Peer Experiences as Predictors of Adjustment across the Middle School Transition

The role of peer acceptance, number of mutual friends, and friendship quality in predicting adjustment across the transition from elementary to middle school was examined. Participants were 146 students (68 boys, 78 girls) who participated in the Time 1 (spring of fifth grade) and Time 2 (fall of sixth grade) assessments. Peer acceptance and number of friends were assessed using sociometric rating scale and limited nomination procedures. Participants also completed measures that assessed feelings of loneliness, extent of involvement in school, and the quality of a specific mutual friendship. Results of repeated measures MANOVAs revealed a significant decrease in the average number of mutual friendships across time. Regression analyses indicated that peer acceptance and friendship quality and quantity play significant yet somewhat different roles in predicting loneliness and school involvement across the middle school transition. Implications for including a peer component in programs that prepare students for the middle school transition are discussed. During a developmental period characterized by rapid physical,cognitive and social changes, most early adolescents also face the challenge of navigating the transition to the middle school environment. Several studies have reported that this transition coincides with declines in academic achievement, self-esteem, interest in school, and level of motivation, and increases in psychologica