Correlates of Peer Acceptance in a Chinese Sample of Six-Year-Olds

Abstract

The relations between children's peer acceptance and social problem solving skills, school performance and family-ecological conditions in Chinese culture were examined. The participants included 61 kindergarten children in Shanghai, China. A sociometric rating scale and a measure of social problem solving skills were administered to each child to assess peer acceptance and social competence. Data concerning the child's school performance and family background were also collected. The results showed that, compared to a Canadian sample, the Chinese children were less accepting of each other, less prosocial, and more agonistic and authority-oriented in social problem solving. However, they used more relevant strategies in social problem solving. Nevertheless, the pattern of correlations between peer acceptance and both the quantitative features of social problem solving repertoires, such as the total number of alternatives suggested in solving social problems, and the qualitative features of social problem solving repertoires, such as the prosocial and agonistic strategies suggested, was in agreement with the results found in the Canadian sample. The study also showed that there existed meaningful relations between children's peer acceptance and school achievement and family factors, such as parent's occupational level and the quality of parental relationship.