Michele Lease

My research examines children’s peer interactions within their school-based social networks, including (a) impact of peer interactions on mental health indicators, (b) children with high social status and their influence on peers, (c) role of individual differences in social network interactions, including rejection sensitivity and relational aggression, and (d) the importance of person-group fit on the peer interactions of children experiencing social-emotional and behavioral difficulties. With my research group, I have recently begun to examine the role of new network formation on college students’ well-being and their transition to university life.