Children's Sociometric Status Research Articles

Взаимосвязь стратегии поведения в конфликтной ситуации и социометрического статуса дошкольника в группе сверстников

The purpose of the study was to investigate the conflict competence of children of preschool age and identification of its relationship with the child's sociometric status in the peer group. The hypothesis of the study was that there is a relationship between the sociometric status of preschoolers in the peer group and the strategy of their behavior in a conflict situation, a conflict of competence. The study involved children (41 children: 22 boys and 19 girls) aged 5-7 years, attending preparatory groups in kindergartens in Moscow (in 2011-2013). The study was conducted using an experimental technique "Desk of cooperation" (M. Madsen), aimed at the study of conflict competence, the sociometric technique "Two Houses" (modification by R.I. Govorova), and a survey of educators aimed at identifying the status position in the preschool group peers. According to the survey, we can say that there are qualitative differences in the strategies of behavior in the conflict that children with different sociometric status choose.

The Moderating Role of Verbal Aggression on the Relationship Between Parental Feedback and Peer Status Among Children with ADHD

We examined associations between children's sociometric status and (a) observed parental feedback as well as (b) child aggression. Participants were 94 children ages 6-10 (64 male; 44 with ADHD) and their parents. Children's peer status, parental feedback to their children, and child aggression were all assessed during lab-based playgroups of four children and their parents. Parent criticism in front of the child's peers was associated with the child receiving more negative ("disliked") and fewer positive ("liked") nominations, but only for children who displayed aggression; this interaction applied almost exclusively to children with ADHD. Parent praise in front of peers was associated with fewer negative nominations when children displayed low levels of aggression, but more at higher levels. Additional analyses revealed that relationships did not exist in the full sample between privately-given parental feedback and children's peer status. Processes by which peers use overheard adult feedback to inform their assessments of children are discussed.

Stability and Change in Patterns of Peer Rejection

Poor school adjustment is a known correlate of peer rejection in childhood. However, the impact of change in sociometric status on children's academic performance over time is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether improvement or decline in children's sociometric status would predict corresponding changes in their academic performance trajectories. Two hundred and seventy-two boys and 252 girls in Florence, Italy (mean age at Time 1: 7.42 years) and their teachers participated in this 18-month investigation. Hierarchical linear models indicated that children who were rejected by their peers across the four measurement points of the study demonstrated consistently worse academic performance than did children who were not rejected throughout, whereas children who were regularly accepted by their peers performed better in school than did their peers who were rejected one or more times. A number of children who became rejected exhibited an academic decline, but others who became accepted showed improvement. The implications of these results for children, parents, teachers and school administrators are discussed.

Athletic Performance and Social Behavior as Predictors of Peer Acceptance in Children Diagnosed With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Sixty-three children between ages 6 and 12 who were enrolled in a summer treatment program for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) participated in a study designed to measure the relationship between social behaviors, athletic performance, and peer acceptance. Children were assessed on sport-specific skills of three major sports (basketball,soccer,and softball),general fitness tests (i.e., 50-yard dash and sit-ups), and social behavioral measures. Predictors were standardized and separated into three broad domains:athletic performance, negative social behavior, and positive social behavior. Both negative behavior and athletic performance significantly predicted children's sociometric status regardless of outcome measure. Positive behavior was a significant predictor only when considering positive peer nominations.The direction and magnitude of the predictor varied by type of outcome measured. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Use of trait information in the attribution of intentions by popular, average and rejected children

This study aimed to examine the extent to which children's sociometric status is related to the use of trait information. Therefore, 99 children (aged 4–6) were asked to make inferences about protagonists' future actions when positive or negative trait information was given. Results showed that rejected children were less affected by the protagonist's trait information than their more popular peers (average and popular) in both conditions. As well as their frequently reported hostile bias, rejected children also showed a positive bias. This suggests a general delay in social reasoning among rejected children, but can also be explained by a difference in their development of social cognition based on their atypical daily interactions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Child sociometric status and parent behaviors. An observational study.

