Lara Mayeux

My primary research focus is on the development of peer relationships and friendships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. My research tends to fall into one of two broad areas. The first is understanding social power and popularity in the peer group—how it is developed, how it is maintained, and the processes by which popularity is linked to psychosocial and behavioral adjustment. Along these lines, a major theme of my current research is understanding how processes related to peer status and friendship differ for boys and girls, particularly in adolescence when salient developmental tasks such as identity development and romantic relationships intensify. The second general focus in my lab is the diversity of peer and friendship experiences among LGBT+ youth and young adults. My graduate students and I conduct research in the public schools, in the community, and in the lab, using a variety of methods (sociometric, survey, qualitative, daily diary, and experimental).

Curth, W., & Mayeux, L. (2025). The unique roles of family, friend, and online support in the psychological adjustment of transgender young adults. International Journal of Transgender Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2443744

LaDue, D. S., Roueche, D., Lombardo, F., & Mayeux, L. (2024). Linking Survivor Stories to Forensic Engineering: How an Interscience Approach Reveals Opportunities for Reducing Tornado Vulnerability in Residential Structures. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 105(8), E1521-E1541. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0036.1

Kleiser, M., & Mayeux, L. (2023). Associations between peer-perceived and self-perceived gender typicality and peer status in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 43(3), 320-341.

O’Mealey, M. & Mayeux, L. (2022). Similarities and differences in popular peers in high school and emerging adulthood.  Journal of Genetic Psychology, 183(2), 152-168.

Kleiser, M., & Mayeux, L. (2021). Popularity and gender prototypicality: An experimental approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(1), 144-158.

Mayeux, L., & Kleiser, M. (2020). A gender prototypicality theory of adolescent peer popularity. Adolescent Research Review, 5(3), 295-306.

Mayeux, L., & Kraft, C. (2018). Social goals moderate the association between popularity and social behavior in middle school. Social Development, 27 (4), 699-714.

Kraft, C., & Mayeux, L. (2018). Associations among friendship jealousy, peer status, and relational aggression in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 38(3), 385-407.