Change and stability in children’s social network and self-perceptions during transition from elementary to junior high school

Abstract

This study examined the changes in children’s social network and specific self-perceptions during the transition from elementary school to junior high school (JHS). The participants were 200 preadolescent children (104 girls, 96 boys). Children’s self-perceptions (global self-worth, perceived academic competence, and perceived social acceptance) and social network characteristics (parents and peer-enacted support) were evaluated four consecutive times over a 2-year period. Despite a slight decrease in the size of children’s social network after the transition, the passage into JHS had no negative impact on the quality and functional aspects of their relationships with parents and school friends. The school transition was instead associated with an intensification of supportive relationships with school friends. Children’s perceived social acceptance also increased suddenly after the JHS transition, while children’s perceived scholastic competence decreased simultaneously during that time. Children’s general self-esteem was then observed to decline progressively over a longer period of time.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abramowitz, R. , Petersen, A. , & Schulenberg, J. (1984). Changes in self-image during early adolescence. In D. Offer , E. Ostrov , & K. Howard (Eds.), Patterns of adolescent self-image (pp. 19–28). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .

Alspaugh, J. W. (1998). Achievement loss associated with the transition to middle school and high school . Journal of Educational Research, 92, 20–25 .

Alspaugh, J. W. , & Harting, R. D. (1995). Transition effects of school grade-level organization on student achievement . Journal of Research and Development in Education, 28, 145–149 .

Anderman, E. M. , & Midgley, C. (1997). Changes in achievement goal orientations, perceived academic competence, and grades across the transition to middle-level schools . Contemporary, Educational Psychology, 22, 269–298 .

Barrera, M. (1986). Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models . American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 413–445 .

Barrera, M. , Sandler, I. N. , & Ramsey, T. B. (1981). Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students . American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 435–447 .

Berndt, T. J. (1989). Obtaining support from friends during childhood and adolescence. In D. Belle (Ed.), Children’s social networks and social supports (pp. 308–331). New York: Wiley .

Berndt, T. J. (1996). Exploring the effects of friendship quality on social development. In W. M. Bukowski , A. F. Newcomb , & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), The company they keep: Friendships in childhood and adolescence (pp. 41–65). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .

Berndt, T. J., & Hawkins, J. A. (1987). The contribution of supportive friendships to adjustment after the transition to junior high school. Unpublished manuscript, Perdue University.

10.

Berndt, T. J. , Hawkins, J. A. , & Jiao, Z. (1999). Influence of friends and friendships on adjustment to junior high school . Merril-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 13–41 .

11.

Berndt, T. J. , & Perry, T. B. (1986). Children’s perceptions of friendships as supportive relationships . Developmental Psychology, 22, 640–648 .

12.

Boivin, M. , Vitaro, F. , & Gagnon, C. (1992). A reassessment of the self-perception profile for children: Factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of a French version among second through sixth grade children . International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 275–290 .

13.

Buhrmester, D. , & Furman, W. (1986). The changing functions of children’s friendship: A neo-Sullivanian perspective. In V. Derlega & B. Winstead (Eds.), Friendships and social interaction (pp. 41–62). New York: Springer .

14.

Buhrmester, D. , & Furman, W. (1987). The development of companionship and intimacy . Child Development, 58, 1101–1113 .

15.

Buhrmester, D. , & Prager, K. (1995). Patterns and functions of self-disclosure during childhood and adolescence. In K. J. Rotenberg (Ed.), Disclosure processes in children and adolescents. New York: Cambridge University Press .

16.

Cantin, S. (2003). Changements dans le réseau de soutien social et dans la perception de soi des élèves lors de la transition scolaire primaire-secondaire. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.

17.

Cauce, A. M. , Reid, M. , Landesman, S. , & Gonzales, N. (1990). Social support in young children: Measurement, structure, and behavioral impact. In B. R. Sarason , I. G. Sarason , & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 64–94). New York: John Wiley .

18.

