-report,…