Aggressive and Prosocial Peer Group Functioning: Effects on Children's Social,School, and Psychological Adjustment

This study examined the effects of aggressive and prosocial contexts of peer groups on children's socioemotional and school adjustment. Data on informal peer groups, social functioning, and different aspects of adjustment were collected from multiple sources in a sample of elementary school children (149 boys, 181 girls; M age = 10 years). Multilevel analyses indicated that group aggressive and prosocial orientations made direct contributions to children's social, school, and psychological functioning. Group contexts also moderated the individual‐level relations between social behavior and self‐perceptions; prosocial behavior was associated with social or scholastic self‐perceptions more evidently in low prosocial and high aggressive groups. The results suggest that the peer group is an important context for children's performance and adjustment in various domains.     

Marital Conflict, Children's Representations of Family Relationships, and Children's Dispositions Towards Peer Conflict Strategies

The links among marital relations and children's representations were examined. Forty‐seven children between the ages of 5 and 8 completed the Family Stories Task (FAST) to obtain their narrative representations of family relations and performed a variation of a puppet procedure ( Mize & Ladd, 1988 ) to assess children's dispositions towards peer conflict strategies. Their parents completed a set of questionnaires regarding marital quality. Results demonstrated relations between marital conflict and children's dispositions towards peer conflict strategies in conflict situations. Children's more negative dispositions towards peer conflict and aggressive behavior in the peer conflict scenarios were each associated with more overt conflict behaviors by mothers and fathers, respectively, and more covert conflict behavior by mothers. In addition, children's internal representations of parent–child relations served as a mediator between marital conflict and children's notions about conflict behavior towards peers.     

Love or the Black Sun of Personal Relationships

Previous research about love, in the social‐psychological literature, has focused on the antecedents, or causes, of love. Moreover, within the field of Personal Relationships, love is often regarded as implicitly present, and thus, is not treated directly. Here, we address the possibility of a reversal of this perspective, where love is no longer treated as a dependent variable but as an independent variable. We show that this change is necessary to promote the status of love to that of a reliable object of scientific enquiry. We discuss the differences between scientific and naïve conceptions of love, and the necessity of distinguishingbetween an alleged reality of love and the consequences of the mere idea of love.     

Bad Days Don't End When the School Bell Rings: The Lingering Effects of Negative School Events on Children's Mood, Self-esteem, and Perceptions of Parent–Child Interaction

Each day for five days, 79 fifth‐grade children reported on events that occurred at school and they and their parents described their interactions with each other each evening. Consistent with previous research, it was found that on days when children reported more academic or peer problems during the day at school, they later described more aversive interactions with their parents. As hypothesized, increases in anxiety and drops in children's state self‐esteem partially mediated this link. However, parents did not report any differences in their interactions with the target child on days when the child experienced problems at school. This study suggests that negative events experienced by children while at school lead to short‐term changes in mood and self‐esteem, which influence their perceptions of subsequent interactions at home with parents.     

The Role of Child Characteristics and Peer Experiences in the Development of Peer Cooperation

Cooperation with peers is challenging for young children, and there are large individual differences in the development of cooperation. The roles of child characteristics and peer experiences for peer interaction during free play have been studied extensively, but it is unclear which factors predict young children's successful cooperation at different points in development. In this study, 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐year‐old children were observed during a peer cooperation task. Both their interactive behavior and cooperation success were examined, and the association of these variables with child characteristics and peer experiences was explored. Results showed that successful peer cooperation increased with age. Moreover, early individual differences in peer cooperation were related to temperamental characteristics, and, among older children, the rate of cooperation was related to prior peer experience.     

