Download 5. Youth and education: Nurturing social development When young

5. Youth and education: Nurturing social development
When young people go through a troublesome social development, for instance involvement in
bullying, aggression, discrimination and risk behaviors, this does not only form a threat to youth in
the short run, but can also severely impair adjustment in adulthood. The social development of
young people is an ongoing concern for parents, teachers, and society at large. Understanding why
and under what conditions young people socially flourish is therefore of great importance.
The general aim of this research cluster is to gain insight in the dynamic interplay between
individuals and their ever-changing environment, most prominently the peer group and the
educational context. This interplay is captured by two means. First, social networks are examined
regarding individuals’ characteristics and their relationships with other individuals to disentangle
selection and influence processes. Both processes have been linked to a wide range of outcomes,
such as delinquency, risk behaviors, interethnic relations, but also prosocial behavior and academic
achievement, all contributing to our knowledge how behaviors and relations unfold in interaction
with each other. Second, research is aimed at norms to understand the interplay between
individuals and their environment. Norms emerge from group consensus ( d e s cr i p t i v e no rm s )
o r f ro m a u t h o r it i e s su c h a s t e ac h e r s ( p r e sc r i p t i v e n o rm s ) about what is appropriate
in given social circumstances, but they also shape, constrain, and re-direct behavior at the
individual level. In research on aggression and bullying, and on ethnic identification and interethnic
relations, research has gained much insights in who sets the norm and how attitudes and behaviors
are affected by group norms.
Key Publications
Dijkstra, J. K., Kretschmer, T., Pattiselanno, K., Franken, A., Harakeh, Z., Vollebergh, W., & Veenstra,
R. (2015). Explaining adolescents’ delinquency and substance use: A test of the maturity gap. Journal
of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 52, 747–767
Rambaran, J. A., Dijkstra, J. K., Munniksma, A., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2015). The development of
adolescents’ friendships and antipathies: A longitudinal multivariate network test of balance theory.
Social Networks, 43, 162–172
Stark, T. H. (2015). Understanding the selection bias: Social network processes and the effect of
prejudice on the avoidance of outgroup friends. Social Psychology Quarterly, 78, 127–150
Thijs, J., & Verkuyten, M. (2016). Ethnic attitudes and social projection in the classroom. Child
Development (forthcoming)
Veenstra, R., Dijkstra, J.K., & Kreager, D.A. (2017). Pathways, networks, and norms: A sociological
perspective on peer research. In W.M. Bukowski, B. Laursen, & K.H. Rubin (eds.) Handbook of peer
interactions, relationships, and groups (2nd edition). New York: Guilford
Coordinators: René Veenstra, Jan Kornelis Dijkstra