Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Objective: To evaluate the benefits of the Fast Track Friendship Group program implemented as a stand-alone school-based intervention on the social cognitions, social behavior, peer and teacher relationships of peer-rejected students. Method: Over four successive years, 224 peer-rejected elementary students (57% White, 17% Black, 20% Latinx, 5%…

As few studies have investigated how pre-school children produce and negotiate social positions when powerful positions are claimed, this study explores how 3-5 year-old children construct the social order of peer play when balancing the power game within the interaction. This is a video documented ethnographical case study where the methodology…

The study investigated the longitudinal relations between students' roles in bullying (i.e., bullying, defending, and victimization) and social status within the class. Moreover, we tested the hypothesis that students' perception of their own status may mediate these relations. A sample of 432 early adolescents completed peer nominations for…

Friendship is a developmentally significant relationship in childhood and adolescence that contributes to socioemotional, social-cognitive, and psychological development and well-being. It is a dyadic relationship based on mutual affection, with both friends thinking of each other as friends. Despite this definitional understanding of the dyadic…

Knowing how children who display normal development perceive their peers with special needs is key to preparing a better inclusive education and raising mindful generations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the attitudes of kindergarten children toward their peers with special needs. For this reason, The Acceptance Scale for…

This research explored children's attitudes towards gossipers in relation to gossip valence. Four- to 8-year-old children (N = 214) read three storybooks containing positive, neutral, or negative gossip statements. Following each book, children were interviewed on whom they viewed as nicer and more honest (ascription of desirable traits), whom…

Studies have consistently shown that character strengths predict well-being and positive psychological outcomes. However, there is sparse research on how these strengths relate to stigma towards individuals with special educational needs (SEN). This study addresses this gap through exploring the link of using humanity-oriented strengths (i.e.,…

Former literature found that various 'different' students experience exclusion and rejection by their peers in schools. This may be linked with the attitudes that their school and classmates hold towards them. Identifying someone as 'Other' may indeed result in prejudicial attitudes which, in turn, can lead to his/her marginalisation and…

School is a complex environment, in which students develop and maintain interpersonal relationships and participate in daily social interactions, whilst continuously engaging in academic activities and learning. The current systematic review provides a configurative overview of the empirical research which explores the association between social…

This research describes the rules and ways of forming playgroups in the children's peer culture. The data were obtained through observation by videoing children's activities in various play situations. The data were analysed through ethnographic thick description by using microanalysis and participation framework. The analysis was focused on who…

Bullying-related phenomena are reported as growing problems in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which calls for structures for teachers' handling of these problems. Using an approach that emphasises bullying as a social, socially situated and contextual phenomenon, we investigate how such an approach can facilitate a positive change in…

A quasi-experimental group design with repeated measures at pretest and posttest was employed to examine the effect of teaching with picture books about autism on improving typically developing children's acceptance and attitude toward children with autism in this study. The participants were children with autism and their typically developing…

Despite their negative effects on the emotional, physical, and social wellbeing of students, weight stigma and anti-fat attitudes are rarely systematically addressed in schools or within school psychology. Weight-based oppression is regarded differently than other domains of prejudice. Therefore, implicit and explicit bias continue unimpeded, even…