Despite significant evidence indicating its effectiveness in meeting the needs of academically gifted students, academic acceleration is not a popular provision in New Zealand schools. The literature suggests that parents and educators fear that removing students from their same-aged peers will damage their social-emotional development, although…

Past studies have investigated relationships between peer acceptance and peer-rated social behaviors. However, relatively little is known about the manner in which indices of well-being such as optimism and positive affect may predict peer acceptance above and beyond peer ratings of antisocial and prosocial behaviors. Early adolescence--roughly…

This study examined gender and status differences among sixth through eighth grade early adolescents' (N = 387) descriptions of what it means to be popular. More boys than girls specified being "cool", "athletic", "funny", and "defiant/risky", whereas more girls than boys identified wearing nice "clothing", being "attractive", "mean", "snobby",…

Play interactions between six male autistic children (aged 8 to 12 years), younger normally developing kindergarten children, and nonhandicapped same-age peers resulted in gains for all (subjects were only those autistic children (6) observed; their autistic classmates were not observed) subjects in proximity, orientation, and responsiveness when…

A study examined peer relationships that developed between three males with disabilities and their peers during kindergarten/Grade 1 and during upper elementary grades. Children with disabilities were selected as playmates during both time periods and some play activities and social behaviors were similar to those of typical peers. (Contains…

Two studies are reported which demonstrate a positive relationship between sociometric status (after two weeks of intense social interaction) and social acceptance judged from photographs by an independent group of peers. Acceptance was found to be related to physical attractiveness. (ST)

This longitudinal study identified subgroups of rejected boys with different developmental pathways of aggression and prosocial behavior during middle childhood. Four subgroups were identified associated with different patterns of sociometric acceptance and rejection over time and with social emotional adjustment in the last measurement wave.…

This chapter focuses on the relationship between popularity and aggression. Subgroups of prosocial-popular, aggressive-popular, and aggressive-unpopular boys from a sample of 286 boys from urban and suburban areas of a major midwestern city are examined in terms of their behavioral and social-ecological correlates. The measures of social…

Studies the effects of social skills training on four behaviorally disordered male elementary school students. Finds that training effects decreased following training, and that there was no increase in positive responses from peers. Discusses the problems of social skills training in special education classes. (FMW)