Children's peer relations represent a key aspect of school adjustment. However, little is known about their social-cognitive precursors. To address this gap, the authors followed 70 children across the transition to primary school. At Time 1 (age 5), Time 2 (age 6), and Time 3 (age 7), children were assessed on their theory of mind, prosocial…

Research connecting children's understanding of mental states to their peer relations at school remains scarce. Previous work by the authors demonstrated that children's understanding of mental states in the context of a faux pas--a social blunder involving unintentional insult--is associated with concurrent peer rejection. The present report…

Conduct problems in childhood often co-occur with symptoms of depression. This study explored whether the development of conduct problems becomes indirectly linked to depressive symptoms in a sample of 323 kindergarten children, followed over a period of 2 school years. Results showed that the development of conduct problems was indirectly linked…

A study with n = 55 younger (18-33 years, M = 23.67) and n = 58 older (61-85 years, M = 71.44) adults investigated age-related differences in social approach and avoidance motivation and their consequences for the experience of social interactions. Results confirmed the hypothesis that a predominant habitual approach motivation in younger adults…

This study assessed the genetic and environmental contributions to peer difficulties in the early school years. Twins' peer difficulties were assessed longitudinally in kindergarten (796 twins, "M"[subscript age] = 6.1 years), Grade 1 (948 twins, "M"[subscript age] = 7.1 years), and Grade 4 (868 twins, "M"[subscript…

This investigation examined social acceptance and popularity as correlates of perceived social reputations and perceived dyadic relationships in a cross-sectional sample of 418 6th and 7th grade students (approximate average age of 12 years). We assessed early adolescents' social status using peer nominations and measured their perceptions of…

This research investigated peer acceptance of children with language and communication impairments attending a language resource base attached to a mainstream school. Compared to other children in their mainstream peer groups, peer acceptance was poor. Peer rejection was more common for children with profiles consistent with an autistic spectrum…

Social rejection is associated with a wide variety of negative outcomes. Early identification of social rejection and intervention to minimize its negative impact is thus important. However, sociometric methods, which are considered high in validity for identifying socially rejected children, are frequently not used because of (a) procedural…

Being involved in bullying places a child at risk of poor psychosocial and educational outcomes. This study aimed to examine the profile of behavioural, emotional and social functioning for two subtypes of bullying: direct and indirect (relational). Pupils aged between 7 and 11 years completed sociometric measures of social inclusion and bullying…

Background: Being recognized as a competent and accepted member in the peer group is one of the most important basic human needs for children and youth. However, it is the peer group itself that decides which competencies are estimated and which are not, and through this process, a social order as well as peer power constellations is created.…

This study examined whether ethnic segregation is concurrently (fall) and prospectively (fall to spring) associated with social status among 4th- and 5th-grade African American and European American children ("n" = 713, ages 9-11 years). Segregation measures were (a) same-ethnicity favoritism in peer affiliations and (b) cross-ethnicity…

Links among concurrent and longitudinal changes in pubertal development and empathic ability from ages 10 to 13 and neural responses while witnessing peer rejection at age 13 were examined in 16 participants. More advanced pubertal development at age 13, and greater longitudinal increases in pubertal development, related to increased activity in…

This research examined two pathways through which depressive symptoms contribute to low social status (i.e., neglect and rejection) within the peer group over time: (a) depressive symptoms promote socially helpless behavior and consequent neglect by peers; and (b) depressive symptoms promote aggressive behavior and consequent rejection by peers.…

The aim of the current study was to extend etiological models of social anxiety in youth by examining the relative importance of parental (i.e., parental anxiety, rejection, and overcontrol) and peer factors (i.e., social acceptance, social support, and friendship quality). Sixty-three youth (ages 7-12; 52% male) and their parents participated in…

This article reviews the extant literature on the links between peer victimization and academic performance and engagement among children and adolescents. Although most of the research on this association is based on cross-sectional investigations, research using longitudinal designs is starting to point to the fact that peer victimization does…