Combined teacher ratings of perceived cognitive competence and misbehavior accounted for the most variance in peer acceptance or rejection of educable mentally handicapped children. Ratings of academic competence were associated with both acceptance and rejection of educationally handicapped children (a category of low achievers used in…

To investigate whether an experimental intervention would successfully improve the social position of rejected students, four students identified as the least accepted class members and four students with learning disabilities and/or educable mental handicaps were studied. (PHR)

Investigation of the social acceptance of 15 Zambian primary school children with intellectual disabilities by two groups of nondisabled children found that nondisabled boys who had experienced contact with the disabled children had more positive attitudes than boys with no contact. No exposure effects were observed among girls. Among the…

Used the Revised Class Play to assess dimensions of peer reputation among two cohorts of ninth-grade, inner-city students. Found that popularity, isolation, aggressive/disruptive reputation, and prosocial orientation generally showed expected patterns of associations with students' adjustment, with the exception that aggression was linked with…

Examined peer group contextual effects on relations between academic achievement and social functioning among Chinese 9-, 13-, and 16-year-olds. Found that peer groups were highly homogeneous on academic achievement. Academic achievement and social adjustment were associated at within-group individual and group levels. Group academic performance…

Studied adolescent personal and interpersonal characteristics, including social competence and thoughts on friendship and romantic interests during a camp reunion. Found that concurrent interest in relationships is a stronger predictor of social competence for participants with anxious histories, although participants with secure histories were…

A study examined social relationships of 105 middle school children attending a residential facility and identified as rejected. The majority affiliated within a peer cluster and were well integrated within the broader social network. Students who affiliated in peer clusters with rejected students tended to be similar in sociometric status.…

This study examined a model of emotional, cognitive, and behavior predictors of peer acceptance in 201 early elementary school students. Findings indicated that social skills mediated the effect of emotion knowledge on same- and opposite-sex social preference. However, social skills and verbal ability were more strongly related to opposite-sex…

This article presents a rationale for matching social skills intervention strategies to the skill and comfort levels that typically developing children show toward their peers with special needs and provides teachers with guidance on how to accomplish this match. Environmental manipulations that facilitate interactions and peer-mediated strategies…

Studied whether social skills intervention would be more effective when delivered in presence of high-social-status (HS) students in grades two, three, and four. Assigned 35 low-social-status students to intervention with HS peers, without HS peers, or no intervention. Evaluations of peer ratings, social problem solving, and teacher ratings…

Black adolescents estimated the degree to which they cared about whether their parents and friends perceived them as being smart, athletic, popular, and good students. A comparison sample of White adolescents from tenth grade was also assessed. (Author/BB)

Examined concurrent and longitudinal relations among adolescents' problem behavior (PB), self-image, and peer relations. Analyses showed age increases correlated with disobedience, school misconduct, substance use, and peer involvement. Longitudinal increases in PB were associated with decreases in positive self-image and increases in peer…

The social status of fifth and sixth graders was determined using the peer nomination method and ratings by teachers. Out of 143 students, 16 were classified as popular, 17 as rejected, and 62 as average. A combination of social behavior and demographic variables accurately classified social status. (SLD)

A study involving 124 male and 128 female sixth graders found that sex differences existed in willingness to receive help and helper preferences, and that high-attraction subjects showed higher orientation toward including other children in their activities, accepting control from others, and being affectionate around others. (SLD)

Compared early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers and boys' experiences at age 10. Poor parental discipline and monitoring, peer rejection, and academic failure at age 10 predicted involvement with antisocial peers at age 12. Continuity between boys' antisocial behavior and peer contact at ages 10 and 12 was found. (BC)