‘What I Want and What You Want’: Children's Thinking about Competing Personal Preferences

This study examined how children reason about competing personal preferences. Seventy‐two participants (mean ages 5 years 5 months, 10 years 4 months, and 17 years 7 months) considered three hypothetical scenarios in which a protagonist's personal preference was in conflict with her or his friend's personal preference. Scenarios varied in the relative weightiness of each character's desires. Whereas 5‐ and 10‐year‐olds prioritized the friend's preference across scenarios, 17‐year‐olds affirmed the character's prerogative to act according to her or his own preference except when the friend's preference was weightier. Nevertheless, regardless of age, participants generally reasoned about these situations in terms of autonomy and friendship rather than as moral obligations. The findings contribute to our understanding of how children of different ages work out the boundaries of the personal.     

Monthly Instability in Early Adolescent Friendship Networks and Depressive Symptoms

This study examined (1) the relation between perceived friendship instability and depressive symptoms, (2) the directionality of this link, and (3) whether the relation between friendship instability and depressive symptoms would differ according to specific friendship status (best and secondary friendships) and contexts (school, non-school, and multiple). Participants were 102 young adolescents (51 girls; M age  =  12 years) who completed a series of five monthly telephone interviews and in-class questionnaires. Results suggested that friendship instability over a five-month period was significantly associated with an increase in depressed mood. Regarding the directionality of the influence, cross-lag analyses revealed that elevated depressive symptoms at one time point significantly predicted an increase in friendship instability by the following month, whereas friendship instability at one time point did not predict an increase in depressive symptoms the next month. Finally, participants' depressed mood appeared to be associated with instability in their best friendships (but not secondary friendships) and in their school friendships (but not non-school and multi-context friendships). The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Substance use and decision‐making in adolescent best friendship dyads: The role of popularity

In adolescent best friendship dyads, we examined: (a) similarity in substance use and decision‐making; (b) associations between participants' decision‐making and their own and best friend's substance use, (c) the influence of relative popularity within the dyad on these associations. Participants (n = 172; 12–18 years) named their best friend, completed popularity ratings, and a substance use questionnaire. Computer tasks were administered to assess risk‐taking and immediate reward preferences. Reciprocated same‐sex best friendship dyads (n = 49) were distinguished on their popularity, and we controlled for age differences between dyads in the analyses. Best friends were similar in substance use and risk‐taking preferences. More popular friends' risk‐taking preferences were positively associated with alcohol use of less popular friends. These findings underscore best friendship similarity in risky behaviors, and the influence of popular friends.     

Early and Middle Adolescents' Reasoning About Moral and Personal Concerns in Opposite‐sex Interactions

This study examined how adolescents coordinate personal and moral concerns in reasoning about opposite‐sex interactions. Sixty‐four early and middle adolescents (Ms = 12.74, 16.05 years) were individually interviewed about two hypothetical situations involving opposite‐sex interactions (commenting on appearance, initiating a date), presented in four conditions that varied the salience of personal vs. moral concerns. Overall, participants viewed opposite‐sex interactions as harmless and acceptable in personal conditions, but as moral concerns became more salient, they were viewed more negatively, as less contingent on the target's response, and as entailing humiliation, coercion, and victimization. Age differences occurred primarily in reasoning about conditions entailing mixed‐personal and moral concerns. Implications for adolescents' understanding of harassment and victimization are discussed.     

Body Image and Body Change Strategies Within Friendship Dyads and Groups: Implications for Adolescent Appearance‐based Rejection Sensitivity

Appearance‐based rejection sensitivity (appearance‐RS) consists of concerns about, and expectations of, rejection because of one's appearance (Park). This study examined dyadic‐ and group‐level friendship characteristics as correlates of early adolescents' appearance‐RS. Using subgroups of an initial sample of 380 participants, appearance‐RS was examined within best friend relationships (N = 132, M_age = 13.84) and friendship groups (N = 186, M_age = 13.83). Overall, best friends were similar in their appearance‐RS, body dissatisfaction, restrictive dieting, appearance‐conditional self‐worth, appearance values, and self‐rated attractiveness. Similarities between individuals and their friendship groups were consistent with the findings for dyads, except for self‐rated attractiveness and dieting. Appearance‐RS was higher in adolescents whose best friends and friendship groups reported greater restrictive dieting and appearance‐conditional self‐worth. In general, associations did not differ for boys and girls, but having a higher proportion of boys in the friendship group was associated with lowered appearance concerns.     

Emotion Talk and Friend Responses Among Early Adolescent Same‐sex Friend Dyads

To better understand early adolescent emotion talk within close same‐sex friendships, this observational study examined emotion talk, as measured by emotion term use, in relation to friend supportive and dismissive responses to such terms among 116 adolescents (58 friend dyads) in Grades 7–8 (56.9% female, M = 13.08, SD = .61). Partial intra‐class correlation coefficients derived by using actor partner interdependence models revealed similarities in the frequency of dyad mates use of positive and negative emotions terms. Chi‐square analyses indicated that when friends responded to participants' emotion talk supportively, rather than dismissively, participants were more likely to disclose emotions in subsequent utterances. Research and clinical implications for early adolescent emotional development are discussed.     

The interplay of friends and parents in adolescents’ daily lives: Towards a dynamic view of social support

This daily diary study investigated the interplay of perceived friend and parent support in adolescents’ everyday lives. Specifically, we tested the interactive effects of friend and parent support on adolescent well‐being at both the intra‐ and inter‐individual level. A diverse sample of 119 adolescents (M_age = 15.36) completed diary reports for 2 weeks. Multivariate multilevel models demonstrated that on days adolescents felt more supported by their friends or parents, they experienced increases in their happiness and social connectedness. Additionally, parent support emerged as a protective factor for youth lacking friend support, although patterns differed at the intra‐ vs. inter‐individual level. The findings underscore the dynamic nature of social support in adolescents’ daily lives and highlight the interactive roles of friends and parents in promoting youth well‐being.     

Links between friends’ behaviors and the emergence of leadership in childhood: A genetically informed study of twins

Using a genetically informed design, this study examined whether children's leadership behavior varied as a function of their reciprocal friends’ behavioral characteristics. Specifically, we tested (a) whether friends’ use of a dual strategy (specifically, indirect aggression with prosocial behavior) was associated with children's leadership behavior and (b) whether, in line with a gene‐environment interaction (GxE), the predictive association between friends’ behaviors and children's leadership behavior varied depending on the child's genetic likelihood for leadership. The sample comprised 239 Monozygotic and same‐sex Dizygotic twin pairs (50% boys) assessed in grade 4 (mean age = 10.4 years, SD = 0.26). Reciprocal friendship and children's and their friends’ prosocial, indirectly aggressive, and physically aggressive behaviors were measured via peer nominations. Children's and friends’ leadership was measured through teacher ratings. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that children's genetic likelihood for leadership was positively associated with their leadership behavior. Moreover, the higher their genetic likelihood for leadership, the more children displayed increased leadership behavior when friends showed a combination of indirect aggression and prosocial behavior (GxE). These results underline the role of friends’ behaviors in explaining children's leadership. Socializing with bistrategic friends seems to foster leadership skills especially in children with a genetic likelihood for leadership.     

Organizational factors and child participation in decision‐making: differences between two child welfare organizations

Children in residential care tend to be less content with the quality of care arrangements and participation opportunities compared to children in foster care. This study explored possible differences in social workers' views about child participation and service quality. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test if any differences may be explained by collaboration between professionals' and social workers' work engagement. We found that social workers from residential care services seem more prudent in letting children participate in case planning compared to social workers planning for foster care. Social workers' judgements of service quality were also highly affected by their organizational affiliation, but personal factors such as work engagement may also play a part. The differences we found regarding social workers' attitudes towards participation and their rating of service quality are associated with organizational culture. Understanding how organizations shape social workers' decisions to include or exclude children in care planning may help gain a more comprehensive understanding of what is needed to take the participation agenda forward.     

Navigations between regulations and gut instinct: the unveiling of collective memory in decision‐making processes where teenagers are placed in residential care

The decision to take a young person away from his or her family into out‐of‐home care and treatment is the most drastic intervention within the statutory powers bestowed upon social services. The results of reports on the quality of residential treatment reveal that state supervision has not proven to be a good substitute for parental care. In this paper we analyse the decision‐making process when young persons are placed in residential care. Focus groups and individual interviews with different stakeholders were conducted. The results show that the placements are a collective process involving negotiations between the different parties with a coordinating social worker in the middle, with the aim to bring something to build hope on in often desperate situations, regardless of the specific treatment method used. To inform the process, the social workers draw on a ‘collective memory’ shared among colleagues in the department. Important signs of quality of a residential unit were the relational and collaborative competence from the staff. The inclination to use soft, diffuse information in decision‐making shows a striking lack of evidence upon which social workers can build well‐informed and knowledge‐based decisions.