Cyber Aggression: The Relation between Online Offenders and Offline Social Competence

Children are increasingly using computer technologies to engage in acts of aggression against peers, often termed ‘cyber aggression’. Media reports have sensationalized instances of cyber aggression, and social scientists have begun to examine its characteristics and consequences. Using a younger sample of children than most previous research (192 third‐ through sixth‐grade children), the present research evaluated grade and gender effects on cyber aggression and, most importantly, evaluated the classroom peer social consequences of engaging in cyber aggression, after controlling for traditional, face‐to‐face aggression. Children reported engaging in cyber aggression at comparable rates across grades and between males and females. Engaging in cyber aggression was related to higher rates of loneliness and lower rates of global self‐worth, peer optimism, number of mutual friendships, social acceptability, and popularity. In short, after controlling for effects attributable to traditional aggression, cyber aggression was related to significant negative peer relations outcomes.     

Connections between Temperament and Social Development: A Review

This paper critically reviews the literature on the links between temperament and social development in children and adolescents. Social development is broadly defined to include externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems, prosocial behaviour and social competence. It concludes that there are clear links between specific dimensions of temperament and particular aspects of social development. Examples include the association of negative reactivity with externalizing behaviour problems, inhibition with internalizing behaviour problems, and attention regulation with school functioning. Theoretical and methodological issues to be confronted in future research are identified, including the need to investigate further the interactions between temperament and social context. Analysis of patterns of change in temperament, in relation to physiological changes and to such factors as parenting and socio‐cultural expectations of children, promise to refine our understanding of how temperament works in context. Some practical implications which can be drawn from the research are also discussed.     

Maladaptive Peer Relationships and the Development of Relational and Physical Aggression During Middle Childhood

This study examined the unique roles of peer rejection and affiliation with aggressive peers in the development of relational and physical aggression in a sample of 979 2nd through 4th grade children. Information about target children and their best friends’ aggression and peer rejection was gathered via peer‐nominations when the majority of children were in the 3rd grade, and again approximately one year later. Friendships were identified by having target children nominate their three best friends in their classroom. Path analyses conducted with children who had at least one reciprocated friendship revealed that peer rejection and friends’ aggression predicted changes in target children's aggression; however, the patterns of relations varied by gender and form of aggression. Higher initial levels of rejection and friends’ relational aggression predicted increases in relational aggression among girls only, whereas rejection and friends’ physical aggression predicted increases in physical aggression among boys and girls. The significance of these results for the application of peer influence theories to relational aggression, and to females, is discussed.     

Social Problem Solving in High‐risk Mother–Child Dyads: An Intergenerational Study

This study examined the contribution of maternal childhood histories of aggression and social withdrawal to the prediction of mother–child social problem solving in the next generation. Fifty‐seven women (M = 37.32 years), previously rated (on a version of the pupil evaluation inventory) by their peers during childhood on measures of aggression and withdrawal, discussed conflicts with their 9‐ to 13‐year‐old children. Problem‐defining statements, solutions, and resolution strategies were coded using an observational measure developed by the authors. Maternal childhood histories of aggression and withdrawal predicted poorly sophisticated solutions in both mothers and children as well as antisocial solutions in children. Histories of withdrawal predicted solitary solutions in children as well as less guidance and structure during decision making. Findings suggest that mothers who were withdrawn, and those aggressive and withdrawn in childhood, display less sophisticated problem solving, which may be mirrored in children. Results have implications for the development of aggressive and withdrawn girls into parenthood and highlight a potential pathway for the transfer of risk.     

Gender Moderates the Progression from Fearful Temperament to Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting

Child gender may exert its influence on development, not as a main effect, but as a moderator among predictors and outcomes. We examined this notion in relations among toddler fearful temperament, maternal protective parenting, maternal accuracy in predicting toddler distress to novelty, and child social withdrawal. In two multi‐method, longitudinal studies of toddlers (24 months at Time 1; Ns = 93 and 117, respectively) and their mothers, few main effect gender differences occurred. Moderation existed in both studies: only for highly accurate mothers of boys, fearful temperament related to protective parenting, which then predicted later social withdrawal. Thus, studying only main‐effect gender differences may obscure important differences in how boys and girls develop from fearful temperament to later social withdrawal.     

