Reciprocal Influences Among Relational Self‐Views, Social Disengagement, and Peer Stress During Early Adolescence

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00730.x
• Publication Date: 2004-07-19T08:05:12Z
• Authors: Melissa S. Caldwell; Karen D. Rudolph; Wendy Troop‐Gordon; Do‐Yeong Kim
• Keywords: Male; Social Alienation; Adolescent; Psychometrics; 05 social sciences; Social Environment; Peer Group; Self Concept; 3. Good health; Humans; Female; Interpersonal Relations; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Child; Stress, Psychological

This study examined reciprocal‐influence models of the association between relational self‐views and peer stress during early adolescence. The first model posited that adolescents with negative self‐views disengage from peers, creating stress in their relationships. The second model posited that exposure to peer stress fosters social disengagement, which elicits negative self‐views. Participants were 605 early adolescents (M age=11.7). As part of a 3‐wave longitudinal study adolescents reported on self‐views and stress, and teachers reported on social disengagement. As hypothesized, negative self‐views predicted social disengagement, which contributed to peer stress. Stress predicted subsequent disengagement and negative self‐views. These findings suggest that adolescents and their environments participate in reciprocal‐influence processes that account for cross‐temporal continuity in personal attributes of youth and their social experiences.