Peer Group Rejection Research Articles

From research: hidden aggressive behaviours of children at pre-school age

The hidden aggression of children at early and preschool age is linked to early childhood problems. Peer-group rejection is associated with a broad range of social and psychological problems related to child development such as difficulties in development of mutual social ties. The study analyses the utterances and responses of pre-school children connected with hidden aggressive behaviour they met in an inclusive kindergarten classes. The results of the research show that beginning of aggressive behaviour is observed in the early childhood groups (latent form of aggression), and later it metamorphoses into direct verbal or physical aggression.

Problemas de conducta y funciones ejecutivas en niños y niñas de 5 años

Actualmente, los problemas de conducta siguen siendo un tema de preocupación social debido a la multitud de consecuencias negativas que llevan asociados, tales como bajo rendimiento académico, mayor riesgo de deserción escolar, el rechazo de los compañeros, y la disminución de la motivación. Una extensa literatura sugiere una relación inversa entre las funciones ejecutivas y la conducta agresiva en los seres humanos, es decir, altas puntuaciones en los problemas de conducta coinciden con bajas puntuaciones en las pruebas de funcionamiento ejecutivo. A pesar de que la conducta agresiva se desarrolla en la primera infancia, son pocos estudios sobre funciones ejecutivas los que se han realizado en niños en edad preescolar con problemas de comportamiento. Por esta razón, la presente investigación pretende: conocer la relación entre funciones ejecutivas y los problemas de conducta en los niños y niñas del tercer curso de Educación Infantil. En el presente estudio participaron 204 alumnos/as (116 niños y 88 niñas) de 5 años de edad, matriculados en el tercer curso de Educación Infantil, en un centro concertado de la provincia de Granada. Igualmente participaron los padres y madres del alumnado. Los resultados indican que altas puntuaciones en problemas de conducta se relacionan con puntuaciones bajas en funciones ejecutivas. En conclusión, mucha literatura sugiere un vínculo entre la conducta agresiva y los déficits en las funciones ejecutivas, aunque estas diferencias no son consistentes en todos los estudios. Por tanto, seria interesante realizar estudios longitudinales que permitan analizar con mayor precisión el impacto de las funciones ejecutivas en los problemas de conducta.

PSIGOSOSIALE BEHOEFTES VAN ADOLESSENTE DOGTERS MET SELF-MOORDGEDRAG

This article focuses on the psychosocial needs of adolescent girls who present with suicidal behaviour, which can be attributed to a variety of circumstances. Qualitative interviewing was done with participants until data-saturation was achieved. The overarching psychosocial needs of participants were discussed in three main themes with specific sub-themes. The first theme focuses on love and acceptance; it has three sub-themes, namely a negative self-concept, parental rejection and peer group rejection. Theme two focuses on communication, with the expression of emotions, quality time and trust as sub-themes. The third theme discusses a certain future, with career choices and hope as sub-themes.

Peer Group Rejection in Childhood: Effects of Rejection Ambiguity, Rejection Sensitivity, and Social Acumen

This study examined the reactions of 6 to 12 year old children (N = 144) to in‐group members who accepted or rejected them, and assessed whether their reactions were influenced by their rejection sensitivity (RS) and social acumen (SA). After completing measures of RS and SA, children participated in an intergroup simulation in which they were accepted or unambiguously versus ambiguously rejected by their group. Findings indicated that whereas ambiguously rejected children understood that they had been rejected, they nevertheless retained greater in‐group identification and more positive attitudes than the rejected children, although less than the accepted children. However, as with rejected participants, ambiguously rejected children still opted to change groups whereas accepted children did not. SA children liked the in‐group less, whereas those with SA liked the in‐group more. Discussion focused on children's selection of peer groups, as well as the effects of their rejection from them.

Relations Among Chronic Peer Group Rejection, Maladaptive Behavioral Dispositions, and Early Adolescents' Peer Perceptions

Adolescents' perceptions of peers' relational characteristics (e.g., support, trustworthiness) were examined for subtypes of youth who evidenced chronic maladaptive behavior, chronic peer group rejection, or combinations of these risk factors. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify subgroups of participants within a normative sample of youth (N = 477; 50% female) for whom data had been gathered from fifth grade (M(age) = 10.61) through eighth grade (M(age) = 13.93). Results revealed that both enduring individual vulnerability (i.e., chronic withdrawn or chronic aggressive behavioral dispositions) and interpersonal adversity (i.e., chronic peer group rejection) were linked with either differences or changes in adolescents' perceptions of their peers' supportiveness and trustworthiness across the early adolescent age period.

Social identity, peer group rejection, and young children's reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression

The effects of peer group rejection on 7- and 9-year-old children's (N= 192) reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression were examined in a group simulation study. Children were assigned membership in a pretend social group for a drawing competition and were then rejected or accepted by their group. Their direct and indirect aggressive intentions towards either the ingroup or outgroup were assessed. Analysis of their aggressive intentions revealed enhanced indirect aggression but less direct aggression. Peer group rejection, in comparison with acceptance, instigated reactive aggression towards the ingroup, and displaced reactive aggression towards the outgroup. Accepted children displayed proactive aggression towards the outgroup but not the ingroup. The implications of the findings for peer group rejection and aggression research are discussed.

