Relational aggression is characterized by attempts to damage another's relationships or social status and is a major concern affecting academic, socioemotional, behavioral, and health outcomes, particularly for urban, minority youth. Teachers and peers frequently disagree about which students are relationally aggressive. Factors associated with…

This study examined variations in the development of classroom aggression popularity norms, as well as the role of homeroom teachers' aggression beliefs and students' perceptions of teachers' support as predictors of such variations. To achieve this goal, a sample of 63 classrooms were assessed at four time points during a school year, in nine…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how general education teachers of grades K-6 describe their experiences modeling social acceptance of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The overarching research question was as follows: How do general education teachers of grades K-6 describe their experiences…

We investigated the influence of teacher feedback on the social acceptance of peers with intellectual disabilities and peers without disabilities. A computer task was administered to 601 students in grades 3 and 4. Twenty-six per cent of the students attend an inclusive school; the others are in regular schools without students with special…

This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

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…

A longitudinal investigation was conducted to explicate the network of associations between depressive symptoms and peer difficulties among 486 fourth through sixth graders (M = 9.93 years). Parent and teacher reports of depressive symptoms; peer, self, and teacher reports of victimization; and peer reports of peer acceptance were obtained. A…

This study investigated teacher preference, the degree to which a teacher likes a specific student, as a predictor of students' perceptions of teacher preference as well as conflict and support in the student-teacher relationship. Child and teacher reports of teacher preference and child reports of conflict and support were provided in the fall…

This study asks whether bullies have higher social status than their victims. Social status was measured by social preference, popularity, and physical competence as perceived by children and teachers. A survey instrument was introduced to enable identification of specific victims associated with specific bullies. The sample was 508 fourth and…

The authors' goals in the study were to investigate the possible gains made by including multiple assessments of status in the prediction of change in psychosocial adjustment and to compare the effectiveness of continuous and categorical measures of peer status in predicting adjustment. The authors obtained continuous and categorical measures of…

Reports a study which assessed the attitudes of 886 fourth graders, 34 of whom were in small-group remedial classes. Found that (1) remedial readers are not so socially well-accepted as their classroom peers, and (2) remedial readers rated themselves low on social acceptance in relation to their classroom peers. References. (VJ)

When schoolchildren are harassed by peers, it sometimes is necessary to seek help from a teacher. However, students and teachers may have a different sense of when it is necessary. The authors investigated students' perceptions of harassment and help seeking, examining whether students' perceptions are related to popularity and whether perceptions…

A study involving 47 male and 51 female third and fourth graders analyzed the relation between five subtypes of aggressive behavior and sociometric status as assessed via ratings by peers and by eight teachers. Social status and gender were significantly related to type of aggression exhibited. (TJH)