Selected Publications
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For a complete list of publications, see Melanie Dirks’ Google Scholar Profile.
*indicates the person is a current or former graduate or undergraduate student in the lab
2024
Bowker, J. A. , Weingarten, J. P., Etkin, R. A., & Dirks, M. A. (2024). When best friendships end: Young adolescents’ responses to hypothetical best friendship dissolution and associations with real-life friendship outcomes. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fdpys.2024.1369085
Gregory, A. J. P., Dirks, M. A., Nitschke, J. P., Wong, J. M., Human, L. J., & Bartz, J. A. (In press). Association between depression symptoms and emotional-communication dynamics. Clinical Psychology Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026231194963
Dirks, M. A. (2024). Social competence. In E. Neblett & W. Troop-Gordon (Eds). Encyclopedia of Adolescence (2nd Edition). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-373951-3.00090-9
2023
*Macdonald, E. P., *Khullar, T. H., *Vezina, E. L., *Santucci, K., Lydon, J. E., Rose, A. J., & Dirks, M. A. (2023). Say you’ll be there: Associations between observed verbal responses, friendship quality, and perceptions of support in young adult friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40, 4001-4022. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231195115
Martin-Storey, A., Dirks, M., Paquette, G., Boutin, S., *Dryburgh, N. S. J., Leduc, K., Bolduc, M-L., & Temcheff, C. (2023). The Slut-Shaming Instrument: Preliminary validation, correlates, and links with psychological distress among adolescent girls. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 33, 1447-1457. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12876
*Dryburgh, N. S. J., Martin-Storey, A., Craig, W. M., & Dirks, M. A. (2023). The development and preliminary validation of a measure of victimization within the friendships of emerging adults. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40, 2204-2226. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540752211426
Saint-Martin, A., Badasu, M., Recchia, H., Wainryb, C., & Dirks, M. (2023). Children’s and adolescents’ conversations with mothers about offenders’ and victims’ responsibility for harm in their experiences of being hurt by a peer. Social Development, 32, 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12618
McDonald, K. L., Dirks, M. A., Dunfield, K. A., & Hakim, E. A. (2023). Prosocial behavior, peer relationships, and friendships. In T. Malti and M. Davidov (Eds). The Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality: Development, Mechanisms, Promotion. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108876681
2022
*MacNeil, A. H., *Farrell-Reeves, A., Elgar, F. J., & Dirks, M. A. (2022). Food and mood: Daily associations between missed meals and affect among early adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2022.2096045
Panier, L., Ethridge, P., *Farrell-Reeves, A., Punturieri, C., Kujawa, A., Dirks, M. A., & Weinberg, A. (2022) Associations between peer stress in early adolescence and multiple event-related potentials elicited during social feedback processing. Developmental Psychobiology, 64, e22279. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22279
Sandre, A., Morningstar, M., *Farrell-Reeves, A., Dirks, M. A., & Weinberg, A. (2022). Adolescents and young adults differ in their neural response to and recognition of adolescent and adult emotional faces. Psychophysiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14060
Bukowski, W. M., Dirks, M. A., et al. (2022). Contextual variations in associations between measures of aggression and withdrawal and functioning with peers: A replication study. Developmental Psychology, 57, 2022-2031. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000958
*Dryburgh, N. S. J., *Ponath, E., Bukowski, W. M., & Dirks, M. A. (2022). Associations between interpersonal behavior and friendship quality in childhood and adolescence: A meta‐analysis. Child Development, 93, e332-e347. http://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13728
*Santucci, K., *Khullar, T. H., & Dirks, M. A. (2022). Implicit theories of friendship: Are destiny and growth beliefs associated with young adults’ endorsement of dissolution and maintenance strategies in response to challenging situations with a same-gender friend? Social Development, 31, 480-496. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12560
2021
Bukowski, W. M., Dirks, M. A., Infantino, E., & Delay, D. (2021). Principles for studying contextual variations in peer experiences: Rules for peer radicals. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 76, 101295.
