Studies that included either gender or race in assessing the nature of friendships for children and adolescents were reviewed. Findings indicate that a sex and race cleavage in friendships is evident from the preschool years and persists throughout adolescence. Girls have more reciprocated and intimate friendships than boys, especially during…

Twenty-five trainable mentally handicapped young adults were placed in two junior high schools. The curriculum included communication, basic knowledge, family living and personal hygiene, work preparation, and body usage. Among the concerns expressed by the children's parents were that the junior high youth would not accept the retarded students…

This paper presents a method of identifying classroom social structures that can be used by teachers involved with writing behavioral objectives and Individualized Education Plans (IEP). By measuring the classroom environment, one has a greater probability of achieving the desired learning environment. A sociometric test enables the teacher to…

Two issues which are addressed in children's cross-race relationships are assessment and intervention. Results from two different types of sociometric studies are reviewed: those using measures of cross-race "best-friendship" and those using measures of "acceptance." Comparisons suggest that using a criterion of best-friendship rather than…

This study examines the effects of interdependent goals and cooperative learning environments on conformity in children. Each of the subjects (390 3rd and 4th grade children) was randomly assigned to a 3-child learning group (or to a no-group control) and then to one of seven experimental or control conditions. The experimental conditions and…

A sense of school belonging has been theorized to be crucial to a childs positive school adjustment and may contribute to their future mental health. The present study investigated the relationship between sources of social support as measured by Harters Social Support Scale for Children and Goodenows Psychological Sense of School Membership. The…

This study compared the perceptions of 227 ninth- and tenth-grade students with learning disabilities in regular and special secondary classrooms. Students' perceptions of their classroom environment and their social competence were assessed. Results showed that students with learning disabilities perceived regular classes as being better…

Noting that a child's peer competence and sociometric status not only are important indices of the child's current social functioning, but may also predict adolescent adaptation, this study examined the antecedents in peer competence and sociometric status in early and late elementary school years of five peer reputation dimensions. These five…

This study examined parents' behaviors and interactional tone in a family setting and children's behaviors and interactional tone with unfamiliar peers, the association between parents' behaviors and interactional tone and children's peer ratings, and the relation between children's behaviors and interactional tone with peers and children's peer…

This study compared the social reputation of: (1) children with a cancer which did not involve the central nervous system (N=26); (2) children with a primary malignancy involving the central nervous system (N=15); and (3) children with sickle cell disease (N=33) to matched, same classroom peers using a measure of social reputation, the Revised…

How infants and toddlers become skilled social actors has not been examined as often as the peer interactions of older children. This study examined 24, middle-class toddlers (ages 23 to 33 months) in 9 different settings during their free-play time at a university-cooperative nursery school. Researchers analyzed 150 social bids which were either…

This study evaluated two social skills interventions designed to increase the peer acceptance of six students (ages 10-12) with learning disabilities in regular classrooms. The students were instructed in two social skills strategies as well as in skills for working in small groups and leading group activities. Two mnemonic devices were used to…

For this study of relations between maternal and paternal discipline, children's playground behavioral orientations and children's peer status, 106 mothers and fathers of preschool-age children were interviewed. The children's playground behavior in child care settings was observed and measures of sociometric status were obtained. Results…

A total of 78 Mexican-American and 14 Anglo-American children participated in a study to determine the relationship of oral English proficiency, social acceptance, and academic achievement among fifth grade students. The students were administered measures of phonology and verbal expression. Scores from a standardized achievement test were used to…

Peer pressure was shown to have a powerful influence on the verbally expressed drug attitudes of the undergraduate male sample. Subjects exposed to a group which consistently espoused either conservative (anti-drug) or liberal (pro-drug) attitudes toward the personal use of drugs were highly likely to conform to the groups attitudinal norms.…