The relationship between parent-child interaction and child sociometric status was examined. Third- and fourth-grade children rated as socially neglected, rejected, or average by both peer and teacher nomination were videotaped working on a task with their parents. Parents of children identified as neglected engaged in fewer overall interactions with their children than parents of both rejected and average children. Mothers of neglected and rejected boys issued more commands than mothers of average children. Fathers of neglected boys issued more negative statements than fathers of either rejected or average children. Moreover, mothers and fathers of neglected and rejected children exhibited greater differences between one another in their use of commands than parents of average children. Mothers and fathers of rejected children exhibited greater differences between parents in their use of questions than parents of neglected or average children. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Sociometric-status-group classification of mainstreamed children who have moderate learning difficulties: An investigation of personal and environmental factors.

This study examined the classes of variables (nonsocial personal, behavioral, and environmental) identified in D. L. MacMillan and G. M. Morrison's (1984) multicomponent model for research on sociometric status in special education, using multivariate methods to investigate their power to discriminate the sociometric status group membership of mainstreamed children with moderate learning difficulties. Personal and environmental variables each were found to play a significant role in discriminating children with moderate learning difficulties classified as popular or as rejected from those classified as average. Results are discussed with reference to social exchange theory, as an integrative basis for research on children's sociometric status, and implications for mainstreaming practice are considered.

Sociometric-status-group classification of mainstreamed children who have moderate learning difficulties: An investigation of personal and environmental factors.

This study examined the classes of variables (nonsocial personal, behavioral, and environmental) identified in D. L. MacMillan and G. M. Morrison's (1984) multicomponent model for research on sociometric status in special education, using multivariate methods to investigate their power to discriminate the sociometric status group membership of mainstreamed children with moderate learning difficulties. Personal and environmental variables each were found to play a significant role in discriminating children with moderate learning difficulties classified as popular or as rejected from those classified as average. Results are discussed with reference to social exchange theory, as an integrative basis for research on children's sociometric status, and implications for mainstreaming practice are considered.

Relating Aggressive and Victimization Behaviors to Children's Sociometric Status and Friendships

The present study examined peer nominations of pupils in Grades 3-6 (9-12-year-olds) for aggressive and victimization behaviors in relation to peer group sociometric status (popular, average, rejected) and number of mutual friends (reciprocal nominations). Rejected children, relative to other children, were perceived as higher both in aggression and in being victimized (both physically and verbally) and had the smallest number of mutual friends. In addition, the mutual friends of rejected status boys were perceived as higher in being victimized than were the friends of other children. Neither level of aggression nor level of victimization predicted number of mutual friendships. However, significant positive correlations for both aggressive and victimization behaviors were revealed between popular and average status children and their mutual friends, and these congruences were not found between rejected status children and their mutual friends. This research highlights the complexity and importance of evaluating the form and function of social behaviors within multiple levels of children's peer social relationships.

Children's awareness of which peers like them and which peers dislike them

AbstractThe present research examined children's awareness of the specific same‐sex peers who like or dislike them. Awareness was evaluated in relation to children's peer sociometric status. All children in grades one through six provided same‐sex peer sociometric nominations and same‐sex peer sociometric ratings to determine their sociometric status. In addition, each child indicated the nominations and ratings they believed they received from same‐sex peers. Children's sociometric status was associated with their awareness of liking and disliking from peers. Rejected status children were the least accurate in their judgments of who like them and popular status children were the least accurate in their judgments of who disliked them. These findings support and extend prior research documenting that rejected status children a) demonstrate a lack of awareness of their social competence, yet b) report more loneliness than children in other status groups.

