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Middle school peer reputation in high-achieving schools: Ramifications for maladjustment versus competence by age 18

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2018

Alexandria S. Curlee ,
Leona S. Aiken  and
Suniya S. Luthar
Alexandria S. Curlee
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Leona S. Aiken
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Suniya S. Luthar*
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Suniya S. Luthar, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

In an upper-middle class setting, we explored associations between students’ peer reputation in Grades 6 and 7 with adjustment at Grade 12. With a sample of 209 students, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of peer reputation dimensions supported a 4-factor model (i.e., popular, prosocial, aggressive, isolated). Structural equation models were used to examine prospective links between middle school peer reputation and diverse Grade 12 adjustment indices, including academic achievement (Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and grade point average), internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Prosocial reputation was connected to higher academic achievement levels and fewer externalizing symptoms. Both prosocial and isolated reputations were negatively associated with dimensions of substance use, whereas popularity was positively associated. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 683 - 697
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

This research was supported by NIH grant DA014385.

We are grateful to the children and families who have participated in this research, and thank Yu Liu, Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, University of Houston, for her assistance with the quantitative modeling.

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