The well-known associations of peer status (acceptance and rejection) with prosocial and aggressive behaviors have mostly relied on peer status measures assessed at a single time point. This study adopted a person-oriented approach to examine longitudinal links between stable peer status profiles assessed at two time points and prosocial and…

The goal of this study was to advance the conceptualization and measurement of adolescent popularity by exploring the commonly used composite score (popularity minus unpopularity). We used standardized peer nominations from 4,414 early adolescents (ages [approximately equal to] 12-14 years) from three samples collected in two countries. Popularity…

Bullying is a goal-directed behavior that has long been in the spotlight of worldwide school mental health programs and research. However, the role of popularity goals in bullying and its potential mechanisms are unclear for adolescents in a non-Western cultural context. Based on 333 Chinese adolescents (52% female), the current study was the…

In adolescence, being rejected by one's peers is positively associated with aggression. However, whether self-perceptions of being rejected or accepted by peers, and biases in these perceptions, are linked to aggression remains unclear, as the literature points to 2 perspectives: Youth are more likely to be aggressive when they (a) know or believe…

Two studies examine the convergence between measures of friendship and measures of liking in the assessment of friendship and peer acceptance. In the first study, 551 (301 boys and 250 girls) Canadian primary school children (ages 8-11) nominated friends and liked-most classmates. In the second study, 282 (127 boys and 155 girls) US primary school…

The paper investigates reputational status dynamics (coolness and popularity) in a Hungarian primary school sample. The data derives from an emergent mixed methods research study, where one wave of a panel data collection (N = 754) was complemented with focus group interviews (N = 144) among sixth grade students (age 12-13). The quantitative…

The association between children's social-status within their peer-group and their prosociality was examined among fourth and sixth graders (N = 276), using sociometric nominations, and actual sharing with a fellow in-group member, or a member of an out-group. Results show an overall increase in sharing with age, and an overall correlation between…

This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the self-perception of primary school students aged 10-14 and their attitudes toward obese children (n = 693). There was a weak, positive, and highly significant correlation between the mean scores for the overall Attitude Toward Obese Children Scale, the Self-Perception Profile for…

Associations between social norms and bullying bystander behaviours have been studied extensively over the years, but the mechanisms by which subjective norms influence bystander behaviours remain unclear. This study is the first to examine whether bystander popularity moderates the association between perceived peer pressure for intervention and…

This study assessed the prevalence of verbally being put down by others and intrapersonal and normative factors associated with being put down by others among middle and high school students. Students (N = 1,027) completed the Adolescent Health Risk Behavior Survey. Over 16% of participants reported being put down at school. Students who…

Social norms are vital for the functioning of adolescent peer groups; they can protect the well-being of groups and individual members, often by deterring harmful behaviors, such as aggression, through enforcement mechanisms like peer victimization; in adolescent peer groups, those who violate aggression norms are often subject to victimization.…

Background: Very-low-income students are a population at a high risk of perpetrating and suffering bullying at school, and at the same time the peer group at school is often one of the few sources of support for these minors. Objective: This two-wave study is aimed to disambiguate the two different roles of peer acceptance and friendship on…

Background: Although physical activity can play a positive role in psychosocial development, few studies have longitudinally examined the relationship between physical activity from physical education (PA from PE) and perceived peer acceptance (PPA). Methods: Data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey were used with 1908 elementary…

The longitudinal associations between popularity, overt aggression, and relational aggression were assessed in middle school and high school cohorts drawn from a large urban Northwest Chinese city. The middle school (n = 880; 13.33 years.) and high school samples (n = 841; 16.66 years.) were each followed for 2 years. In the concurrent regression…

This study examined the association between adolescents' obesity and sociometric status among their peers across 1 year. The participants were 2,528 junior high school students from Taiwan (mean age = 13.31 years). The negative associations discovered between obesity and sociometric status were both concurrent and cumulative. Moreover, the…