Data from 790 older school-age (M[subscript age] = 10.2 years, SD = 1.2 years) girls (N = 427) and boys from Barranquilla, Colombia (N = 449) and Montréal, Canada (N = 331) were used to replicate findings reported by Valdivia et al. (2005). This prior study revealed contextual variations in the association between two measures of social behavior,…

We assessed 5-to 11-year-olds' (N = 76) judgments of straightforward moral transgressions (prototypical harm) as well as their evaluations of complex, hypothetical scenarios in which an actor transgresses in order to prevent injury (necessary harm). The nature of the actor's transgression (psychological or physical harm) varied across…

Three studies compared beliefs about natural and late blooming positive traits with those acquired through personal effort, extrinsic rewards or medicine. Young children (5-6 years), older children (8-13 years), and adults all showed a strong bias for natural and late blooming traits over acquired traits. All age groups, except 8- to 10-year-olds,…

The 1st goal of this study was to investigate how online communication is related to the closeness of existing friendships. Drawing from a sample of 794 preadolescents and adolescents, the authors found that online communication was positively related to the closeness of friendships. However, this effect held only for respondents who primarily…

Examined the relations among strategy knowledge about making friends, prosocial and antisocial behavior, and peer acceptance at school in a sample of 423 sixth and seventh graders. Findings indicated that knowledge of both appropriate and inappropriate strategies for making friends was related to both types of social behavior and to peer…

Considerable stability was observed on measures of acceptance, rejection, preference, and impact in a one-year longitudinal study of sociometric stability and friendship choice consistency in an early-adolescent peer group. Findings provided new information about patterns of stability in early adolescent peer groups and revealed the need for…

Two studies examined the connection between peer relationships and children's perception of security in the child-mother relationship among fifth and sixth graders. Found that children who viewed their relationship with their mother as more secure were significantly more accepted by peers and had more reciprocated friendships than children who…

Studied pairs of preadolescents who were close friends and pairs who were acquaintances. Coherence in friends' behavior states and in acquaintances' vocal activity suggested that friends more often shared the same behavior state and acquaintances more often paid attention to turn-taking signals. (GLR)

A total of 881 third through fifth graders completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on their best friends, and a measure of friendship satisfaction. Results indicated that, although many low-accepted children had satisfying friendships, they were less satisfying than the friendships of…