Aversive exchanges with peers and adjustment during early adolescence: is disclosure helpful?

We examined the relationship between the frequency of four types of aversive exchanges with peers (teased, threatened, hit, excluded), disclosure, and psychological distress in a sample of 130 early adolescents (65 boys, 65 girls). Most (73%) reported at least one aversive exchange with a peer during the 3-month target period. Many reported that they did not talk to anyone about these exchanges. When disclosure occurred, other adolescents were more likely than adults to be chosen as confidants. More frequent aversive exchanges and non-disclosure of these events were related to higher self-reported loneliness for boys and girls. A similar pattern was found for girls only using mothers' ratings of the adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms.