Four subtypes among 98 peer-rejected 5- to 7-year-old boys were identified. An aggressive subtype comprised 48 percent of boys; a shy subtype, 13 percent; and two other nonaggressive subtypes, 39 percent. After one year, 66 percent of boys in the three nonaggressive subtypes changed subtype classification, whereas only 42 percent of aggressive…

This study integrated research on aggression, peer status, and social and academic functioning across the middle- and high-school transitions. We examined how peer status and aggression are related to adolescents' expectations about their academic and social functioning in a new school system before the transition into that system, and their…

Two studies examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between adolescents' aggression, victimization, and high status. Findings indicated that both provocateurs and targets of reputational aggression had high levels of peer-perceived popularity. Proactive aggression was also associated with high popularity, while reactive aggression was…

Introduces the basic ideas of Jacob Moreno's (1934) historical model of sociometric judgment and discusses how developmental psychologists have used this model in child development research. Traces the development of sociometric techniques to study children's peer relations, and notes the limitations of contemporary sociometric techniques. (JPB)

The authors' goals in the study were to investigate the possible gains made by including multiple assessments of status in the prediction of change in psychosocial adjustment and to compare the effectiveness of continuous and categorical measures of peer status in predicting adjustment. The authors obtained continuous and categorical measures of…

The present study explored the heterogeneous nature of popularity by investigating subgroups of popular girls (N = 365) in their first year of secondary school (mean age = 13.05). Cluster analysis revealed the presence of five subgroups based upon sociometric popularity (i.e., those considered "likeable" by peers) and consensual popularity (i.e.,…

Growth curve modelling was used to examine developmental trajectories of sociometric and perceived popularity across eight years in adolescence, and the effects of gender, overt aggression, and relational aggression on these trajectories. Participants were 303 initially popular students (167 girls, 136 boys) for whom sociometric data were…

Developmental changes were examined in the associations among physical and relational aggression, and sociometric and perceived popularity based on peer nominations. Participating in the longitudinal study were 905 children (440 girls, 465 boys) from ages 10 to 14. Associations between the forms of status and between the forms of aggression…

This study compared the sociometric status of boys and girls and investigated the role of various social behaviors in determining the peer status of boys and girls. Participants were 835 fourth graders from eight elementary schools serving a lower- to lower middle-class population. An unlimited nominations procedure was used in the fall and…

An important and well-documented finding in the peer relations literature is that there is an association between children's peer relations and their later social development. Two models have been proposed for the predictive link between early peer relations and later adjustment: incidental and causal. Although findings have supported an…

This longitudinal study identified subgroups of rejected boys with different developmental pathways of aggression and prosocial behavior during middle childhood. Four subgroups were identified associated with different patterns of sociometric acceptance and rejection over time and with social emotional adjustment in the last measurement wave.…

Two studies examined children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers. Findings indicated that fourth- through eighth-graders viewed "liked others" as prosocial and "disliked others" as antisocial, but associated perceived popularity with both prosocial and antisocial behavior. Children described popular peers as…

The present study was designed to examine early adolescents' stereotypical descriptions of two types of youth who are seen as popular by their peers. Participants were 13- to 14-year-old early adolescents (N = 287). The results indicated that early adolescents distinguished two types of popular peers: a "populistic" (popular but not…

In the current study, 466 children completed a peer nomination survey assessing both perceived and sociometric popularity at the end of the 5th grade. Measures of behavior problems were assessed through a composite of peer-, teacher- and self-reports at the end of the 8th grade. Examination of the unique concurrent associations of each popularity…

A study was conducted to test the effects of early consistent rejection by peers in early elementary school on children's social and emotional adjustment at the end of elementary school. The study used data from a longitudinal study conducted in the Netherlands between 1986 and 1991. In 1986, a total of 231 kindergarten and first-grade boys from…