The goal of this study was to examine sexual harassment in early adolescence. Available data indicate that peer to peer sexual harassment is prevalent in high school and is associated with psychosocial problems for both victims and perpetrators. For the present study, we adopted a developmental contextual model to examine the possibility that this behavior develops during the late elementary and middle school years and is linked to the biological and social changes that occur at this time. Youths from Grades 6–8 (N = 1,213) enrolled in seven elementary and middle schools in a large south-central Canadian city were asked to report on their sexual harassment behaviors with same- and cross-gender peers; their pubertal development, and the gender composition of their peer network. The results revealed that cross-gender harassment was distinct from same-gender harassment, increased in frequency from Grade 6 to Grade 8, and was linked to pubertal maturation and participation in mixed-gender peer groups. The implications of a developmental contextual model for understanding the emergence of this problematic behavior in adolescence are discussed.

In this paper, we examined the forms and relationship contexts of bullying in adolescence. Using cross-sectional data, we assessed grade and sex differences in self-reports of bullying and sexually harassing peers, as well as reports of dating aggression from1896 students from early to late adolescence. Reports of bullying others were highest around the school transition, with lowest levels at the end of high school. Boys reported more bullying and sexual harassment than girls. Sexual harassment of same-and opposite-sex peers increased over the early adolescent years and leveled off in later high-school years. There were no sex differences in the prevalence of indirect or physical aggression with a dating partner. Adolescents who bullied were at increased risk for the other forms of relationship aggression. These data highlight bullying as a relationship problem and point to the need for prevention programs to curtail the use of power and aggression in adolescent relationships.

The present study examined the additive and interactive associations of 2 parenting variables, Perceived Parental Reciprocity (as measured using the Perception of Parental Reciprocity Scale, POPRS) and Perceived Parental Approval (PPA) of adolescent substance use, with adolescent substance use initiation and escalation. Urban high school students (N = 433) were categorized into abstainers, experimenters, and regular users of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. The confirmatory hypotheses thatfrequency ofsubstance use would be associated (a) positively with PPA and (b) negatively with POPRS were supportedfor all 3 substances. The association with POPRS, however, depended on the stage of substance use and the substance in question. The third hypothesis of an interactive association of POPRS and PPA with frequency of substance use was found only for tobacco; however, the direction of the interaction was the reverse of that expected. Implications of thesefindings andfuture directionsfor research are discussed.