Tekijät

• Pulkkinen, Lea (University of Jyväskylä. Department of Psychology)

Asiasanat

academic achievement, adolescents, aggressiveness, behavioural problems, bullying, educational assessment, emotional states, evaluation, personality, school classes, schools, self-discipline, social behaviour

Sisällön kuvaus

The data are part of the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS), in which the same individuals have been followed over 30 years. At this research wave, 14-year-olds' social behaviour and living circumstances were explored. The data were collected using teacher ratings and peer nominations, in a similar fashion as at the first data collection wave, when the respondents were 8 years old. In addition, some of the 14-year-olds and their parents were interviewed in order to explore family background.

In the peer nomination, the pupils answered various questions, such as "Which of your classmates are lively, move a lot, and are often in the company of other pupils?" The pupils were also asked to choose 3 classmates fitting the description for each question. The teachers were presented with the same set of questions. The content of the sections in this survey was adapted according to the eight-year-olds' results to assemble the characteristics of each type of behaviour. The questions charted the pupils' social activity and passivity, strong and weak self control, aggressive behaviour, deliberate actions, compliance, and anxiety. In addition, the teachers were interviewed. They were asked about the pupils' friends, school success, behaviour, absences, and their parents' attitudes towards school.

The data include the extreme group classification based on peer nominations. The criterion for belonging to an extreme group was to be mentioned by more than 2/3 of the classmates in the questions on constructiveness, aggressiveness, compliance, and anxiety. The data also include the pupils' grades for various subjects, as well as the average grade for all subjects.

Background variables included the respondent's gender.