The goal of the study was to examine whether bullying experiences are associated with lower academic performance across middle school among urban students.The ethnically diverse sample was drawn from a longitudinal study of 2,300 sixth graders (44% Latino, 26% African American, 10% Asian, 10% White, and 10% mixed) from 11 public middle schools. Results of multilevel models (MLMs) showed that grade point averages and teacher-rated academic engagement were each predicted by both self-perceptions of victimization and peer nominations of victim reputation, controlling for demographic and school-level differences as well as overall declines in academic performance over time. Further MLM analyses suggested that most of the victimization effect was due to between-subject differences, as opposed to within-subject fluctuations, in victimization over time. The results of the study suggest that peer victimization cannot be ignored when trying to improve educational outcomes in urban middle schools.

Longitudinal research into adult outcomes in autism remains limited. Unlike previous longitudinal examinations of adult outcome in autism, the twenty participants in this study were evaluated across multiple assessments between early childhood (M = 3.9 years) and adulthood (M = 26.6 years). In early childhood, responsiveness to joint attention (RJA), language, and intelligence were assessed. In adulthood, the parents of participants responded to interviews assessing the adaptive functioning, autistic symptomology and global functioning of their children. RJA and early childhood language predicted a composite measure of adult social functioning and independence. Early childhood language skills and intelligence predicted adult adaptive behaviors. RJA predicted adult non-verbal communication, social skills and symptoms. Adaptive behaviors changed with development, but symptoms of autism did not. Additional factors associated with adult outcomes are discussed.

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There is a robust association between aggression and social prominence by early adolescence, yet findings regarding the direction of influence remain inconclusive in light of gender differences across various forms of aggressive behaviors. The current study examined whether physical aggression and spreading of rumors, as two gender-typed aggressive behaviors that differ in overt displays of power, promote and/or maintain socially prominent status for girls and boys during non-transitional grades in middle school. Peer nominations were used to assess physical aggression, spreading of rumors, and "cool" reputation (social prominence) during three time points between the spring of seventh grade and spring of eighth grade. Participants included 1,895 (54 % female) ethnically diverse youth: 47 % Latino, 22 % African-American, 11 % Asian, 10 % White and 10 % Other/Mixed ethnic background. Cross-lagged path analyses were conducted to test the directionality of the effects, and gender moderation was assessed by relying on multi-group analyses. The analyses revealed mainly reciprocal associations for each form of aggression, suggesting that boys, as well as girls, can both gain and maintain their status by spreading rumors about their peers, just as they do by physically fighting and pushing others in urban middle schools. The implications of the findings for interventions are discussed.

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