The relationships between maternal disciplinary style and children's consequential thinking skills and how children think about consequences of actions in peer group conflicts were studied in 144 children from grades 1 (N=59) and 4 (N=85) and their mothers. Seventy additional children underwent sociometric testing. Home disciplinary style was…

THE EFFECTS OF TWO DETERMINANTS, INTELLIGENCE AND DEGREE OF A PERSON'S SOCIAL POWER, WHICH AFFECT SOCIAL RELATIONS WERE EXAMINED IN THIS STUDY. THE LATTER REFERS TO THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE THE BEHAVIOR AND BELIEFS OF OTHERS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE WAS TO DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN CAUSES FOR THE TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS USED BY CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT…

A study was conducted to observe the peer behavior of 92 black and white sixth graders in a large, urban middle school. A roster rated sociometric study was also conducted, in which the students rated the desirability of each of their classmates as both social and work partners. Both the behavioral and the sociometric study showed a sharp sex…

Describes and explains the rationale behind efforts to include children with special needs in the school community by helping to promote ordinary interactions between children with disabilities and those without. Offers information on several programs such as "Crazy Shoes and Circus Feats," a comic routine for school children. (JB)

How academic and ethnic considerations combine in the determination of social acceptance was assessed in a short-term longitudinal study of 721 Israeli seventh graders. Both academic standing and ethnicity influence interpersonal acceptance consistently across the school year, but academic considerations have a greater impact. (SLD)

Introduces this special journal issue by outlining previous research on early peer relationships. Explains that the articles in this issue provide a backdrop for identifying the early precursors of individual patterns of success versus failure with peers. (JS)

Examined the physical and verbal peer conflicts of nine typically developing children and eight children with disabilities in an integrated preschool. Several conflict constructs were examined including goals, oppositions, strategies, outcomes, and the teacher's role in peer conflict. Results suggest the need for active teacher involvement when…

This study examined whether children's psychosocial self-evaluations mediated the relationship between general academic self-concept and self-reported depression. Self-evaluations in three psychosocial domains were assessed: General self-worth, intellectual ability, and social acceptance. Results indicated three significant findings. First, a…

This study compared the social adjustment of abused and nonabused children, ages 4 to 11 years, and examined whether sociometric status and friendship quality differentially predict children's loneliness and teacher ratings of peer behavior. Thirty-five abused children from a structured residential treatment center and 43 nonabused children from…

Discusses the Regular Education Initiative used to introduce students with mild mental retardation into classes with their peers for academic purposes. Seeks to provide unique alternatives and suggestions for the inclusion of students with mental retardation into groups with their peers. Offers a primary prevention model focusing on group…

By the time they complete their preservice education, prospective teachers have acquired a "latent culture" of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values in anticipation of their professional performance. An Australian research team, with this factor in mind, devised a survey questionnaire to examine the process of induction of beginning…

This learning module, one in a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational teachers, deals with promoting peer acceptance of exceptional students. Addressed in the individual learning experiences are the following topics: promoting peer acceptance (informing,…

Analyzes the activities and attitudes of a clique of junior high school girls that were both mean and popular. Defines meanness as an undifferentiated characterization for acts whose intent or result was to hurt someone emotionally. Examines the connections between female competition, conflict, and popularity in this context. (MJP)

Analyzed conversations within mother-kindergartner dyads for tendencies to discuss specific categories of child-other relationships, differences in tendencies with gender and ethnicity, and the association between discussed categories and children's perceived peer acceptance. Found that discussion categories varied with gender, ethnicity, and…

Interpersonal presence refers to the cues individuals use to form impressions of one another and form/maintain relationships. The physical cues used to convey interpersonal presence in face-to-face learning environments are absent in text-based computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) courses. Learners' perceptions of interpersonal presence in CMC…