Adolescent Social Processes and Interpersonal Relationships Lab

Last Week, members of the ASPIRE lab - Sienna Klein, Mariana Zapounidis, Laura Humphriss, and Charlotte Leon-Williamson, had the opportunity to present their research at the 2026 Development Conference in Montreal. We appreciate everyone who stopped by to learn about and discuss our research. We are thrilled to showcase the exciting research happening in the lab!

The ASPIRE Lab is excited to be presenting at Development: A Canadian Developmental Psychology Conference in Montreal, Canada!

Check out the research posters presented by our lab members!

The ASPIRE Lab was proud to welcome a PSY700 practicum student this semester. Congratulations to Naba on successfully completing her practicum! Swipe to learn more about Naba’s experience as a practicum student in the ASPIRE lab.

Congratulations to our two undergraduate thesis students, Mariana and Sienna, on presenting their thesis posters.

Mariana’s thesis explored the role of daily occurrences of friend and sibling victimization on adolescents’ positive and negative affect.

Sienna’s thesis examined the daily links between sibling support, emotional well-being, and social connectedness among adolescents.

Great work to both of you!

Speyer and colleagues (2024) findings suggest that among early to mid adolescents, increases in teacher-reported prosocial behaviour may act as a protective factor against the development of some antisocial behaviours, like bullying perpetration.

Teacher reports of adolescents’ prosocial behaviour at age 11 was negatively associated to adolescent-reported bullying perpetration at age 13. A similar pattern was found from ages 13 to 15. This suggests that adolescents may realize that prosocial behaviours lead to higher social reward compared to antisocial behaviours. By monitoring adolescents’ behaviour, teachers and practitioners can identify children at risk of developing antisocial behaviours.

Speyer, L. G., Obsuth, I., Eisner, M., Ribeaud, D., & Murray, A. L. (2024). Does Prosociality in Early-to Mid-Adolescence Protect Against Later Development of Antisocial Behaviours?. The Journal of early adolescence, 44(9), 1124–1153. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316231210254

Dr. Persram recently led a webinar for Strong Minds Strong Kids entitled “Siblings Matter, Too! Sibling Relationships as a Window into Children’s Social Development.”

The session explored how important siblings are in childhood and adolescence. It included perspectives on promoting sibling relationships through positive interactions and navigating sibling conflict. This webinar highlighted ways parents, caregivers, and youth-serving professionals can recognize, become involved, and support young people’s conflict resolution skills, which will support their social development and mental health.

Interested in learning more? Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v79PlCqbzS4

We’re recruiting!

The ASPIRE Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University is recruiting 100 Canadian sibling dyads for a 2-part study on daily sibling interactions! It’s completely online!

For more information, parents can contact us at [email protected]

The ethics protocol for this study has been reviewed and approved by the Toronto Metropolitan Research Ethics Board (REB 2025-234).

Happy Holidays from the ASPIRE Lab!☃️🎄❄️

Congratulations to our two undergraduate thesis students, Mariana and Sienna, on giving fantastic presentations about their proposed studies! Well done!🥳

Check out this week's Fun Fact Friday! This week we explore the psychological benefits of physical activity and participating in team sports!

Reference: Guddal, M. H., Stensland, S. Ø., Småstuen, M. C., Johnsen, M. B., Zwart, J.-A., & Storheim, K. (2019). Physical activity and sport participation among adolescents: Associations with mental health in different age groups. Results from the Young-HUNT study: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open, 9(9), e028555. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028555