Scott D. Gest 

photo of Scott Gest

Associate Professor of Human Development

Contact Information

110 Henderson South Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park PA 16802

814-865-3464

(fax) 814-863-7963

gest@psu.edu

prevention.psu.edu/people/gest_s.html

Research Interests

My research focuses on developmental processes linking academic skills, peer experiences and socio-emotional adjustment during middle childhood and early adolescence. I am especially interested in how to conceptualize and measure peer experiences and peer social network dynamics in school settings. My current research efforts focus on four projects:

Classroom Peer Ecologies Project. This is a new research project (starting Fall 2008) that I am conducting in collaboration with Phil Rodkin at the University of Illinois and Tom Farmer at Penn State (Special Education). We are studying teaching practices, peer social networks and student adjustment in 1st, 3rd and 5th grade classrooms. Our goals are to learn whether emerging features of peer networks (e.g., status hierarchies, behavioral norms) are related to individual student outcomes, and to identify teaching practices that are associated with these emerging peer network features. (Funding from William T. Grant Foundation and Spencer Foundation, 2008-2010). <HDFS 496 FORM>

PROSPER Peers. This study of friendship networks and the emergence of substance use uses data from the PROSPER community-level randomized evaluation of evidence-based substance use prevention programs. Over 11,000 youth provided reports of their friendships and substance use patterns over five occasions between 6th grade and 9th grade. I am a member of the multi-investigator team (PI = Wayne Osgood; Investigators = Mark Feinberg, Karen Bierman, Jim Moody, me) testing several hypotheses regarding the role of peers in the emergence of substance use, and in the impact of universal prevention programs on the structure of school-level peer networks. (Funding from William T. Grant Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2007-2010)

Middle School Transition Project. Janet Welsh and I conducted this 5-year longitudinal study of 427 children enrolled in grades 3, 4 and 5, gathering twice-yearly assessments until each grade-cohort completed 7th grade. Our measures focused on students’ peer experiences (friendships, groups and reputations), relationships with adults at school and perceptions of the school environment. A unique feature of this study is the relatively complete data on friendships and peer groups across multiple assessments. We are collaborating with Jim Moody (Duke Department of Sociology) and Dan McFarland (Stanford School of Education) to conduct more comprehensive analyses of these peer network dynamics. (Funding from National Science Foundation, 2007-2009)

Head Start REDI (REsearch-based, Developmentally Informed). This project is a randomized control trial testing the impact of a pre-kindergarten curriculum designed to enhance children's school readiness (Karen Bierman, PI). The curriculum featured specific activities and general teaching strategies to promote language/literacy and social-emotional skills. The curriculum was implemented in 22 Head Start classrooms in central Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2006. After documenting significant intervention effects on children’s outcomes and teaching processes, we secured funding to follow these youth through 5th grade. (Funding from National Institute of Child Health and Development, 2003-2012)

Education

B.A., 1987, Interdisciplinary Studies, UNC- Chapel Hill
1994-1995, Medical Psychology Intern, Duke University Medical Center
Ph.D., 1995, Developmental-Clinical, University of Minnesota
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1995-1997, Center for Developmental Science, UNC-Chapel Hill

Professional Experience

■2006- : Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University

■2000- 2006: Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.

■1997-2000: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University.  

Selected Publications

Rulison, K. L., Gest, S. D., & Loken, E. (in press). Rejection, feeling bad, and being hurt: Sex differences in the developmental sequelae of affiliating with aggressive peers. Journal of Adolescence.

Molloy, L., Gest, S. D., & Rulison, K. L. (in press). Peer influences on academic adjustment: Exploring multiple methods of assessing youths' most influential peer relationships. Journal of Early Adolescence.

Davidson, A. J., Gest, S. D.,  & Welsh, J. A. (in press). Relatedness with Teachers and Peers during Early Adolescence:  An Integrated Variable-Oriented and Person-Oriented Approach. Journal of School Psychology.

Rodkin, P. C., & Gest, S. D. (2010). Teaching practices, classroom peer ecologies, and bullying behaviors among schoolchildren. In D. L. Espelage & S. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in North American Schools (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge, Taylor, Francis.

Kindermann, T., & Gest, S. D. (2009). Assessment of the peer group: Identifying naturally occurring social networks and capturing their effects (pp. 100-117). In K. Rubin, W. Bukowski & B. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook of Peer Interactions, Relationshiops and Groups. New York: Guilford Press.

Gest, S. D., Rulison, K. L., Davidson, A., J. & Welsh, J. A. (2008). Children’s academic reputations among peers: Longitudinal associations with academic self-concept, effort and performance. Developmental Psychology, 44, 625-636.

Gest, S. D., Davidson, A. J., Rulison, K. L., Moody, J., & Welsh, J. A. (2007). Features of groups and status hierarchies in girls’ and boys’ early adolescent peer networks. In P. Rodkin & L. Hanish (Eds.), New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Special Issue: Social Network Analysis and Children’s Peer Relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gest, S. D., Moody, J., & Rulison, K. L. (2007). Density or distinction? The roles of data structure and group detection methods in describing adolescent peer groups. Journal of Social Structure, 4, http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume8/GestMoody/

Gest, S. D., Masten, A. S., Sesma, A., & Tellegen, A. (2006). Childhood peer reputation as a predictor of competence and symptoms 10 years later. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(4), 507-524.

Gest, S. D., Farmer, T. F., Cairns, B. D., & Xie, H. (2003). Identifying children's peer social networks in school classrooms. Links between peer reports and observed interactions. Social Development, 12, 513-529.

Center Affiliations

  • Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development

Strategic Themes

  • Human Development
  • Contexts and Social Institutions