Developmental trajectories of students' beliefs about social success: Differences between students with and without a middle school transition

Abstract

IntroductionAttaining social success is a significant concern during early adolescence. The characteristics that youth believe will bring social success are known to change over time and vary across contexts, especially over the transition to middle school.MethodsThe analytic sample included 614 students (52% girls, 48% boys; 53% Black, 47% White) from the Midwestern United States. At yearly intervals during grades 6–8, participants completed self‐report surveys assessing their endorsement of five characteristics (sincerity, academic responsibility, dominance, disingenuity, athleticism/attractiveness) that described peers in their grade who have lots of friends and get along well with others (i.e., social success). The sample included students who attended the same school from kindergarten‐eighth grade (K8) and students who made a transition from an elementary to a middle school after 6th grade (ESMS).ResultsMultigroup longitudinal growth models revealed some concerning trends over time. For both ESMS and K8 students, their endorsement of sincerity decreased, their endorsement of disingenuity increased, and their endorsement of athleticism/attractiveness was high and stable. ESMS students' endorsement of academic responsibility decreased over time and their endorsement of dominance showed increasing trends. K8 students' endorsements of academic responsibility and dominance were stable. However, across contexts, compared to the other characteristics, sincerity was most often ranked the highest.ConclusionsThe findings highlight that some changes in students' beliefs about social success may be unique to students who experience a school transition whereas others may be developmentally normative. Implications for the education of young adolescent students are discussed.