The hypothesis was tested that educational expectations of junior high school students in interaction with school-related stress during early adolescence would adversely affect grades during high school. Multiple regression analyses of data from home interviews of 1034 students during junior high school and 3 years later during high school supported the hypothesis that early adolescent school-related stress both independently and in interaction with high academic expectations negatively affected academic performance 3 years later. These results suggest that for students in high stress school environments, an increase in academic expectations may serve to increase their school-related stress and impede their academic performance.

We test theoretically informed hypotheses using survey reports of adolescents attending three middle schools in the outskirts of Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Results yielded by regression analyses are quite consistent with the hypothesized relationships, that is, Chinese singleton adolescents are more likely to anticipate going to college than non‐singleton adolescents. Further, singletons are more associated with conventional peers and they report better adjustments both psychologically and behaviorally than non‐singleton adolescents. Singletons and non‐singletons, however, are not different in their self‐reported performance in four school subjects, namely, Chinese, Math, English, and Political Studies. These results are discussed in light of the theoretical literature, especially related to attachment theory, resource dilution theory as well as confluence model.

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Based on a prospective longitudinal panel data set that was collected at three developmental stages -early adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood-this study investigates marital satisfaction and educational attainment as mediating mechanisms as well as gender's moderating effect for the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting (N = 1,560). The results show that perceived satisfying experiences with parents during early adolescence are positively related to marital satisfaction and educational attainment in young adulthood, which, in turn, are positively related to individuals' utilization of constructive parenting in middle adulthood. The two mediating mechanisms account for most of the direct effect of the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting. Furthermore, the mediating effect of marital relationship is stronger for current fathers than for mothers because of a stronger association between marital satisfaction and constructive parenting for men. The implications are discussed.

Using data provided by a panel of non-Hispanic white respondents, this study explored whether aggressive response to severe role stress during early adulthood depends on gender and on an adolescent history of aggression. Logistic regression analysis yielded these findings: Men who reported aggression during early adolescence were significantly more likely to respond to severe role stress with aggression during young adulthood, while men who were not aggressive in early adolescence did not report much increase in aggression under similar circumstances. For young women, however, role stress increased aggression only among those who did not report aggression in early adolescence. For those who reported aggression during adolescence, the effect was positive but weak. We interpret these findings using principles of socialization, gender role expectations, and social structural constraints on males and females. As part of this interpretation, we report findings of an analysis of associations among role stress, prior aggression, and heavy use of illicit drugs among males and females.