Explore projects in Peer Relationships!
These projects examine how children and adolescents interact with their peers and how these relationships influence social, emotional, and academic development. These studies explore a wide range of topics, including friendship formation, peer acceptance and rejection, conflict resolution, social skills, and the role of peer influence. Researchers often investigate how peer dynamics change across developmental stages and how factors like personality, family background, and school climate shape peer interactions. Many projects also focus on promoting healthy peer relationships and preventing issues such as bullying, social exclusion, or peer pressure through targeted interventions and school-based programs.
“Two Friends In The Woods” by D. Sharon Pruitt, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Powering up and spreading out: An integrated investigation of three social psychological factors involved in middle school bullyingProject Abstract/Summary Peer victimization (or bullying) is a serious problem in American schools. Anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of school-aged youth report that they have experienced bullying, of whom 10-15 percent may be chronic victims. Bullying appears to peak during the middle school years, a time when youth are particularly concerned about status and fitting in. Victims tend to have low self-esteem and feel more lonely, anxious, and depressed than their non-victimized peers. These negative consequences partly explain why… Read more: Powering up and spreading out: An integrated investigation of three social psychological factors involved in middle school bullying
- A Contextual Analysis of Peer Experiences during Early AdolescenceProject Abstract/Summary 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… Read more: A Contextual Analysis of Peer Experiences during Early Adolescence
- Peer Influence on Anger Regulation in AdolescenceProject Abstract/Summary Adolescent aggression has severe psychological, social, and economic repercussions. Maladaptive forms of anger regulation and hostile attributions often underlie aggression. This project examines the role of peer interaction in influencing anger regulation and hostile attributions in adolescence. This research aims to advance understanding of how individual and interpersonal factors may work together to predict increases or decreases in youth aggression. This project contributes to workforce development by providing research training opportunities for students. This project uses short-term longitudinal… Read more: Peer Influence on Anger Regulation in Adolescence