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Bullying is an important public health issue among adolescents. Few studies have examined how neighborhood context affects adolescent bullying. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between neighborhood collective efficacy and bullying perpetration and sought to determine whether future expectations mediated this relationship. A sample of 196 7th-grade students (60% female; 27% White) from a Midwestern school completed measures assessing past 30-day bullying perpetration, neighborhood collective efficacy, and future expectations. The effect of neighborhood collective efficacy on bullying was fully mediated by future expectations. Our findings suggest that neighborhood collective efficacy is associated with lower bullying perpetration by increasing adolescents' expectations for the future. Strong social relationships increase adolescents' perceptions of a positive future. Youth with more positive expectations of the

This study explores the impact of a feared delinquent possible self on the relationship between exposure to negative peer behaviors and violent and non-violent self-reported delinquency. Previous research strongly supports that deviant peers influence adolescents’ delinquent behavior. Yet, few studies have explored intrapersonal factors that may moderate this influence. Possible selves include what one hopes, expects and fears becoming and are believed to motivate behavior. Thus, it was hypothesized that adolescents who were exposed to deviant peers and also feared engaging in delinquency would be more likely to self-report delinquency. Seventh grade students (n = 176) identified feared possible selves in the future, their exposure to negative peer behavior and self-reported violent and non-violent delinquent behavior. Findings suggest that exposure to negative peer behavior is associated with self-reported delinquent behavior. For violent behavior, possessing a feared delinquent possible self moderates this relationship. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Researchers have shown that interpersonal and societal mattering have important implications for adolescent development. Yet, few researchers have focused on what predicts mattering, particularly societal mattering, and even fewer have studied mattering among rural youth. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how perceived contextual and relationship factors affect rural youths’ perceptions of societal and interpersonal mattering. Participants for this study were 381 middle school youth from two rural school districts in Michigan. Using structural equation modeling, we found that more positive perceptions regarding opportunities for youth involvement, availability of community resources, student input in decision‐making at school, and support for autonomy at school were associated with greater perceptions of societal mattering. In addition, greater support from friends, higher quality parent–child communication, and more parental involvement were associated with a greater sense of interpersonal mattering. This study identifies important relational and contextual factors that can be enhanced in an effort to foster greater perceptions of interpersonal and societal mattering among rural youth, and ultimately help us to promote positive youth development.