Sofie Lorijn will defend her thesis on July 11, 2024. In her dissertation she studied the (dis)continuation of peer relationships during the transition from elementary to secondary school, and how this affects students' adjustment. Specifically, her research focuses on how positive and negative peer relations affect school well-being, academic achievement, and problem behaviors in the transition from primary to secondary education. Some of her interesting work can be found here:

Lorijn, S. J., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Engels, M. C., Lodder, G. M., & Veenstra, R. (2023). The development of adolescents’ loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of peer status and contact with friends. Plos one, 18(5), e0286085.

Lorijn, S. J., Engels, M. C., Huisman, M., & Veenstra, R. (2022). Long-term effects of acceptance and rejection by parents and peers on educational attainment: A study from pre-adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1-16.

Lorijn, S. Zwier, D., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Huisman, M., & Veenstra, R. (2024). A new school, a fresh start? Change and stability in peer relationships and academic performance in the transition from primary to secondary school. doi: 10.1007/s10964-024-01991-y

Damian van der Neut recently started his PhD at the SOLID project. He will focus on antecedents and consequences of self-blame in victims of bullying. 

Alexandra Pior is a first-year PhD student at the GUTS project (University of Leiden). She will examine the development of self-regulation in young adults and how this contributes to goal setting and achievement. To this end, she will combine neuro-imaging and social network methods.

Xingna Qin (University of Groningen) investigates the role of parental practices and peer relationships in adolescents' mental health. She already published some interesting work:

Qin, X., Kaufman, T. M. L., Laninga-Wijnen, L., & Yunyun, C., & Chen, X. (2021). The impact of academic achievement, parental control and support on depressive symptom trajectories among Chinese early adolescents. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 49, 1359-1371. Doi: 10.1007/s10802-021-00826-9

Qin, X., Laninga‐Wijnen, L., Steglich, C., Zhang, Y., Ren, P., & Veenstra, R. (2023). Does having vulnerable friends help vulnerable youth? The co‐evolution of friendships, victimization, and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents' social networks. Child Development, 94, 1531-1549. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13945

Qin, X., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Steglich, C., Zhang, Y., Ren, P., & Veenstra, R. (2024). Parents on the Sidelines: The Role of Parental Directing in Chinese Adolescents’ Friendship Dynamics Related to Academic Achievement, Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 02724316241244419.

Zixuan Wang (University of Finland) defended her thesis in May, 2023. In her dissertation, she focused on antecedents and consequences of different types of defending in cases of bullying, such as bully-oriented defending and victim-oriented defending. Read one of her outstanding papers here:

Wang, Z., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Garandeau, C. F., & Liu, J. (2023). Development and validation of the adolescent defending behaviors questionnaire among Chinese early adolescents. Assessment, 10731911221149082.