Identifying Children's Peer Social Networks in School Classrooms: Links Between Peer Reports and Observed Interactions

Links between peer reports of social cluster membership and observed classroom interactions were examined in a sample of 72 children in 4^th grade and 7^th grade. All participating children in each classroom identified as many social clusters in the classroom as they could recall. Using the social‐cognitive map (SCM) procedure, these individual reports were aggregated to summarize the number of times a given child was nominated as being in the same social cluster as each of his or her classmates (i.e., a co‐nomination profile) and to identify the classmates in each child's social cluster. Extensive classroom observations allowed for a parallel summary of the number of times a given child was observed to interact with each of his or her classmates (i.e., an interaction profile). Results indicated that correlations between conomination profiles and interaction profiles were positive and statistically reliable. Children were observed to interact with members of their SCM‐identified social cluster at a rate four times higher than with other same‐sex classmates. These effects did not vary reliably by grade, sex or aggressive risk status.     

Future Directions in the Study of Close Relationships: Conflict Is Bad (Except When It's Not)

Beneficial and detrimental correlates of interpersonal disagreement have been postulated and documented. The conclusion: conflict is both bad and good. The evidence for these paradoxical effects is summarized. In this article, we argue that the consequences of conflict for individuals depend on its frequency, the way in which it is managed, and the quality of the relationship in which it arises. Non‐linear patterns of association are hypothesized such that constructive conflicts, particularly those arising in supportive relationships, should (up to a limit) predict more beneficial and fewer detrimental outcomes. In contrast, coercive conflicts, particularly those arising in unsupportive relationships, should predict more adverse and fewer favorable outcomes.     

Gendered Social Worlds in Preschool: Dominance, Peer Acceptance and Assertive Social Skills in Boys' and Girls' Peer Groups

How dominance in the competitive MovieViewer (MV) task relates to peer preference and assertive behavior, and whether these relations differ for boys and girls were explored. Ninety‐one preschool children in same‐sex quartets were videotaped interacting in the MV task and dominance ranks were assigned according to viewing time. Peer preference was explored by looking separately at the number of likes and dislikes a child received in sociometric interviews. Multivariate analyses revealed that sex interacted with rank to explain peer acceptance but not peer rejection. High ranked boys were accepted more by peers than low ranked boys, while low ranked girls were accepted more than high ranked girls. Further analyses revealed that girls, but not boys, accepted the low ranked girls. The difference in girls’ and boys’ acceptance of same‐sex peers who act assertively in the MV task is consistent with the notion that gendered cultures develop in the preschool years.     

Social-cognitive Competence, Peer Rejection and Neglect, and Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Middle Childhood

This prospective, longitudinal study examines individual differences in two conceptually related but empirically distinct domains of social-cognitive competence (cognitive interpretive understanding and interpersonal perspective co-ordination) as moderators of the relation between peer rejection and neglect and behavioral and emotional problems in grades 2 and 3. As expected, peer rejection and neglect increased risks for behavioral and emotional problems whereas interpretive understanding (understanding of mental states) and perspective co-ordination (awareness of others' emotions and motives) reduced risks for aggressive, disruptive, inattentive, and anxious, sad, withdrawn behaviors. Assumptions that awareness of others' perspectives bestows consistent benefits for children experiencing peer problems were challenged. Unexpectedly, rejection and neglect increased risks for behavioral and emotional problems for children who demonstrated average and high levels of perspective co-ordination. More advanced perspective co-ordination may heighten children's sensitivity to peer relationship problems and result in general maladjustment, both concurrently and over time. Less advanced perspective co-ordination may also be responsible for the 'optimistic bias' that has been noted in aggressive children.     

Marital Conflict, Child Emotional Security about Family Relationships and Child Adjustment

Addressing a gap in process‐oriented understanding of relations between marital conflict and children's adjustment, propositions of the emotional security hypothesis from a family‐wide perspective were tested in a longitudinal research design. Participants were 181 families and their 11–12 year‐old‐child (115 boys, 76 girls) living in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Relations between marital conflict, children's emotional security about marital conflict and parenting, respectively, and children's adjustment were assessed based on reports by mothers, fathers, and children and videotaped analogue procedures completed by children. Structural equation modelling indicated that children's emotional security about interparental conflict (emotional regulation, cognitive representations and behavioural regulation) mediated the relation between marital conflict and children's security about parenting. Processes pertaining to children's security in multiple family systems (i.e., interparental and parent–child) provided an indirect mechanism through which interparental conflict affected children's symptoms of psychological distress (internalising and externalising problems) assessed 12 months later. Future directions for further tests of comprehensive, theoretically based models for the effects of marital conflict on children are discussed.     