Chen, X. , Chang, L. , & He, Y. (2003). The peer group as a context: Mediating and moderating effects on relations between academic achievement and social functioning in Chinese children . Child Development, 74, 710–727 .

19.

Cohen, S. , & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis . Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357 .

20.

Collins, W. A. (1997). Relationships and development during adolescence: Interpersonal adaptation to individual change . Personal Relationships, 4, 1–14 .

21.

Collins, W. A. , Laursen, B. (2004). Changing relationships, changing youth: Interpersonal contexts of adolescent development . Journal of Early Adolescence, 24(1), 55–62 .

22.

Connolly, J. , & Konarski, R. (1993). A structural analyse of adolescents’ perceptions of social support . Poster presented during the congress of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.

23.

Cotterell, J. L. (1992). School size as a factor in adolescents’ adjustment to the transition to secondary school . Journal of Early Adolescence, 12, 28–45 .

24.

Cutrona, C. E. , & Russel, D. W. (1990). Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. In B. R. Sarason , I. G. Sarason , & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 319–366). New York: John Wilson .

25.

Eccles, J. S. , Lord, S. , & Buchanan, C. M. (1996). School transitions in early adolescence: What are we doing to our young people? In J. A. Graber & J. Brooks-Gunn (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context (pp. 251–284). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

26.

Eccles, J. S. , & Midgley, C. (1989). Stage/environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for early adolescents. In R. E. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education, Vol. 3 (pp. 139–186). San Diego, CA: Academic Press .

27.

Eccles, J. S. , Midgley, C. , Wigfield, A. , Buchanan, C. M. , Reuman, D. , Flanagan, C. , & MacIver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and in families . American Psychologist, 48, 90–101 .

28.

Epstein, J. , & McPartland, J. (1976). The concept and measurement of the quality of school life . American Educational Research Journal, 50, 13–30 .

29.

Fenzel, M. L. (2000). Prospective study of changes in global self-worth and strain during the transition to middle school . Journal of Early Adolescence, 20, 93–116 .

30.

Fenzel, M. L. , & Blyth, D. A. (1986). Individual adjustment to school transition: An exploration of the role of supportive peer relations . Journal of Early Adolescence, 6, 315–329 .

31.

Furman, W. (1996). The measurement of friendship perceptions: Conceptual and methodological issues. In W. M. Bukowski , A. F. Newcomb , & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), The company they keep: Friendships in childhood and adolescence (pp. 346–365). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .

32.

Furman, W. , & Buhrmester, D. (1992). Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships . Child Development, 63, 103–115 .

33.

Grolnick, W. S. , Kurowski, C. O. , Dunlap, K. G. , & Hevey, C. (2000). Parental resources and the transition to junior high . Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10, 465–488 .

34.

Harter, S. (1983). Developmental perspectives on the self-system. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.) & P. H. Mussen (Series Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Socialization, personality and social development, Vol. 4. New York: Wiley .

35.

Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for Children. Denver, CO: University of Denver .

36.

Harter, S. (1992). The relationship between perceived competence, affect, and motivational orientation within the classroom: Processes and patterns of change. In A. K. Boggiano & T. S. Pitman (Eds.), Achievement and motivation: A social-developmental perspective (pp. 77–114). New York: Cambridge University Press .

37.

Harter, S. , Whitesell, N. , & Kowalski, P. (1992). Individual differences in the effects of educational transitions on young adolescents’ perceptions of competence and motivational orientation . American Educational Research Journal, 29, 777–807 .

38.

Hirsch, B. J. , & Dubois, D. L. (1989). The school-nonschool ecology of early adolescent friendships. In D. Belle (Ed.), Children’s social networks and social support (pp. 260–276). New York: John Wiley .

39.

Hirsch, B. J. , & Rapkin, B. D. (1987). The transition to junior high school: A longitudinal study of self-esteem, psychological symptomatology, school life, and social support . Child Development, 58, 1235–1243 .

40.