Temperament,mothers' reactions to children's emotional experiences,and emotion understanding predicting adjustment in preschool children

It is expected that both children and their parents contribute to children's development of emotion knowledge and adjustment. Bidirectional relations between child temperament (fear, frustration, executive control) and mothers' reactions to children's emotional experiences were examined to explore how these variables predict children's emotion understanding, social competence, and problem behaviors. Preschool‐aged children (N = 306) and their mothers were assessed across four‐time points. Children's temperament and mothers' non‐supportive reactions to children's emotional experiences were assessed when children were 36 and 45 months of age. Emotion understanding was assessed when the children were 54 months of age and teachers reported on children's problem behaviors and social competence when the children were 63 months of age. Covariates included family income, child cognitive ability, gender, and child adjustment at 36 months. Results from path analyses demonstrated that bidirectional relations between children's temperament and mothers' non‐supportive reactions were not significant. However, mother's non‐supportive reactions directly predicted fewer problem behaviors, and children's emotion understanding mediated the relation between children's executive control and their later social competence. As such, emotion understanding appears to be one mechanism through which executive control might impact social competence.     

Self-perceived Social Acceptance and Peer Social Standing in Children with Aggressive–Disruptive Behaviors

Examining children's perceptions of their social acceptance in conjunction with others’ ratings of their peer social standing can enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity in children exhibiting disruptive behavior problems. Using a sample of 213 youth rated in the top 31 percent of their class on aggressive–disruptive behaviors, the current study examined the interaction between children's perceptions of their social acceptance and their peer‐rated social standing in predicting emotional and behavioral problems. Overall, lower peer‐rated social standing was associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior, academic problems, and hyperactivity/inattention. On the other hand, higher self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased levels of peer‐rated fighting at school. For children who were rated as having high social standing among their peers, poorer self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased oppositional behaviors and conduct problems at home. In addition, children who reported lower self‐perceived social acceptance exhibited increased levels of depressive symptoms, even when they were relatively well liked by their peers. The potential implications for working with subgroups of children with aggressive–disruptive behaviors are discussed.     

Children's Anger Attribution Bias: Relations to Family Environment and Social Adjustment

We examined the relations of caregiver depression and family instability to preschool children's anger attribution bias and emotion attribution accuracy on a test of emotion situation knowledge. After controlling for age, gender, and verbal ability, caregiver depression and family instability predicted children's anger attribution bias but not the overall accuracy of their emotion attributions. We also divided children into groups low and high on teacher reports of aggression and groups low and high on teacher reports of peer rejection and examined the anger attribution bias of these groups. For boys but not girls, greater anger attribution bias predicted higher levels of aggression. For all children, greater anger attribution bias predicted higher levels of peer rejection. Results suggest that the misattribution of anger to others may be an important component of some children's early emotional and social difficulties.     

The Impact of Clique Membership on Children's Social Behavior and Status Nominations

The impact of children's clique membership on their peer nominations for social behaviors and status was examined in a sample of 455 third‐ through fifth‐grade children. Social identity theory (SIT) and children's peer group affiliation and context served as primary conceptual frameworks for this investigation. As suggested by SIT, results indicated that children displayed favorable views toward their own cliquemates, nominating cliquemates more often for positive characteristics (e.g., prosocial, cool) and high status indicators (like‐most, most‐popular) than for negative characteristics (e.g., aggression) and low status indicators (like‐least, least‐popular). At the same time, children's views toward their cliquemates were commensurate with the clique's normative reputations as determined by the broader peer group (i.e., grade). This suggests that children's perceptions toward their cliquemates, albeit favorable, are also regulated by the overall clique context. Meaningful gender and grade effects on children's cliquemate nomination patterns were found. Findings also were discussed regarding the impact of clique size on a peer‐based assessment of social reputations and status.     

The Effect of Gender Context on Children's Social Behavior in a Limited Resource Situation: An Observational Study

Knowing when to compete and when to cooperate to maximize opportunities for equal access to activities and materials in groups is critical to children's social and cognitive development. The present study examined the individual (gender, social competence) and contextual factors (gender context) that may determine why some children are more successful than others. One hundred and fifty‐six children (M age=6.5 years) were divided into 39 groups of four and videotaped while engaged in a task that required them to cooperate in order to view cartoons. Children within all groups were unfamiliar to one another. Groups varied in gender composition (all girls, all boys, or mixed‐sex) and social competence (high vs. low). Group composition by gender interaction effects were found. Girls were most successful at gaining viewing time in same‐sex groups, and least successful in mixed‐sex groups. Conversely, boys were least successful in same‐sex groups and most successful in mixed‐sex groups. Similar results were also found at the group level of analysis; however, the way in which the resources were distributed differed as a function of group type. Same‐sex girl groups were inequitable but efficient whereas same‐sex boy groups were more equitable than mixed groups but inefficient compared to same‐sex girl groups. Social competence did not influence children's behavior. The findings from the present study highlight the effect of gender context on cooperation and competition and the relevance of adopting an unfamiliar peer paradigm when investigating children's social behavior.     

