Attachment research suggests that children with secure attachments are more able to construct meaningful relationships with peers. Few studies, however, have attempted to map early attachment security to the formation and maintenance of preschool friendships. Special attention has been paid to affiliative relationships (particularly friendships)…

The association between affiliating with aggressive peers and behavioral, social and psychological adjustment was examined. Students initially in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade (N = 427) were followed biannually through 7th grade. Students' peer-nominated groups were identified. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the independent contributions of…

Close mutual friendships may help protect socially anxious early adolescents against concurrent psychosocial risks. This study investigated whether close mutual friendships moderated associations among social anxiety and several indices of psychosocial maladjustment (loneliness, peer victimization, and low social self-efficacy) in early…

Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short- and long-term effects on children's psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999; Ttofi and Farrington, "Aggressive Behav" 34(4):352-368, 2008). Entering kindergarten is a crucial developmental step in many children's lives mainly because it…

The primary aim of this investigation was to evaluate a model in which children's social behaviors, including prosocial behavior, setting limits, and social withdrawal, were hypothesized to mediate the links between local language competence (LLC) and peer acceptance and victimization. Longitudinal data were collected via teacher and peer reports…

This longitudinal study had three objectives: (a) to identify different profiles of second-year middle school students (Grade 8) in terms of academic, emotional, and social adjustment; (b) to test the contribution of worries at the end of Grade 6 to distinguish these profiles; and (c) to examine the moderating effect of mastery (MG) and…

This study examined associations among early adolescent romantic relationships, peer standing, problem behaviors, and gender as a moderator of these associations, in a sample of 320 seventh-grade students. Popular and controversial status youth were more likely to have a romantic partner, whereas neglected status youth were less likely to have a…

Children's social interactions with their peers influence their psychosocial adjustment; consequently, the relationship between class-wide peer liking, same-gender peer liking, and school adjustment was explored in two age groups. Peer liking was analysed using the social relations model (SRM). In Study 1, 205 children (103 female and 102 male,…

This study examined the associations between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social and school adjustment (academic performance, peer relationships, school social problems) and the moderating roles of children's age and maternal parenting (affection and overprotection) in these associations. The sample consisted of…

This study employed mother-child playgroups as a context for examining mothers' supervision of child-peer interactions and children's adaptation to a new peer-group setting. Six playgroups, consisting of quartets of mothers and their 24- to 54-month-old children (n = 23), were observed in ten 90-minute sessions. All mothers attended the first two…

The objective of this investigation was to examine whether children's responses to peer victimization predict subsequent changes in their social and emotional well-being. Also investigated was whether these associations vary as a function of children's sex and level of victimization. Participants included 420 4th- and 5th-grade students (197…

This study examined social problems at school and relationships with peers, siblings, mothers, and fathers among children with ADHD only (n = 41), ODD only (n = 14), ADHD + ODD (n = 47), and normal controls (n = 204) from a school-based sample of 2,463 first to ninth graders in Taiwan. ADHD and ODD symptoms were determined by teacher and mother…

This study examined the extent to which sixth grade peer status could predict anxiety and/or depression in 5,242 women and 5,004 men who were born in 1953 and whose hospital records were followed up from 1973-2003. The data used was the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study. While no association could be established for men, results indicated that women…

Research Findings: The current project examined the unique and interactive relations of child effortful control and teacher-child relationships to low-income preschoolers' socioemotional adjustment. One hundred and forty Head Start children (77 boys and 63 girls), their parents, lead teachers, and teacher assistants participated in this study.…

Youth in underserved, urban communities are at risk for a range of negative outcomes related to stress, including social-emotional difficulties, behavior problems, and poor academic performance. Mindfulness-based approaches may improve adjustment among chronically stressed and disadvantaged youth by enhancing self-regulatory capacities. This paper…