Links between Communication Patterns in Mother-Child, Father-Child, and Child-Peer Interactions and Children's Social Status

Black, Betty, and Logan, Arliss. Links between Communication Patterns in Mother-Child, Father-Child, and Child-Peer Interactions and Children's Social Status. Child Development, 1995, 66, 255–271. In this study, we examined communication in the family and peer systems in relation to children's sociometric status. Codes measured turn-taking skills and utterance types for 43 children (ages 24–60 months) with mothers, fathers, and peers. Communication differences in the family and peer systems were strongest for popular versus rejected status children and their parents, but differences were also found for controversial and neglected status children and their parents. Rejected status children demonstrated turn-taking styles that included irrelevant turns, interruptions, simultaneous talking, and noncontingent responding. Parents of rejected children used higher proportions of requests than parents of popular children but failed to allow their children time to respond to the requests. Popular status children were more likely to alternate turns, provide explanations to peers, and participate in episodes of cohesive discourse. Interaction patterns were examined for potential mechanisms of transfer between family and peer systems.

Power strategies used in conflict resolution by popular and rejected black South African children

The aim of this study was to investigate the power strategies used to resolve conflict by two groups of black South African children. Fifty‐eight children aged between eight and twelve years who had been nominated either as popular or as rejected by their peers on a sociometric measure were presented with eight hypothetical conflict situations and were asked to resolve them. Their responses were categorised into four power strategy types based on the Falbo and Peplau (1980) and Ohbuchi and Yamamoto (1990) models. The results show that the use of power strategies was highly influenced by the children's sociometric status: popular children chose more bilateral strategies while rejected children favoured unilateral power strategies. The results also lend support to previous findings indicating that gender is an important predictor of power strategies chosen to resolve conflict: indirect strategies were preferred by girls while boys chose direct strategies. In addition the choice of power strategies was found...

Children's beliefs about familiar and unfamiliar peers in relation to their sociometric status.

In this study, children's general beliefs about familiar and unfamiliar peers were examined in relationship to their sociometric status and their experience with parents. In the initial phase involving 886 4th and 5th graders, submissive rejected children but not aggressive rejected children reported less positive beliefs about peers than average status children. In the 2nd portion, which included 77 boys and girls from the larger sample, no relationship between children's sociometric status and their beliefs about unfamiliar peers was found. Beliefs about unfamiliar peers were related, however, to childrens perception of the amount of acceptance and support they received from parents. Implications of these findings for children's social competence are discussed

幼児の社会的地位と社会的行動特徴に関する仲間・実習生・教師アセスメント

This study examined the relations between children's sociometric status and perceptions on their social behaviors by peers, student teachers and a teacher. Positive and negative sociometric nomination measures were administered to 124 preschool children. Using a combination of these measures, five sociometric status groups were identified: popular (P), rejected (R), average (A), neglected (N) and controversial (C). Peers' perceptions of their social behaviors were assessed by nominations and those of student teachers and a teacher by their ratings to the identical 9-items. Three dimensions resulted from factor analysis of the assessment measures: aggression, social competence and withdrawal. All of peers, student teachers and a teacher perceived both R and C groups as more aggressive and both R and N groups as more socially incompetent than P group. Correlations between pairs of peers', student teachers' and a teacher's assessments to each dimension of aggression, social competence and withdrawal were all moderate but significant. These findings suggested that preschoolers could provide a reliable information of peers' social behavior as well as peers' social status.

Parents' child-rearing style and child's sociometric status.

