Peer nominations were used to explore age-related differences in the correlates of being admired and being perceived as cool among 542 youths in 5 low-income urban schools (Grades 3-6; 86% African American). Children nominated peers whom they admired and whom they perceived as cool, prosocial, and good at academics. Classroom group-level and…

Teachers are often at the forefront of efforts to help students struggling socially at school and their support may be particularly critical during the early adolescent developmental period after youth transition to middle school when social concerns become increasingly salient to students. Given their daily interactions with students, teachers…

The association between children's social-status within their peer-group and their prosociality was examined among fourth and sixth graders (N = 276), using sociometric nominations, and actual sharing with a fellow in-group member, or a member of an out-group. Results show an overall increase in sharing with age, and an overall correlation between…

Being rejected by peers has devastating consequences for a child's future social-cognitive development. It is therefore important to investigate factors that contribute to childhood peer rejection. In doing so, the present review specifically focused on sociometric status, a concept that refers to a child's position within the peer group (e.g.,…

This study examined the coevolution of prosocial and aggressive popularity norms with popularity hierarchy (asymmetries in students' popularity). Cross-lagged-panel analyses were conducted on 2,843 secondary school students (N[subscript classrooms] = 120; M[subscript age] = 13.18; 51.3% girls). Popularity hierarchy predicted relative change in…

This research evaluated the role of high-status peers in youth's academic engagement. Youth (mean age = 12.7 years) in the United States and China (N = 934) made social status (i.e., sociometric popularity, perceived popularity, and admiration) nominations of their peers in the fall and spring of their first year of middle school. They also…

Disruptive student behavior is a frequent part of school life, most often shown by male students and related to many negative academic outcomes. In this study, we examined the psychological benefits of engaging in disruptive behavior for low-achieving students from an attributional perspective. In an experimental vignette study of 178 ninth…

This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the self-perception of primary school students aged 10-14 and their attitudes toward obese children (n = 693). There was a weak, positive, and highly significant correlation between the mean scores for the overall Attitude Toward Obese Children Scale, the Self-Perception Profile for…

The moment a child walks into a new classroom, teachers and classmates form an impression based on minimal information. Yet, little is known about the accuracy of such impressions when it concerns children's social functioning at school. The current study examined the accuracy of children's, teachers' and adults' impressions of 18 unacquainted…

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…

School bullying receives considerable attention in research and in prevention and intervention activities, but microaggressions (a related form of aggressive behaviors) are largely ignored. This exploratory and descriptive qualitative study reports on diverse students' experiences with microaggressions related to racism, homophobia, transphobia,…

The current longitudinal study examined students' intentions to quit school as a process that unfolds over time in a social context of upper secondary school. Based on self-report data collected from 1379 students at three time points over 13 months, the results from latent growth curve modelling revealed average increases in intentions to quit…

In this dissertation study, we investigated the social validity of Tier 1 practices within tiered systems, with specific foci on the Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered (Ci3T) model of prevention and the high school context. Specifically, we began by outlining the challenges associated with implementing Tier 1 practices, particularly within…

This study explores the subjective experiences and perceptions related to intimacy in friendships in a group of aggressive-popular adolescents in urban schools characterized by high rates of community violence. Individual interviews were conducted with 12 volunteering adolescents (12-14 years old). Procedures from grounded theory were used to…

Individual differences in children's social communication have been shown to mediate the relationship between poor vocabulary or grammar and behavioural difficulties. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that social communication skills predict difficulties with peers over and above vocabulary and grammar scores. The essential social…