Persram, R. J., Wong, T.K.Y., Vargas-Madriz, L. F., Konishi, C., *Dryburgh, N. S. J., Dirks, M. A., Martin-Storey, A., Craig, W. (2021). Development and validation of the Teen Dating Aggression Measure among Canadian youth. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.763210
Martin-Storey, A., Dirks, M.A., Holfeld, B., *Dryburgh, N. S. J., Craig, W. (2021). Family relationship quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: The value of adolescent perceptions of change. Journal of Adolescence, 93, 190-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.11.005
*Morningstar, M., Gilbert, A., *Burdo, J., *Leis, M., & Dirks, M. A. (2021). Recognition of vocal socio-emotional expressions at varying levels of emotional intensity. Emotion, 21, 1570-1575. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001024
*Khullar, T. H., *Kirmayer, M. H., & Dirks, M. A. (2021). Relationship dissolution in the friendships of emerging adults: How, when, and why? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships., 38, 3243-3264. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211026015
*Kirmayer, M. H., *Khullar, T. H., & Dirks, M. A. (2021). Initial development of a situation-based measure of emerging adults’ social competence in their same-gender friendships. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31, 435-450. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12616
Weinberg, A., … Dirks, M.A. (2021). Neural responses to social acceptance predict behavioral adjustment following peer feedback in the context of a real-time social interaction task. Psychophysiology, 58, e13748. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13748
Peverill, M. Dirks, M. A., … McLaughlin, K. A. (2021). Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 83, 101933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933
2020
Freeman, C., Dirks, M. A., & Weinberg, A. (2020). Neural response to rewards predicts risk-taking in late but not early adolescent females. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 45, 100808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100808
Bukowski, W. M., Dirks, M. A, Persram, R., Wright, L., & Infantino, E. (2020). Peer relations and socioeconomic inequality. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 173, 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20381
Davis, S. K., *Morningstar, M., Dirks, M. A., Qualter, P. (2020). Associations between ability emotional intelligence and the recognition of vocal emotion in youth. Personality and Individual Differences, 160, 109938.
*Morningstar, M., Nowland, R., Dirks, M. A., Qualter, P. (2020). Loneliness and the recognition of vocal socioemotional expressions in adolescence. Cognition and Emotion, 34, 970-976. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2019.1682971
*Dryburgh, N. S. J., *Khullar, T., Sandre, A., Persram, R., Bukowski, W. M., & Dirks, M. A. (2020). Evidence-base update of measures of social skills and social competence in clinical samples of youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49, 573-594. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2020.1790381
2019
Elgar, F., Gariepy, G., Dirks, M. A., et al. (2019). Early-life exposure to income inequality and bullying in adolescence: panel study in 40 countries. JAMA Pediatrics, 173, e191181. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1181
Georgiades, K., Duncan, L., Wang, L., Comeau, J., Boyle, M.H., & 2014 Ontario Child Health Team (including Dirks, M. A.). (2019). Six-month prevalence of mental disorders and service contacts among children and youth in Ontario: evidence from the 2014 Ontario child health study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 64, 246-255. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743719830024
*Morningstar, M., Dirks, M. A. Rappaport, B, Pine, D., & Nelson, E. (2019). Associations between anxious and depressive symptoms and the recognition of vocal socio-emotional expressions in youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48, 491-500. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1350963
*Morningstar, M., Garcia, N., Dirks, M. A., & Bagner, D. (2019). Changes in parental prosody mediate effects of parent-training intervention on infant language production. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87, 313-318. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000375
Dirks, M. A., Recchia, H.E, …, Wakschlag, L. S. (2019). Differentiating typical from atypical perpetration of aggression towards a sibling among preschoolers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60, 267-276. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12939
2018
*Morningstar, M., Nelson, E., & Dirks, M. A. (2018). Maturation of vocal emotion recognition: Insights from the developmental and neuroimaging literature. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 90, 221-230.