This study examined relationships between parents' child-rearing style, the child's prosocial behavior, and the child's sociometric status. The sample consisted of 112 children (6-11 years of age) and both their parents. Parental behavior in the interaction with the child was observed at home when parents and child worked together in 2 structured tasks. Factor analyses of parental behavior revealed that 2 factors, Authoritative/Democratic and Authoritarian/Restrictive, can be found in the subsamples of mothers and fathers. These 2 dimensions of maternal and paternal behavior appeared to be predictive of both the child's prosocial behavior and sociometric status. Results are discussed in terms of the possible link between parent and peer systems. A child's acceptance by a peer group plays an important role in his or her social and personality development. Peer rejection seems to be a reasonably stable phenomenon (Coie & Dodge, 1983; Rogosch & Newcomb, 1989) and is predictive of later social maladjustment (Cowen, Pederson, Babigian, Izzo, & Trost, 1973; Parker & Asher, 1987). Most of the research concerned with the determinants of a child's sociometric status in the peer group have focused primarily on children's behavioral and social cognitive characteristics. The role that parents may play in the development and maintenance of their child's sociometric status was generally ignored, although it is logical to assume that at least some of a child's social skills necessary for successful interaction with peers are learned through the parent-child interactions (Hartup, 1979). Several studies showed that a child's sociometric status in the peer group is related to socialization factors present in the parent-child system (Finnie & Russell, 1988; MacDonald, 1987; MacDonald & Parke, 1984; Parke et al., 1989; Peery, Jensen, & Adams, 1985; Putallaz & Heflin, 1990; Roopnarine & Adams, 1987). Very few studies, however, examined the mediating link in this relationship. What aspects of social competence do children learn in the parent-child setting that transfer directly or indirectly to their relationship with peers? One possibility that has been examined in recent research is that parent-child interaction influences children's sociometric status by affecting the child's social cognitive (or processing) skills, including social problem solving (Pettit, Dodge, & Brown, 1988; Putallaz, 1987) and the child's expectations of the outcome of social strategies (Hart, Ladd, & Burleson, 1990). However, in the context of the family, the child acquires not only many of the social cognitive skills, but also a behavioral pattern that might be important for a successful adaptation to

Development of conduct problems and peer rejection in preschool children: a social systems analysis.

The development of impulsive-aggressive problem behavior and peer rejection was examined in sixty 4- to 5-year-old boys from low-income family backgrounds. Children's sociometric status and behavioral adjustment were assessed longitudinally at the beginning and end of the preschool year, and related to measures of peer interaction at three different points in time. Boys identified as socially rejected and aggressive in the beginning of the year were highly likely to be identified as such at the end of the year. Early in the preschool year, these children contributed to their own rejection by initiating socially aversive exchanges with peers. Although peers clearly perceived these problems, they did not reciprocate with counteraggression at first. However, as time passed, peers began to actively victimize these children, and most of the aggression on the part of victims became reactive in nature. Thus, the current findings strongly support a transactional model of the development of early peer rejection and conduct problems.

Parents' child-rearing style and child's sociometric status.

Parents' child-rearing style and child's sociometric status.

Automatic versus reflective social problem solving in relation to children's sociometric status.

Children's automatic and reflective social problem-solving skills were compared by requiring them to generate solutions to hypothetical social problems immediately after hearing them or after being required to wait 20 s before answering. The implications of the findings for aggressive and rejected children's social problem-solving deficiencies are discussed

Children's Expectations of the Outcomes of Social Strategies: Relations with Sociometric Status and Maternal Disciplinary Styles

To explore relations between maternal disciplinary styles, children's expectations of the outcomes of social strategies, and children's peer status, 144 mothers and their first- (N = 59) and fourth- (N = 85) grade children (ages = 70-86 months and 116-129 months, respectively) participated in home interviews prior to the beginning of the school year. Measures of children's sociometric status were obtained in classrooms after the school year began. Results indicated that children of mothers who were more power assertive in their disciplinary styles tended to be less accepted by peers and tended to expect successful outcomes for unfriendly-assertive methods for resolving peer conflict (e.g., threatening to hit another child). In addition, children who expected unfriendly-assertive strategies to lead to self-oriented gains were less accepted by peers. Moreover, maternal disciplinary styles and outcome expectations for unfriendly-assertive strategies were found to make separate and independent contribution to peer status.

Automatic versus reflective social problem solving in relation to children's sociometric status.

Automatic versus reflective social problem solving in relation to children's sociometric status.