Children are increasingly using computer technologies to engage in acts of aggression against peers, often termed "cyber aggression". Media reports have sensationalized instances of cyber aggression, and social scientists have begun to examine its characteristics and consequences. Using a younger sample of children than most previous research (192…

This study examined the heterogeneity of bullying among adolescents. It was hypothesized that bullying behavior serves different social functions and, depending on these functions, bullies will differ in their skills, status and social behavior. In a total sample of 806 8th graders, 120 adolescents (52 boys, 68 girls) were identified as bullies…

This study examined whether children's social behavior mediated the associations between specific dimensions of temperament and peer acceptance, and whether these associations were moderated by gender. We also explored the role of child's age on the associations between temperament and social functioning. Primary caregiver reports of temperament…

This study examined the communication of non-aggressive, rejected (NAR) children and popular children during peer interaction. The participants were 80 fifth and sixth graders recruited from a larger sociometric sample (40 boys and 40 girls; 20 NAR children and 60 non-aggressive, popular children). Participants were assigned to 40 same-gender…

Background: Sociometric studies have shown that some aggressive boys are popular, perceived as popular or cool, dominant, and central in the peer group (Estell, Cairns, Farmer, & Cairns, 2002; Milich & Landau, 1984; Prinstein & Cillessen, 2003; Rodkin, Farmer, Pearl, & Van Acker, 2006). This is not predicted by social information…

Social relations of second grade students (247 boys, 290 girls) were examined in rural elementary classrooms. Cluster analysis of teacher ratings was used to identify interpersonal competence configurations including perceived unpopular-aggressive (i.e., "Troubled") and perceived popular-aggressive (i.e., "Tough") subtypes for…

This study investigated factors associated with social anxiety during early adolescence using multiple informants, including self and peer perspectives, teacher ratings, and direct observations. Negative social performance expectations, maladaptive coping strategies, and social skill deficits were examined as correlates of social anxiety and…

Classroom peer perceptions of 18 teacher-nominated hyperactive and 18 teacher-nominated active but normal elementary school-age boys were compared. Results indicated that hyperactives were significantly different from actives on all sociometric measures in that they were perceived more negatively. (Author/SB)

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)

Reports a moderate association between preschool children's gross motor skills and their status with peers, with peer status appearing to be more a function of sex than of age. (FL)

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…

Thirty-two boys rejected by their peers in grades one through three, identified on the basis of negative sociometric nominations and negative social behavior, were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions (a) instructions to promote positive social behavior, (b) prohibitions to reduce negative social behavior, (c) a combination of…

Considered the relation between peer status and aggressive behavior, the temporal relation between peer group behavior and emerging sociometric status, differences in behavioral correlates of peer status as a function of time that peers have known each other, and age differences in the consistency of status across settings and in behavior patterns…

A study investigated how rewarding youth in residential care for publicly reporting positive social behavior influenced the social interactions and acceptance of four adolescent males with antisocial behavior. The intervention resulted in substantial improvement in social interactions by the previously isolated peers. Peer acceptance ratings…

Used peer (N=200) evaluation to rank 50 high school boys on athletic ability, intelligence, and other possible determinants of dominance. Factor analysis suggested that peers of both sexes rated good athletes as socially successful and generally dominant. Intelligence showed consistently lower correlations. (JAC)