IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v188y2026ics0190740926004081.html

Peer exclusion and adolescent maladjustment: the role of cognitive flexibility across school contexts

Author

Listed:
  • Kuyumcu, Behire Elif

Abstract

Peer exclusion is a common social experience during adolescence, which has been associated with psychological maladjustment. The present study examined whether cognitive flexibility is related to the association between different forms of peer exclusion (being ignored and being excluded) and maladjustment across school contexts. Participants were 490 adolescents from five types of public high school in Türkiye (mean age = 15.60; SD = 1.14; 56.3% female). Participants completed validated scales assessing peer exclusion (The Ostracism Experience Scale), cognitive flexibility (Cognitive Flexibility Scale), and psychological maladjustment (Personality Assessment Questionnaire). Findings showed that both being ignored and being excluded were associated with higher psychological maladjustment and lower cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility partially mediated the association between both forms of peer exclusion and maladjustment. Although no significant interaction was observed in the overall sample, school-specific patterns emerged: cognitive flexibility tended to be protective in science and social high schools but was associated with stronger links between being ignored and maladjustment in female vocational and technical high schools. The results may inform the development of context-sensitive school-based support practices that combine social inclusion efforts with cognitive skill development.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuyumcu, Behire Elif, 2026. "Peer exclusion and adolescent maladjustment: the role of cognitive flexibility across school contexts," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:188:y:2026:i:c:s0190740926004081
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109155
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740926004081
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109155?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:188:y:2026:i:c:s0190740926004081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.