A Contextual Analysis of Peer Experiences during Early Adolescence

青少年与同龄人的关系对他们的幸福有很大影响。研究表明，被欺负会导致一些心理问题，而友谊可以促进幸福。虽然有很多关于欺凌和友谊的研究，但很少有研究（1）调查欺凌发生和朋友互动的多个在线和面对面的位置;（2）对比夏季和学年期间发生的欺凌和友谊经历的影响;以及（3）比较在不同地点和不同时间发生的欺凌和友谊经历的影响（例如，欺凌发生在一周与周末，在学年与夏季）。在夏季进行的研究尤其罕见，因为完全捕捉当今青年所处的在线世界的工作也是如此。该项目是第一个全面评估地点（包括在线和面对面地点）和时间（夏季和学年）如何影响青少年的友谊和欺凌经历及其对心理健康的影响的项目。这项研究的设计需要通过调查和每日日记从300个社会经济和种族不同的青少年在一个学年和夏季的三个时间点在线收集数据。有三个目标。第一个目标是评估不同地点和不同时间段青少年友谊和欺负经历的特征。第二个目标是测试这种友谊和欺凌经历对积极和消极心理结果的影响是否取决于它们发生的地点和时间。第三个目标是研究性别、社会经济地位和种族对同伴经历的影响。这项工作抓住了重要的背景差异的特点和影响青少年的友谊和欺凌的经验。研究结果验证了核心发展理论，并促进新的理解在哪里，什么时候，什么友谊和欺凌的经验。未来的研究人员可以利用这些发现来开发新的干预措施，重点是降低受害风险并鼓励与朋友的积极交流以产生最大的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Teenagers’ relationships with their peers greatly affect their well-being. Studies have shown that being bullied leads to several psychological difficulties whereas friendship can foster well-being. Although there is much research on bullying and friendship, it is rare to find studies that (1) investigate multiple online and in-person locations where bullying occurs and friends interact; (2) contrast the impact of bullying and friendship experiences that occur during the summer and the school year; and (3) compare the impact of bullying and friendship experiences that occur in different locations and different times (e.g., bullying that occurs during the week versus the weekend, during the school year versus the summer). Research conducted during the summer months is especially rare as is work that fully captures the online worlds in which youth reside today. This project is among the first to thoroughly evaluate how location (both online and in-person locations) and time (summer months and the school year) impacts young adolescents’ friendship and bullying experiences and their impact on psychological health. The study design entails online data collection via survey and daily diaries from 300 socioeconomically and ethnically diverse young adolescents at three time-points during a single school year and summer. There are three aims. The first aim evaluates the features of adolescent friendship and bullying experiences in different locations and during different time periods. The second aim tests whether the impact of such friendship and bullying experiences on positive and negative psychological outcomes depend on the location and time during which they occur. The third aim examines effects of gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity on the peer experiences. The work captures important contextual differences in the features and impact of adolescents’ friendship and bullying experiences. Findings validate core developmental theories and facilitate new understanding about the where, when, and what of friendship and bullying experiences. Future researchers can use the findings to develop new intervention efforts that focus on reducing risk for victimization and encouraging positive exchanges with friends to have the greatest impact.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.