The study addresses the social participation of integrated students with special educational needs (SEN) in upper primary regular classes in Greece alongside their perceptions of best friend quality. Social participation was defined as consisting of four key dimensions: students' acceptance by classmates, friendships, social self-perceptions, and…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate bidirectional associations between peer acceptance and both emotion and effortful control during kindergarten (N = 301). In both the fall and spring semesters, we obtained peer nominations of acceptance, measures of positive and negative emotion based on naturalistic observations in school (i.e., classroom,…

This study examined the extent that inhibition among familiar peers was related to inhibition among unfamiliar peers versus exclusion by familiar peers at 2?years of age. Peer inhibition at 2?years of age was assessed by both mothers and teachers on versions of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire and the Preschool Play Behavior Scale (N?=?141…

Research Findings: Two forms of exercise play (toy mediated and non-mediated) and 2 forms of rough-and-tumble (R&T) play (chase and fighting) were examined in relation to preschoolers' peer competence. A total of 148 preschoolers (78 boys, 89 Euro-Americans) were observed during free play at their university-sponsored child care center. The…

The current study investigated the relations among parent-child joint engagement, dyadic interactive behaviors, and children's subsequent social competence with peers. Participants were 40 children (20 children with autism, and 20 developmentally-matched typical children) between the ages of 2.75 and 6.5 years. Observational coding was conducted…

Research Findings: In this examination of associations between sibling interaction patterns and later social outcomes in single- and 2-parent families, 113 kindergarteners took part in naturalistic observations at home with siblings, classmates participated in sociometric interviews, and teachers completed behavior ratings. Sibling interactions…

This study compared the peer functioning of a community sample of preschool boys with pervasive hyperactivity (N=33) and comparison boys (N=34), and examined the extent to which any differences in peer functioning between these groups could be explained by comorbid child conduct problems and parenting factors. The quality of boys' peer relations…

This study examined the relations between preschool children's attachment security, temperament, and peer acceptance. Ninety-eight preschool children and their mothers were recruited through childcare centers in the southeast. Mothers and their children participated in two two-hour home observations. Attachment security was assessed using the…

This study examined associations between sociometric status and friendship quality using observational and questionnaire data from 139 fourth-grade girls and their friends. Multivariate analyses of covariance (controlling for ethnicity and socioeconomic status) showed that rejected girls and their friends did not differ in their reported…