In this article, inclusion and exclusion are interpreted not as functions of individual developmental deficit but rather as socially constructed phenomena within the peer group, highlighting the need for teachers to intervene with the entire class rather than focusing on perceived social skills deficits of particular children. The three sections…

A study investigated perceptions of friendships faced by five Australian adolescents with Asperger syndrome. Participants struggled to describe their understanding of friendships, but were better able to describe a number of characteristics of peers who would not be friends. The use of masquerading to cope with social deficits is discussed.…

This study accessed selected social values held by children toward racially different peers within the context of school related experiences. The degree of social acceptance by Black and White children of each other was quantified. Using a modified social distance scale first developed by Park and Borgadus, seven statements were scaled to seek…

The presentation covers assessment and intervention of social interaction skills with emotionally disturbed children. Noting the importance of social interaction skills and yet the neglect of such skills in the literature, the paper advocates a systematic instructional approach to improve the social acceptability of emotionally disturbed children.…

Assessed the classroom and playground behavior of children nominated as either popular or rejected by their peers. Subjects were 631 black South African children between 8 and 12 years old. Found that rejected and popular children did not differ in their initiations of contact with other children, but popular children were the recipients of more…

Identifies salient characteristics of learning disabilities, how learning disabilities affect individuals in social relationships, and how groups can be used to effectively facilitate individual growth. This is achieved due to therapeutic factors such as universality, instillation of hope, altruistic information sharing, and group interaction.…

Examined the development of friendships and peer acceptance and their relation to children's emotional regulation and socioemotional behavior with others. Found that having friends was related to popularity, that friendship was related to emotion regulation, and that popularity was related to socioemotional behavioral regulation in the peer group.…

Reviews observational data concerning the social interactions of preadolescents and examines the role that peers play in children's social development. Findings indicate that peer responses to a child's early efforts to interact with others determines whether the child will be accepted and included in social activities or subjected to rejection.…

Discusses two aspects of a conceptual framework for examining the unique developmental significance of friendship. Presents findings from longitudinal study of preadolescent peer rejection and friendship status as predictors of adjustment in early adulthood. (SD)

Examined the relation between close, dyadic, peer relationships and adolescent adjustment. Found partial support for the hypothesized relations between specific friendship qualities and adolescent adjustment, but the pattern of gender differences was opposite of that predicted. (Author/SD)

An important and well-documented finding in the peer relations literature is that there is an association between children's peer relations and their later social development. Two models have been proposed for the predictive link between early peer relations and later adjustment: incidental and causal. Although findings have supported an…

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 study investigated the inclusion of two children (age 7) in a general education classroom to illustrate the concepts of under inclusion and over inclusion. One child, who was found to be under included, rarely played with classmates on the playground and during "choice time" in class spent most of his time watching other children…

Four severely handicapped children participated for 21 weekly sessions in snack time, outdoor play, and a structured group activity with nine nonhandicapped kindergarteners. The handicapped children made significant increases in social gains, and the nonhandicapped children significantly increased their positive attitudes, as measured by the…

Assessed fourth, fifth- and sixth-graders' social constructions of popularity using perceived popularity nominations and sociometric measures. Found that perceived popularity is related to sociometric popularity and social dominance. Examined correlations with popularity for perceived popular girls and boys who were liked and not well-liked. Found…