Entering a New Peer Group in Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Childcare Classrooms

This short‐term longitudinal study examined changes over time in social competence with peers as a function of child and classroom characteristics. One hundred and seventy ethnically diverse low‐income children, all new to their peer groups, entered childcare classrooms with heterogeneous entry policies and ethnic/racial compositions. We observed them with their teachers and peers at entry and again six months later. Observers rated aggressive, anxious/withdrawn, and prosocial behavior with peers and observed complexity of peer play. Children who lacked peers with a shared ethnic heritage and children who spoke a different language at home than the language most often used in the classrooms appeared to be struggling with peer interaction six months after entry into the peer group. Children who had a peer who shared their ethnic heritage and entered the most ethnically diverse classrooms increased their complex peer play more than other children.     

Patterns of Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Young Adolescents in Singapore

The authors investigated the patterns of reactive and proactive aggression exhibited by young male (N = 604) and female (N = 544) adolescents in Singapore. Self‐report measures of reactive and proactive aggression, behavioral and emotional adjustment, parenting styles, and delinquency were administered to students aged 13–14. Using cluster analysis, three distinct patterns of aggression emerged: a low aggressive group, a combined aggressive group with high reactive and proactive aggression, and a reactively aggressive group with low proactive and high reactive aggression. The two aggressive groups showed similar disturbances in adjustment and delinquency, but the combined group showed the greatest disruptions. Findings indicate cross‐cultural stability of patterns of aggression as well as the usefulness of the reactive/proactive distinction in early identification of individuals with adjustment problems.     

Adjusting for Group Size Effects in Peer Nomination Data

Adjusting nomination‐based sociometric and peer assessment scores for biases due to variations in group size has been a long‐standing concern for peer relations researchers. The techniques that have been typically used to make these adjustments (e.g., proportion and standardized scores) are known to have fundamental problems that limit their utility. This study introduces a regression‐based procedure that adjusts nomination‐based scores for variations in group size and compares it with the standardization and proportion procedures. Analyses were conducted on sociometric and peer assessment scores of 1594 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from 63 classrooms. The advantages of the regression‐based procedure over standardization and proportion transformations are outlined. Implications for the accuracy and validity of nomination‐based measures and the research findings based on them are discussed.     

Friendship,Negative Peer Experiences,and Daily Positive and Negative Mood

We examined the effect of negative peer experiences (NPEs; peer victimization and exclusion) on mood (depressed, angry, positive). Seventy‐seven (43 female) fifth graders from elementary schools located in a small town in the Midwest completed a friendship quality measure, in addition to daily reports (seven school days) of mood and peer experiences. Multilevel modeling showed that children who had NPEs in which no one intervened had more negative and less positive mood. For negative mood, this result was attenuated if the child had a friend who was generally helpful. The results demonstrate the positive role of bystanders during NPEs and highlight the protective role of high‐quality friendships.     

Group Influences on Individual Aggression and Prosociality: Early Adolescents Who Change Peer Affiliations

The present study addresses the influence that group norms exert on individual aggressive and prosocial behavior. The study hypothesis is that for early adolescents who change their peer group affiliations, the characteristics of the group they are leaving (departing‐group influence) are not as influential as those of the group that they are joining (attracting‐group influence). From a larger sample of fifth and sixth graders who were followed over a one‐year period, 198 early adolescents were identified as those who changed peer group affiliations. Peer nominations on aggression, prosociality, social preference and popularity, and social network information were collected. Results confirmed that there were significant attracting‐ but not departing‐group influences on aggression and prosociality. Expected associations between aggression, prosocial behavior, and social status were confirmed. The discussion is framed around a social‐ecological perspective that emphasizes the short‐term adaptive nature of aggressive behavior in some peer groups and the need for considering social mobility when assessing group influence on individual behavior.     

