Subjectivity and Revenge in Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying

The aim of this paper is to explore the issues of peer rejection and revenge among adolescents through their portrayal in young adult literature (YAL). Adopting the lens of Lacanian theory on subjectivity and desire, the paper analyses a revenge plot in Karen M. McManus’s novel One of Us Is Lying and its origins. It argues that peer rejection contributes to contradictory self-concepts; how adolescent characters view themselves clash at some point with how others regard them, leading them to seek retribution. Their attempt at revenge will be examined along the lines of Lacanian psychoanalysis, and the paper argues that their revenge is driven by the impulse to fulfil the Other’s desire, which eventually fails due to the unobtainable nature of the desire itself.

Children’s autistic traits and peer relationships: do non-verbal IQ and externalizing problems play a role?

Background Children with autism have difficulties in understanding relationships, yet little is known about the levels of autistic traits with regard to peer relationships. This study examined the association between autistic traits and peer relationships. Additionally, we examined whether the expected negative association is more pronounced in children with a lower non-verbal IQ and in those who exhibit more externalizing problems. Method Data were collected in a large prospective birth cohort of the Generation R Study (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) for which nearly 10,000 pregnant mothers were recruited between 2002 and 2006. Follow up data collection is still currently ongoing. Information on peer relationships was collected with PEERS application, an interactive computerized task (M = 7.8 years). Autistic traits were assessed among general primary school children by using the Social Responsiveness Scale (M = 6.1 years). Information was available for 1580 children. Result Higher levels of autistic traits predicted lower peer acceptance and higher peer rejection. The interaction of autistic traits with externalizing problems (but not with non-verbal IQ or sex) was significant: only among children with low externalizing problems, a higher level of autistic traits predicted less peer acceptance and more peer rejection. Among children exhibiting high externalizing problems, a poor peer acceptance and high level of rejection is seen independently of the level of autistic traits. Conclusion We conclude that autistic traits—including traits that do not classify as severe enough for a clinical diagnosis—as well as externalizing problems negatively impact young children’s peer relationships. This suggests that children with these traits may benefit from careful monitoring and interventions focused at improving peer relationships.

Long-Term Effects of Acceptance and Rejection by Parents and Peers on Educational Attainment: A Study from Pre-Adolescence to Early Adulthood

Acceptance and rejection by parents and peers play an important role in pre-adolescents’ educational outcomes. Prior research focused on either parents or peers, did not encompass effects into adulthood, or considered either acceptance or rejection. This study investigated the relation between parental and peer acceptance and rejection, and their interplay, in pre-adolescence and educational attainment in early adulthood. A sample of 2229 pre-adolescents (Mage T1 = 11.11, SD = 0.56; 50.7% girls) was followed to early adulthood (Mage T5 = 22.29, SD = 0.65). Ordinal logistic regression showed that pre-adolescents’ perceived parental acceptance was positively related to educational attainment in early adulthood, whereas peer rejection was negatively related, even when WISC score and socioeconomic status were considered. No interaction effects were found, revealing no “dual-hit effect” of being rejected by parents and peers, no “dual-miss effect” of being accepted by parents and peers, and no effects of acceptance in one context (i.e., parents or peers) buffering the negative effect of rejection in the other context. The findings underscore unique and long-term links of parental acceptance and peer rejection with early adults’ educational attainment, underlining the importance of not only peers but also parents in adolescence. These insights can be used in promoting long-term educational outcomes through relationships with parents and peers.

Method Tutorial

Utilizing sensitive methodology for gender and sexual minority (GSM) individuals is important across all psychological fields. This tutorial provides tangible recommendations for non-experts, offers a “real-world” example of issues that might arise, informs researchers how to make theoretically/methodologically rigorous decisions when (not if) they arise, and discusses the collective impact of GSM identities on the central research question. It presents exploratory comparisons on acute affective responding between community-recruited adolescent (aged 15–17 years) and emerging adult (aged 18–25 years) cisgender and gender minority (GM) participants exposed to simulated peer rejection. These data provide points of divergence (e.g., GM participants had higher negative affect at the first assessment) and convergence (e.g., all participants reported greater negative affect post-rejection) that have implications for future research.

Not Next to You: Peer Rejection, Student Characteristics and the Moderating Effects of Classroom Composition

Although sociodemographic characteristics such as immigrant background and low socioeconomic status have been found to increase the risk for peer rejection, it remains unclear whether rejection in school settings primarily occurs between different-characteristic peers or is also driven by same-characteristic peers, nor whether these types of processes are moderated by classroom composition. Building on person-group dissimilarity theories, we address this gap in the literature using a large sample of 4,215 Swedish students (aged 14-15) in 201 eighth grade classes. Sociometric data provide information on received rejection nominations and rejection networks in school classes. Five characteristics are examined at the student- and classroom-levels: gender, immigration background, household income, parental education, and cognitive ability. Information on sociodemographic characteristics is drawn from linked survey and administrative population registers. A two-pronged empirical strategy is used, using both multilevel random effects models and Exponential Random Graph Models. We find that multiple characteristics are associated with peer rejection, and classroom composition moderates how these characteristics are associated with the extent to which students are rejected and reject classmates who are different to themselves.

Neural sensitivity to peer rejection predicts increases in depressive symptoms among anxious adolescents

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine whether neural sensitivity to peer rejection, a potent form of social evaluative threat in adolescence, conveys risk for depression among anxious youth. We hypothesized that brain activation in regions that process affective salience in response to rejection from virtual peers would predict depressive symptoms one year later and would be associated with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) reports of real-world peer connectedness. Method: Participants were 38 adolescents ages 11-16 (50% female) with a history of anxiety, recruited from a previous clinical trial. The present study was a prospective naturalistic follow-up of depressive symptoms assessed 2 years (Wave 2) and 3 years (Wave 3) following treatment. At Wave 2, participants completed the Chatroom Interact Task during neuroimaging and 16 days of EMA. Results: Controlling for depressive and anxiety symptoms at Wave 2, subgenual anterior cingulate (sgACC;\ \beta=.39, p=.010) and nucleus accumbens activation (NAcc;\beta=.30, p=.041) to peer rejection (vs. acceptance) predicted depressive symptoms at Wave 3. SgACC activation to rejection (vs. acceptance) was highly correlated with EMA reports of connectedness with peers in daily life (r=-.71, p<.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that elevated sgACC and NAcc activation to rejection may serve as a risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms among anxious youth, perhaps by promoting vigilance or reactivity to potential social evaluative threats and subsequent avoidance behaviors. SgACC activation to simulated rejection appears to have implications for understanding how adolescents experience their daily social environments in ways that could contribute to depressive symptoms.