Found that individual differences in children's preference for same-sex peers were (1) derived from liking same-sex peers rather than disliking other-sex peers; (2) consistent over long intervals; and (3) related to children's preference for activities that required gross motor skills. (BC)

A model linking children's peer acceptance in the classroom to academic performance via academic self-concept and internalizing symptoms was tested in a longitudinal study. A sample of 248 children was followed from 4th to 6th grade, with data collected from different informants in each year of the study to reduce respondent bias. A path analysis…

When coached in leading peers, asking questions of peers, making comments to peers, and supporting peers, trained children showed significant increase in their use of comments and leads and improved in questions and supports, whereas controls showed little change. Increases in skill use in the classroom with peers was correlated with improvements…

Possible relations between mothers' recollection of the degree to which they were accepted by their parents, sense of self, and perceptions of their children to mother-child interaction were studied. There was an 84 percent concordant classification between recall of parental acceptance and observationally assessed dyadic harmony classification.…

This series of experiments demonstrated that three-year-old rehabilitated isolate monkeys could exhibit appropriate social behaviors to age-mate monkeys, but only after further treatment. (Author/SS)

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…

This study examined influences of gender identity on change in preadolescents' adjustment over time. In each of two successive years, three measures of gender identity (felt gender typicality, contentment with gender assignment, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and four measures of adjustment (self-esteem, internalizing symptoms,…

Investigated the relationship between parents' efforts to initiate and monitor children's peer contacts and the qualities of children's peer relations in nonschool and school settings. (PCB)

Examined relations of effortful control and ego control to children's resiliency, social status, and social competence concurrently (Time 3) and over time. Found that at Time 3, resiliency mediated the unique relations of effortful and reactive control to social status, and effortful control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior.…

Examined associations between 7- to 9-year-old boys' experiences with their mothers, beliefs about peers, and peer adjustment over two years. Found that boys' negative behavior with mothers was associated with more negative beliefs about peers and being more aggressive and less well-liked. Beliefs about peers predicted social acceptance and…

Assessed mothers' and their seven- to nine-year-old sons' hostile attributions about one another and the coerciveness of their relationships. Obtained ratings of the sons' aggression and peer acceptance and of family life events. Subjects' hostile attributions were related to the coerciveness of their interactions. Boys who reported more stressful…

Examined whether maltreated children were more likely than nonmaltreated children to develop poor-quality representations of parents and whether these representations predicted children's rejection by peers. Found that maltreated children's representations were more negative/constricted and less positive/coherent than nonmaltreated children's.…

Administered Revised Class Play to Italian children to explore cross-cultural differences from North American studies on social reputation. Administered sociometric nominations to examine association between social reputation and peer acceptance-rejection. Found that original Leadership-Sociability factor was split into separate dimensions. Also…

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…

Tested hypotheses that low self-regard contributes over time to peer victimization and that behavioral vulnerabilities are more likely to lead to victimization when children have low self-regard than when they have healthy self-regard. Found that both hypotheses were supported with third through seventh graders, especially when self-regard was…