市场化背景下社会资本对性别收入差距的影响——基于2009 JSNet全国数据

本文使用2009 JSNet全国数据,考察市场化背景下社会资本作用的变化及其对性别收入差距的影响。研究发现：第一,市场化程度较高的情况下,网络资源对收入回报的作用更小,阶层网络对收入回报的作用更大;第二,体制外部门两性的网络资源对收入回报的作用没有差异,体制内部门男性的网络资源对收入回报的作用小于女性;第三,男性的阶层网络对收入回报的作用无论在体制外部门还是体制内部门都高于女性。综上所述,对于女性而言,其所拥有的网络资源所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所消减;对于男性而言,其所拥有的阶层网络所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所提升。因此,随着市场化的不断推进以及社会资本在市场化背景下作用的变化,两性的收入差距在进一步拉大。     

Who Dislikes Whom, and For Whom Does It Matter: Predicting Aggression in Middle Childhood

This study investigated the role of mutual dislike dyads (MDDs) in the development of aggressive behavior across the middle childhood years. Of particular interest was whether involvement in MDDs predicted later aggression, and whether the magnitude of the association between MDDs and later aggression varied based on characteristics of target children and 'others' involved in their MDDs. Data were collected on a community sample of 453 children participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. Classroom peer nomination and rating-scale measures were collected in kindergarten through third grade; aggressive behavior problems were assessed via teacher ratings in the early elementary years (kindergarten and first grade) and late elementary years (fourth and fifth grade). MDD involvement in the middle elementary years (second and third grade) was associated with higher levels of aggression in the late elementary years among boys (but not girls), and these predictions held after controlling for group-level peer disliking in the middle elementary years, aggression in the early elementary years, and demographic variables. The association between MDD involvement and subsequent aggression was also qualified by the aggressiveness of others in children's MDDs: Having more MDDs predicted later aggression only among boys whose MDDs involved mostly non-aggressive others.     

Social centrality and aggressive behavior in the elementary school: Gender segregation,social structure,and psychological factors

In this paper, we build on key findings in the sociological literature regarding different patterns of association between social centrality and overt aggressive behavior in the context of same‐and‐cross gender social interactions. We explore these associations in a population of urban elementary school students ( = 8.62, SD = 0.69, N = 848), while addressing claims that the role of psychological factors is overstated in this literature. Our results indicate that, on average, social centrality is positively associated with aggressive behavior for boys, but negatively for girls. We also find a moderating effect indicating that the proportion of male peers with whom participants are reported to hang around, as well as their own gender play a role in the association between social centrality and aggression. These findings are discussed in the context of an ecological perspective on human development in which interactions among individuals, their social groups, and key environments are viewed as central to shaping developmental pathways.     

Associations between Sadness and Anger Regulation Coping, Emotional Expression, and Physical and Relational Aggression among Urban Adolescents

This study examined associations between self-reports of sadness and anger regulation coping, reluctance to express emotion, and physical and relational aggression between two cohorts of predominantly African-American fifth (N  =  191; 93 boys and 98 girls) and eighth (N  =  167; 73 boys and 94 girls) graders. Multiple regression analyses indicated unique associations between relational aggression and expressive reluctance and sadness regulation coping. In contrast, physical aggression, but not relational aggression, was associated with anger regulation coping. These relations did not differ across gender, but the strength of the association between anger regulation coping and physical aggression varied by grade. Sadness regulation coping moderated the association between expressive reluctance and relational aggression. Conversely, anger regulation coping moderated the relation between expressive reluctance and physical aggression; however, the strength of this relation differed by gender. These findings have important implications for intervention efforts.     

I’m respectful. Why don’t they like me? Evaluator and gender effects of showing respect and children’s social competence

