This study examines the temporal stability (over 3 years) of individual differences in 3 domains relevant to preschool children's social competence: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. Each domain was measured with multiple…

This study examined the behavioral, personality, and communicative predictors of acceptance and popularity in 608 early adolescents. Data were collected with sociometric methods and ratings in 30 sixth-grade classrooms. Hierarchical regressions were run to predict acceptance and popularity from prosocial, antisocial, and withdrawn behavior,…

A considerable amount of research has examined the link between children's peer acceptance, which refers to the degree of likability within the peer group, social functioning and emotional wellbeing, at a same age and in a long term perspective, pointing out to the contribution of peer acceptance for mental wellbeing. Our study proposes a…

Social relations of second grade students (247 boys, 290 girls) were examined in rural elementary classrooms. Cluster analysis of teacher ratings was used to identify interpersonal competence configurations including perceived unpopular-aggressive (i.e., "Troubled") and perceived popular-aggressive (i.e., "Tough") subtypes for…

The present study compares the results of three two-dimensional procedures for sociometric status determination: the Asher and Dodge (1986) system, the rating scale method SSrat of Maassen, Akkermans, and Van der Linden (1996), and the nomination procedure of Coie and Dodge (1983). The study followed 170 children from third grade through sixth…

This study, with 64 gifted students (grades 4-8) and 432 nongifted peers, found that, although gifted boys were the most popular group, gifted girls were the least popular. Gifted boys were perceived by peers to be physically attractive, less aggressive, more creative, and smarter than other children. (Author/DB)