Working within the developmental science research framework, this study sought to capture a dynamic and complex view of student mobility. Second- through fifth-grade data (N = 1,003, predominantly Caucasian) were drawn from a longitudinal study, and growth curve analyses allowed for the examination of mobility effects within the context of other…

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 demonstrated separate linkages between 2 features of positive parenting responsiveness to distress and warmth and different aspects of children's socio-emotional functioning, in a sample of 106 children (6-8 years old). As expected, mothers' and fathers' responsiveness to distress, but not warmth, predicted better negative affect…

Forty preschool children reported verbally why they liked their best friend and why they disliked someone they knew. (Author/JMB)

Children's conflicts with one another during free play were observed to determine the relation between the child's rate of conflict participation and his or her rate of aggressive behavior during conflict episodes and between these variables and the degree to which the child was liked or disliked by peers. (Author/SO)

Examined the existence of friendship and friendship network characteristics among 227 fifth- and sixth-graders who differed in popularity status. Found that all children reported having at least one unilateral friend, while unpopular children were less likely than popular children to have at least one reciprocal friend. (MDM)

The effects of three treatments on third- and fourth-grade socially isolated children were compared. The treatments were: (1) playing games with peers accompanied by adult coaching in social skills relative to friendship making, (2) playing games with peers, and (3) playing solitary games in the presence of peers. (Author/JMB)

Measures of likability, knowledge of emotion, prosocial and aggressive behavior, peer competence, and expressed emotions of happiness and anger of 65 subjects between 33 and 56 months of age supported the notion of early development of stable peer reputations and the hypothesized centrality of emotion-related predictors of likability. (RH)

Examines the effects of social skills training and peer involvement on the peer acceptance of disliked preadolescents. Identified as unaccepted by peers and deficient in conversational skills, 56 fifth- and sixth-grade children were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions involving conversational skills training and/or peer…

Third- and fifth-grade children were given three sociometric measures and were later individually interviewed on two occasions in response to three cartoon themes: (1) a child being teased by peers, (2) a child being yelled at by a peer, and (3) a child having a schoolwork problem. (JMB)

Children of mothers who were more assertive in their disciplinary styles tended to be less accepted by peers and to expect successful outcomes for unfriendly assertive methods for resolving peer conflict. Children who expected unfriendly assertive strategies to lead to self-oriented gains were less accepted by peers. (RH)

Reports two studies investigating how performance information affects interpersonal attraction in children. In both experiments children worked on perceptual problems in simulated groups, received feedback about their own and other group members' performance, and then indicated their desire to interact with selected group members in various…

Fourth and fifth grade boys who were or were not rejected by peers reported how they would handle conflictual interactions described in vignettes. Rejected boys who were aggressive or residual, that is, neither aggressive nor submissive, exhibited less integration of personal and relational goals than did nonrejected boys. (BC)