Despite extensive research on the importance of conceptualizing respect, little is known about how respect recipients and peer onlookers evaluate showing respect. Few studies have examined how such evaluations affect children's peer relations across four levels of social complexity (individual, interactions, relationships, and group), and few have assessed how gender influences the evaluations of showing respect to peers on peer social competence. This study used multi‐group structural equation modeling (MSEM) to examine how (a) cross‐evaluators’ views on showing respect mediated the relation between multiple measures of social complexity and children's social competence and (b) whether gender moderated the above relations. Two hundred and sixteen participants were chosen from third to sixth graders (111 girls; M_age =10.30). They completed self‐reports of social competence and showing respect, and peer reports of classmates’ showing respect, overt aggression, physical victimization, mutual friends, and social competence. Self‐evaluations of showing respect were negatively related to group‐level social competence. Peer evaluations of showing respect mediated the association between peer relations (specifically, number of mutual friends and overt aggression) and individual‐level and group‐level social competence. Gender moderated three paths in the model, namely links between overt aggression and (a) peer evaluations for showing respect; (b) group‐level social competence; and (c) individual‐level social competence. Negative associations were stronger for girls than for boys. The research findings suggest that gender norms shape the complex relations between children's showing respect and social competence, and an understanding of these relations must take into account differences in evaluations made by children and their peers.     

Actualization of Social Cognitions into Aggressive Behavior toward Disliked Targets

The basic premise that social cognitions guide behavior (aggression) was evaluated within relationships marked by dislike. At Time 1, a disliked target was identified for each participant (195 fifth‐grade children; 109 boys; 11–12 years old at Time 1) who then responded to questions about different aggression‐supporting social cognitions with regard to the chosen target. In addition, aggression directed at the identified peer (from the disliked child's perspective) was measured twice over a one‐year interval. Our results show that aggressogenic thought predicts increases in aggression only when the target is chronically disliked. Moreover, within chronically disliked relationships, the actualization of aggressogenic thought is maximized when children have high initial levels of reactive (in the case of hostile attributions) and proactive aggression (in the case of self‐efficacy beliefs), and when targets are initially high on reactive aggression. These findings suggest that social cognitions, assessed within a specific relationship context, can have more predictive validity than traditionally used decontextualized measures.     

Children's Coping with Marital Conflict: The Role of Conflict Expression and Gender

This study compared boys’ and girls’ coping responses to videotaped representations of marital conflict that varied in conflict content, tactic, and the gender of the parent engaging in conflict behaviour. Participants were 398 children (208 boys, 190 girls) aged 12–13 years old living in the United Kingdom. Child‐related conflict exchanges characterized by hostile behaviour (e.g., physical aggression) elicited greater mediation efforts by children. Children were more likely to mediate father‐enacted conflict. Girls, relative to boys, endorsed more mediation to fathers’ physical aggression and mothers’ pursuit of an issue and were more avoiding of mothers’ physical aggression and threats to intactness of the family. Findings underscore the importance of considering parent and child gender in determining children’s coping efforts in the context of interparental conflict.     

Links between friends’ behaviors and the emergence of leadership in childhood: A genetically informed study of twins

Using a genetically informed design, this study examined whether children's leadership behavior varied as a function of their reciprocal friends’ behavioral characteristics. Specifically, we tested (a) whether friends’ use of a dual strategy (specifically, indirect aggression with prosocial behavior) was associated with children's leadership behavior and (b) whether, in line with a gene‐environment interaction (GxE), the predictive association between friends’ behaviors and children's leadership behavior varied depending on the child's genetic likelihood for leadership. The sample comprised 239 Monozygotic and same‐sex Dizygotic twin pairs (50% boys) assessed in grade 4 (mean age = 10.4 years, SD = 0.26). Reciprocal friendship and children's and their friends’ prosocial, indirectly aggressive, and physically aggressive behaviors were measured via peer nominations. Children's and friends’ leadership was measured through teacher ratings. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that children's genetic likelihood for leadership was positively associated with their leadership behavior. Moreover, the higher their genetic likelihood for leadership, the more children displayed increased leadership behavior when friends showed a combination of indirect aggression and prosocial behavior (GxE). These results underline the role of friends’ behaviors in explaining children's leadership. Socializing with bistrategic friends seems to foster leadership skills especially in children with a genetic likelihood for leadership.     

It's Not Just Being Popular,it's Knowing it,too: The Role of Self‐perceptions of Status in the Associations between Peer Status and Aggression

Moderators of the well‐established association between status and overt and relational aggression were tested in a four‐year longitudinal sample (N = 358) of high school students. Self‐perceptions of popularity were found to moderate the link between actual peer‐perceived popularity and aggression, with adolescents who were both popular and aware of their popular status, scoring highest on peer‐nominated aggression and showing the greatest increases in aggression over time. Self‐perceptions of liking moderated the associations between social preference and aggression as well. Adolescents who saw themselves as disliked were particularly likely to show increases in aggression over time. The moderating effect of self‐perceptions was further moderated by gender in several cases. Findings are discussed in light of Coie's theory of the development of peer status theory. The social‐cognitive elements of high peer status, particularly of perceived popularity, are also highlighted.