Pathways between Parent–Child Interactions and Peer Acceptance: The Role of Children's Social Information Processing

This study examined the links among parents' interaction styles, their children's social information processing, and peer acceptance. Fourth‐grade children (N = 159) and their parents were observed during family discussions. One year later peer acceptance and children's information processing choices (goals, strategies, and attributions) in response to social dilemmas involving their parents and peers were assessed. Fathers' interaction styles with their children predicted both girls' and boys' information processing in regard to their fathers and peers, which, in turn, were related to peer acceptance. Mothers' interactive styles with their children predicted children's social information processing in regard to parents and peers and peer acceptance in similar ways, but only for girls. This study provided evidence that parent–child interaction is linked to children's information processing concerning their relationships with parents and peers and in turn with children being liked by peers. The implications of a social information processing approach for understanding family–peer links are emphasized.     

Victimization Within Mutually Antipathetic Peer Relationships

Children's victimization experiences within relationships characterized by mutual animosity were examined among 210 6th‐ and 7th‐grade boys and girls. Participants reported that a greater proportion of mutual antipathies, relative to other peers, victimized them. Moreover, the receipt of victimization within antipathetic relationships was greater when the partner in the relationship was aggressive, physically strong, non‐victimized and had low levels of internalizing problems. Perceptions of victimization and levels of maladjustment were also found to be more strongly associated with victimization from mutual antipathies than with victimization from other peers. Together, these findings highlight the importance of studying victimization in the context of antipathetic relationships and contribute to an emerging literature on the developmental significance of these relationships.     

The Effects of Participation Rate on the Internal Reliability of Peer Nomination Measures

Although low participation rates have historically been considered problematic in peer nomination research, some researchers have recently argued that small proportions of participants can, in fact, provide adequate sociometric data. The current study used a classical measurement perspective to investigate the internal reliability (Cronbach's α) of peer nomination measures of acceptance, popularity, friendship, prosocial behavior, and overt aggression. Data from 642 participants attending 10 schools were resampled at different participation rates ranging from 5 percent to 100 percent of the original samples. Results indicated that (1) the association between participation rate and Cronbach's α was curvilinear across schools and variables; (2) collecting more data for a given variable (by using unlimited vs. limited nominations, or two vs. one items) was significantly related to higher internal reliability; and (3) certain variables (overt aggression, popularity) were more reliable than others (acceptance, friendship). Implications for future research were discussed.     

Ethnic Attitudes Among Minority and Majority Children: The Role of Ethnic Identification, Peer Group Victimization and Parents

This study examines the relative importance of key variables proposed by intergroup and social learning theories for understanding ethnic attitudes. The focus is on how ethnic identification, perceived parental attitudes and victimization by peers are related to ethnic attitudes. The sample includes Dutch (N = 295) and Turkish (N = 158) children (10–12 years of age) in the Netherlands. For both ethnic groups, stronger ethnic identification is related to more positive in‐group evaluation, and a higher degree of victimization relates to more negative out‐group evaluation. Furthermore, parental attitudes are related to out‐group evaluation. Higher perceived in‐group favoritism among parents was related to a less positive evaluation of the out‐group. In addition, Turkish parental attitudes turn out to be related to ethnic identification and in‐group evaluation. Further analyses suggest that the effect of perceived parental attitudes on children's group evaluations is not only due to projection. It is concluded that the study of ethnic attitudes among children should focus on group identification as well as on the social influences of parents and peers. Furthermore, it is important to distinguish between in‐group and out‐group aspects of ethnic attitudes and to include both majority and minority children.