*Morningstar, M., *Ly, V., *Feldman, L., & Dirks, M. A. (2018). Mid-adolescents’ and adults’ recognition of vocal cues of emotion and social intent: Differences by expression and speaker age. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 42, 237-251.
Ethridge, P. Sandre, A., Dirks, M.A., & Weinberg, A. (2018). Past-year relational victimization predicts a blunted neural response to rewards in emerging adults. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13, 1259–1267.
Dirks, M. A., Dunfield, K. A., & Recchia, H. E. (2018). Prosocial behavior with peers: Intentions, outcomes, and interpersonal adjustment (pp. 243-264). In W. M. Bukowski, B. E., Laursen, and K. H. Rubin (Eds). The handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups. (Second Edition). Guilford.
Earlier
Dirks, M. A., *Cuttini, L., *Mott, A. J., & Henry, D. B. (2017). Associations between early adolescents’ victimization and self-reported responses to peer provocation are moderated by peer-reported aggression. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 27, 436-451.
*Morningstar, M., Dirks, M. A., & *Huang, S. (2017). Vocal cues underlying youth and adult portrayals of socio-emotional expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 41, 155-183.
Human, L. J., Dirks, M. A., DeLongis, A., & Chen, E. (2016). Congruence and incongruence in adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions of the family: Using response surface analysis to examine links with adolescents’ psychological adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 2022-2035.
Dirks, M. A., *Kirmayer, M. H., & *Morningstar, M. (2016). Social competence. In R. J. Levesque (Ed), Encyclopedia of adolescence (Second Edition). doi:10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_27-2.
Dirks, M. A., Persram, R., Recchia, H., & Howe, N. (2015). Sibling relationships as sources of risk and resilience in the development and maintenance of internalizing and externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence. Clinical Psychology Review, 42, 144-155.
Elgar, F., Napoletano, A., Saul, G., Dirks, M. A., Craig, W., Poteat, P., Holt, M., & Koenig, B. W. (2014). Cyberbullying victimization, mental health, and the moderating role of family dinners. JAMA Pediatrics, 168, 1015-1022.
Dirks, M. A., Suor, J. H., Rusch, D., & Frazier, S. L. (2014). Children’s responses to hypothetical provocation by peers: Coordination of assertive and aggressive strategies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 1077-1087.
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A. & Weersing, V. R. (2014). Youth responses to peer provocation: Links to symptoms of anxiety and depression. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36, 339-349.
Dirks, M. A., Weersing, V. R., Warnick, E., *Alton, M., Gonzalez, A., Dauser, C., Scahill, L., & Woolston, J. (2014). Parent and youth report of youth anxiety: Evidence for measurement invariance. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55, 284-291.
Dirks, M. A., De Los Reyes, A., Briggs-Gowan, M., Cella, D., & Wakschlag, L. S. (2012). Embracing not erasing contextual variability in children’s behavior: Theory and utility in the selection and use of methods and informants in developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 558-574.
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A., & Weersing, V. R. (2011). The latent structure of youth responses to peer provocation. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33, 58-68.
Dirks, M. A., Boyle, M. H., & Georgiades, K. (2011). Psychological symptoms in youth and later socioeconomic functioning: Do associations vary by informant? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40, 10-22.
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A., & Weersing, V. R. (2010). The judge specificity of evaluations of youth social behavior: The case of peer provocation. Social Development, 19, 736-757.
Dirks, M. A. & Boyle, M. H. (2010). The comparability of mother-reported structured interviews and checklists for the quantification of youth externalizing symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 1040-1049.
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A., & Weersing, V. R. (2007). The situation specificity of youth responses to peer provocation. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 621-628.
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A., & Weersing, V. R. (2007). Integrating theoretical, measurement, and intervention models of youth social competence. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 327-347.