In hypothetical playmate preference tasks, obese figures are rarely picked up as friends. This study aims to observe what happens in real life and examine the relationship between body-size and social status in children. Four-hundred and fourteen children aged 5, 7 and 9 years were given a sociometric test. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of each child…

In the past decade or more, improving young people's mental health has been identified as a priority for policy-makers in many countries, including Norway. Physical education, as a setting for physical activity, is increasingly viewed as having a potentially significant role to play in addressing mental health among the young. This paper reports…

This paper examines the micro-political experiences of Adam (a pseudonym), a newly appointed fitness coach at a Football Association Premier League club, in his search for acceptance by senior colleagues. Data were collected through a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, before being subject to a process of inductive analysis. Goffman's…

This study reports on a qualitative analysis of data from interviews with 15 heterosexual males ages 16-18 in Canadian high schools. Findings indicate that gay male youth often occupy lower status positions in the school's social hierarchy. Heterosexual males did not typically want to associate with gay male peers for fear of being perceived as…

High school is a profoundly social experience for students. Having friends is central to being "visible"--to having an identity--in school. Social positioning, friendship groups, romance dramas, and the battle to "fit in" gain the attention and drain the energy of students far more than do academic pursuits. Lesbian, Gay,…

Data gathered from a sociometric survey of 177 fifth and sixth grade children, including 22 who were learning disabled (LD), indicated that LD children were less popular in general than non-LD children, that no LD children were extremely popular, but that LD children were not overly represented among social isolates. (Author/IM)

Described is a series of research studies which investigated the sociometric status, social behavior, and social relationship of learning disabled children by means of elementary school classroom observations and laboratory studies. (Author/IM)

This study examined peers' first impressions formed of elementary-age boys with either learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit disorders (ADD), or both. Physical attractiveness data were gathered, and situational demands varied. Results indicated that boys with either LD or ADD were devalued relative to controls on several dependent…