Larson, R. , & Richards, M. H. (1991). Daily companionship in late childhood and early adolescence: Changing developmental contexts . Child Development, 62, 284–300 .

41.

Laursen, B. , & Bukowski, W. M. (1997). A developmental guide to the organization of close relationships . International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 747–770 .

42.

Lord, S. E. , Eccles, J. S. , & McCarthy, K. A. (1994). Surviving the junior high school transition: Family processes and self-perceptions as protective and risk factors . Journal of Early Adolescence, 14, 162–199 .

43.

McDougall, P. , & Hymel, S. (1998). Moving into middle school: Individual differences in the transition experience . Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 30, 108–120 .

44.

Montemayor, R. (1986). Family variation in parent–adolescent storm and stress . Journal of Adolescent Research, 1, 15–31 .

45.

Nottlemann, E. D. (1987). Competence and self-esteem during the transition from childhood to adolescence . Developmental Psychology, 23, 441–450 .

46.

Paikoff, R. L. , & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1991). Do parent–child relationships change during puberty? Psychological Bulletin, 110, 47–66 .

47.

Robinson, N. S. , & Garber, J. (1995). Social support and psychopathology across the life span. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, Vol. 2: Risk, disorder, and adaptation. Wiley series on personality processes (pp. 162–209). Oxford: John Wiley .

48.

Ryan, R. M. , & Lynch, J. H. (1989). Emotional autonomy versus detachment: Revisiting the vicissitude of adolescence and young adulthood . Child Development, 60, 340–356 .

49.

Savin-Williams, R. C. , & Berndt, T. J. (1990). Friendship and peer relations. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliot (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 277–307). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .

50.

Schulenberg, J. E. , Asp, C. E. , & Petersen, A. C. (1984). School from the young adolescent’s perspective: A descriptive report . Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 107–130 .

51.

Seidman, E. , Allen, L. , Aber, J. L. , Mitchel, C. , & Feinman, J. (1994). The impact of school transition in early adolescence on the self-esteem and perceived social context of poor Urban Youth . Child Development, 65, 507–522 .

52.

Simmons, R. G. , & Blyth, D. (1987). Moving into adolescence: The impact of pubertal change and school context. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter .

53.

Simmons, R. G. , Blyth, D. , Van Cleave, E. , & Bush, R. (1979). Entry into adolescence: The impact of school structure, puberty, and early dating . American Sociological Review, 44, 948–967 .

54.

Simmons, R. G. , Burgeson, R. , Carlton-Ford, S. , & Blyth, D. (1987a). The impact of cumulative change in early adolescence . Child Development, 58, 1220–1234 .

55.

Simmons, R. G. , Carlton-Ford, S. L. , & Blyth, D. A. (1987b). Predicting how a child will cope with the transition to junior high. In R. Lerner & T. Foch (Eds.), Biological-psychological interactions in early adolescence: A life-span perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

56.

Steinberg, L. (1990). Interdependence in the family: Autonomy, conflict, and harmony in the parent–adolescent relationship. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliot (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 255–276). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .

57.

Van Aken, M. A. G. , & Asendorpf, J. E. (1997). Support by parents, classmates, friends and sibling in preadolescence: Covariation and compensation across relationship . Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 79–93 .

58.

Weiss, R. S. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall .

59.

Wigfield, A. , & Eccles, J. (1994). Children’s competence beliefs, achievement values, and general self-esteem: Changes across elementary and middle school . Journal of Early Adolescence, 14 (2), 107–138 .

60.

Wigfield, A. , Eccles, J. , MacIver, D. , Reuman, D. , & Midgley, C. (1991). Transitions during early adolescence: Changes in children’s domain-specific self-perceptions and general self-esteem across the transition to junior high school . Developmental Psychology, 27, 552–565 .

61.

Wolchik, S. A. , Beals, J. , & Sandler, I. N. (1989). Mapping children’s support networks: Conceptual and methodological issues. In D. Belle (Ed.), Children’s social networks and social supports (pp. 191–220). New York: John Wiley .