Although research on the reasons for engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has increased dramatically in the last few years, there are still many aspects of this pernicious behavior that are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to address these gaps in the literature, with a particular focus on investigating whether NSSI (a) regulates affective valence in addition to affective arousal and (b) serves a cognitive regulation function in addition to an affect regulation function. To elucidate these issues, the present study utilized a sample of 112 participants (33 controls, 39 no pain controls, 16 NSSI individuals, and 24 controls matching the affect dysregulation levels of the NSSI group), employed psychophysiological measures of affective valence (startle-alone reactivity) and quality of information processing (prepulse inhibition), and used experimental methods involving an NSSI-proxy to model the NSSI process. Results largely were consistent with predictions, supporting the hypotheses that NSSI serves to regulate cognitive processing and affective valence. On this latter point, however, the control groups also showed a decrease in negative affective valence after the NSSI-proxy. This unexpected finding is consistent with the hypothesis that opponent processes may contribute to the development of self-injurious behaviors (Joiner, 2005). Overall, the present study represents an important extension of previous laboratory NSSI studies and provides a fertile foundation for future studies aimed at understanding why people engage in NSSI.

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Peer victimization has been implicated as a traumatic stressor that compromises children's longterm mental health, yet a dearth of prospective research specifically demonstrates lasting effects of early victimization. This research examined whether early (2 nd grade) victimization and increasing (2 nd -5 th grade) victimization independently predicted depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior (overt and relational) in 5 th grade. Participants included 433 children (238 girls, 195 boys). Children reported on peer victimization and depressive symptoms; teachers reported on peer victimization and aggressive behavior. Latent growth curve analysis revealed that both early and increasing victimization made unique contributions to subsequent depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. Relational aggression was particularly likely to follow victimization in girls.Over the past two decades, developmental scientists have increasingly implicated peer victimization as a major public health concern (Graham, 2006;Hawker & Boulton, 2000), sparking the emergence of a large number of prevention programs aimed at containing bullying and its negative effects. In large part, this concern stems from the idea that peer victimization exerts a lasting influence on mental health. Although some short-term prospective research links peer victimization with subsequent mental health problems, few studies systematically examine the relative contributions of early versus increasing victimization to mental health across a significant developmental period. Consequently, it is difficult to determine whether early exposure to peer victimization has long-term consequences beyond children's recent social experiences. The present study used a dualinformant longitudinal design to examine whether both early victimization and changes in victimization across the elementary school years predicted subsequent mental health difficulties, specifically depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. Mental Health Consequences of Peer VictimizationChildren exposed to victimization at the hands of their peers may react in diverse ways. They may feel a sense of helplessness and attribute this maltreatment to their own deficiencies, potentially compromising their self-worth and precipitating depressive NIH Public Access (Graham & Juvonen, 1998;Troop-Gordon & Ladd, 2005). Alternatively, they may feel a sense of injustice and attribute this maltreatment to the hostility of their peers, potentially inciting anger and efforts to retaliate or to re-establish their status in the peer group through aggressive behavior (Mahady Wilton & Craig, 2000;Salmivalli, Karhunen, & Lagerspetz, 1996;Troop-Gordon & Ladd, 2005). Consistent with these ideas, prospective longitudinal research reveals that victimization contributes to subsequent depressive symptoms (Nylund, Bellmore, Nishina, & Graham, 2007;Prinstein, Boergers, & Vernberg, 2001;Sweeting, Young, West, & Der, 2006), as well as aggression (Hanish & Guerra, 2002;Lamarche et al., 2007;Ladd & Troop-Gordon, 2003;Rusby...

We tested a developmental cascade model of autonomy and relatedness in the progression from parent to friend to romantic relationships across ages 13, 18, and 21. Participants included 184 adolescents (53% female, 58% Caucasian, 29% African American) recruited from a public middle school in Virginia. Parental psychological control at age 13 undermined the development of autonomy and relatedness, predicting relative decreases in autonomy and relatedness with friends between ages 13 and 18 and lower levels of autonomy and relatedness with partners at age 18. These cascade effects extended into adult friendships and romantic relationships, with autonomy and relatedness with romantic partners at age 18 being a strong predictor of autonomy and relatedness with both friends and partners at age 21.

The potential importance of depending on others during adolescence in order to establish independence in young adulthood was examined across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 184 teens (46% male; 42% non-White), their mothers, best friends, and romantic partners, assessed at ages 13–14, 18, 21–22, and 25. Path analyses showed that associations were both partner and age specific: markers of independence were predicted by participants’ efforts to seek support from mothers at age 13, best friends at 18, and romantic partners at 21. Importantly, analyses controlled for support seeking from these partners at other ages, as well as for other potentially confounding variables including attachment security, scholastic/job competence, and physical attractiveness over time. Moreover, analyses suggested the transfer of support seeking behavior from mothers to best friends to romantic partners over time based on support given by the previous partner at an earlier age.