Parallel process latent class growth models identified four heterogeneous co-developmental trajectory patterns of social behaviors in early adolescence, with environmental factors (parental warmth, family emotional abuse, teacher maltreatment, school relatedness) differentially predicting subgroup membership and distinct mental health outcomes across subgroups.
Key Findings
Results
Four distinct co-developmental trajectory patterns of social behaviors were identified in early adolescence: prosocial, stable maladaptive, improving, and dual-escalating.
Patterns were identified using parallel process latent class growth models capturing prosocial behavior, physical aggression, and relational aggression simultaneously.
The sample consisted of 2587 Chinese students (Mage = 9.61, SD = 0.51; 55.2% boys).
Participants completed six measurements at 6-month intervals.
The four patterns represent heterogeneous developmental trajectories across early adolescence.
Results
Adolescents who perceived low paternal warmth were more likely to be classified into the dual-escalating subgroup compared to all other subgroups.
This finding was identified through multivariate logistic regression analyses.
The effect was specific to paternal warmth and the dual-escalating subgroup, distinguishing it from effects of maternal warmth.
The dual-escalating subgroup was characterized by increasing levels of aggression across the study period.
Results
Adolescents perceiving low maternal warmth were more likely to belong to the stable maladaptive subgroup rather than the prosocial subgroup.
This association was distinct from the paternal warmth effect, which was linked to the dual-escalating rather than stable maladaptive subgroup.
The finding suggests differential roles of maternal versus paternal warmth in predicting specific types of maladaptive social behavior trajectories.
Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify this association.
Results
High levels of family emotional abuse and psychological maltreatment by teachers were associated with increased likelihood of adolescents being classified into the improving and dual-escalating subgroups compared to the prosocial and stable maladaptive subgroups.
Both family emotional abuse and teacher psychological maltreatment were examined as environmental antecedents.
The association applied to both the improving and dual-escalating subgroups relative to the prosocial and stable maladaptive subgroups.
These findings highlight maltreatment from both family and school settings as risk factors for more dynamic (rather than stable) trajectories of social behavior.
Results
Relatedness need satisfaction at school played a protective role, significantly decreasing the likelihood of adolescents being categorized into any nonprosocial subgroup.
School relatedness need satisfaction was associated with reduced membership in the stable maladaptive, improving, and dual-escalating subgroups.
This was the only environmental factor identified as protective across all nonprosocial trajectory patterns.
The finding was identified through multivariate logistic regression analyses.
Results
The four social behavior trajectory subgroups showed distinct mental health outcomes, with prosocial adolescents showing better mental health, stable maladaptive adolescents showing more frequent depression symptoms, and dual-escalating adolescents exhibiting lower self-esteem.
Mental health outcomes assessed included at minimum depression symptoms and self-esteem.
The prosocial subgroup had the most favorable mental health profile.
The stable maladaptive subgroup was specifically linked to more frequent depression symptoms.
The dual-escalating subgroup was specifically linked to lower self-esteem.
The improving subgroup's mental health outcomes were not highlighted as distinct in the abstract.
What This Means
This research suggests that children in early adolescence follow different developmental paths when it comes to social behaviors like being kind to others, physical fighting, and social manipulation or exclusion. By following over 2,500 Chinese students across three years with measurements every six months, the researchers found four distinct groups: one that remained consistently prosocial, one that stayed persistently aggressive (stable maladaptive), one that started with problems but improved over time, and one where both prosocial and aggressive behaviors escalated together (dual-escalating). The type of group a child fell into was meaningfully connected to their home and school environments.
This research suggests that the warmth shown by parents matters, but in different ways depending on which parent: feeling little warmth from fathers was most strongly tied to being in the dual-escalating group, while feeling little warmth from mothers was tied to the stable maladaptive group. Experiencing emotional abuse at home or psychological maltreatment from teachers was associated with being in the more dynamic (improving or dual-escalating) groups rather than the stable ones. On the protective side, feeling a sense of belonging and connection at school reduced the chances of a child falling into any of the non-prosocial trajectory groups.
This research suggests that these different developmental pathways have real consequences for mental health. Children who remained prosocial had better overall mental health, those who stayed persistently aggressive were more likely to experience depression, and those in the dual-escalating group had lower self-esteem. These findings imply that prevention and intervention efforts may need to be tailored to specific behavioral patterns, with attention to both family relationships and school environments as key targets.
Li Y, Huebner E, Tian L. (2026). Co-developmental trajectories of social behaviors in early adolescence: Environmental antecedents and mental health outcomes.. Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70199