Parents know adolescents can be cruel. They do not want their child rejected by peers. What is it like to be denigrated by one's middle school classmates? How common is a predatory anti-teacher peer culture in junior high school? Does it typically last into high school? How do peer norms of different crowds in a school get established? Who sets…

We observed 48 children from rural preschools (M = 64 months old) in two different social contexts to test hypotheses about the type (relational, physical, verbal, nonverbal), contextual independence, and sociometry of girls' and boys' aggressive tactics. We predicted and generally found that (1) girls displayed more relational aggression than…

Individuals who exhibit motor and vocal tics are viewed as less socially acceptable than persons who do not exhibit tics. Efforts have been made to alter the negative perceptions through the use of education. However, the effectiveness of peer education and whether it need be Tourette syndrome (TS) specific remains unclear. One hundred and seventy…

This article discusses the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention designed to disrupt developmental processes associated with conduct problems and peer rejection in childhood. Compared with 41 children randomized to a wait list control condition, 45 children in an intervention condition received a social skills training program. At the…

This study examined how different modes of acculturation and perceived social support are related to adolescent refugee psychosocial adjustment, as measured by global self-worth and peer social acceptance. The 83 participants, aged between 12 and 19 and now resident in Australia, were from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Those who had the most…

Research evidence from several educational systems indicates that students with developmental disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviors are in the bottom of the agenda as candidates for inclusion. The present investigation of the perspectives of 85 Greek teachers in primary education indicates that they are in need of training that it will…

This longitudinal study examined consistency and change in human personality. Rather than studying the consistency of individual differences over time, an approach which considers only the stability of a variable at the group level and ignores differences in stability at an individual level, this study used a person-centered approach to study…

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth face formidable challenges, but are beginning to proclaim their worth and power and to assert their rightful places in the world. Being lesbian or gay means that a person's primary romantic, emotional, physical, and sexual attractions are with someone of the same sex. Bisexual people have these attractions to both…

A bibliotherapy intervention was used to foster acceptance of children with disabilities by their nondisabled peers. The study involved 247 regular students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade non-integrated classrooms at one elementary school. Treatment students read either fiction or nonfiction literature, followed by discussion of the material.…

This report presents case studies of six children (ages 9-10) at high risk for mild intellectual disability who were attending six different regular education primary schools in the greater Auckland, New Zealand, metropolitan area. The children were experiencing major academic difficulties and had made limited academic progress in the 6- to…

This study investigated the peer acceptance of integrated students with disabilities as a function of severity of disability and amount of overall student variance in the class. The study involved 14 classrooms and 285 students. Of the 44 students with disabilities, 30 had been classified as mildly disabled and 14 as severely disabled. A…

This instructional kit is intended to increase understanding and empathy within the school community to the needs of the student who has a facial disfigurement. For kindergarten to grade 3, the kit provides information for discussion and activities. For grade 4 through secondary school, an associated video features young people who have a facial…

This article discusses the history of the sociology of deviance and the exclusion from society of individuals who do not meet norms, and argues for a sociology emphasizing acceptance of differences on individual, group, and societal levels. Types of relationships based on mutual acceptance are discussed along with generalizations regarding the…

A study examined communication skills of college students to determine the relationship between individuals' skill valuings and their acceptance within peer groups of intact social systems. Data were gathered from 102 residents of two fraternities and 106 residents of two sororities. Subjects completed the Communication Functions Questionnaire and…

Suggestions to facilitate the reentry of the disabled student into the regular classroom are offered, and information on resource materials is presented. A chart lists mainstreaming materials for the normal child, children's books about handicaps, and teacher resource materials, along with the publishers' addresses, type of handicap, type of…