Peer group rejection and children's outgroup prejudice

Two simulation studies examined the effect of peer group rejection on 7 and 9 year old children's outgroup prejudice. In Study 1, children ( n = 88) pretended that they were accepted or rejected by their assigned group, prior to competing with a lower status outgroup. Results indicated that rejected versus accepted children showed increased anxiety, and liked the ingroup less, but did not differ in their reduced liking for the outgroup. In Study 2, participants ( n = 82) were accepted by a new group after being accepted or rejected by their initial group. Results showed that rejected versus accepted children liked the initial ingroup less, but did not differ in their greater liking for the new ingroup, nor in their level of anxiety. However, rejected compared with accepted children displayed prejudice towards the outgroup. The conditions under which peer group rejection impacts on children's outgroup prejudice are discussed.

Effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on children's intergroup attitudes

This study examined the effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on 7- and 9-year old children's intergroup attitudes. Children (N = 82) were rejected or accepted by an initial group, then accepted by a new group that had a norm of inclusion versus exclusion towards others. Results showed that rejected compared with accepted children had a more negative attitude towards the initial group, that they were equally positive towards their new group, but that the rejected children were more negative towards an outgroup. Results also revealed an age x target group x group norm effect that indicated that the younger children's attitudes towards the three groups were more negative in the exclusion versus acceptance norm condition. The older children were also more negative towards the initial and new groups in the exclusion condition, but their more positive attitudes towards the outgroup were unaffected by the group norms. The bases of the effects of peer group rejection and group norms are discussed.

Effects of experimentally induced peer-group rejection and out-group ethnicity on children's anxiety, self-esteem, and in-group and out-group attitudes

A minimal group study examined the effect of peer-group rejection on children's state anxiety and self-esteem, as well as their attitudes towards the rejecting group and an out-group that had the same or different ethnicity to the participants. Anglo-Australian children (n = 104) 7 and 9 years of age were randomly assigned to an Anglo-Australian team for an intergroup drawing competition. The competitor team had children with the same (i.e., Anglo-Australian) or different (i.e., Pacific Islander) ethnicity as their own team. The children then role-played that they had been accepted or rejected by their team members. Children's subsequent ratings indicated that peer-group rejection caused a decrease in self-esteem and an increase in anxiety, dislike for the rejecting in-group, but greater liking for the out-group, regardless of its ethnicity. Results also indicated that, regardless of peer status, children expressed greater liking for the in-group when there was a different versus same ethnicity out-group, and greater liking for the same versus different ethnicity out-group. The implications of the findings for peer-group rejection research are discussed.

Does Chronic Classroom Peer Rejection Predict the Development of Children’s Classroom Participation During the Grade School Years?

A sample of 398 children was followed up from ages 5 to 12 to investigate the relation between peer group rejection and classroom participation. The participation trajectories of individuals and groups of children who were rejected for differing periods of time were examined both during and after rejection using piecewise growth curve analyses. The results showed that whereas during periods of rejection, children exhibited negative or negligible growth in participation, when nonrejected, they manifested positive growth. These findings corroborated the hypothesis that (a) peer rejection creates constraints that inhibit children's classroom participation and (b) the cessation of rejection enables children to become more active and cooperative participants in classroom activities.

Effects of experimentally induced peer-group rejection on children's risk-taking behaviour

This study assessed the immediate causal effect of peer-group rejection on children's state anxiety and self-esteem, as well as their risk-taking behaviour. Children (n = 44) aged 8 and 10 years participated in a minimal group study in which they were accepted or rejected by a peer group, following which their anxiety, self-esteem, and risk-taking behaviour were assessed. The findings revealed that peer rejection caused a substantial increase in the children's anxiety, but did not affect their self-esteem. It was also found that peer status interacted with age to influence the children's risk-taking behaviour. Following peer rejection, children's risk-taking behaviour was significantly greater at 10 compared with 8 years of age. In contrast, following peer acceptance, their risk-taking was significantly lower at 10 compared with 8 years of age. The implications of the findings for research on peer-group rejection and risk-taking behaviour are discussed.

Effects of peer group rejection, group membership, and group norms, on children's outgroup prejudice

This study examined the effects on 6- and 8-year old children (n = 160) of rejection versus acceptance by an initial group, the reason for the rejection or acceptance (personal versus category-based), and the norms (inclusion versus exclusion) of a new group to which the children were assigned, on their negative affect and attitudes towards the initial group, new group and an outgroup. Results showed that rejected compared with accepted children had a negative attitude towards the initial group, but that both were equally positive towards their new group. In addition, whereas accepted participants were less positive towards the outgroup, rejected participants displayed outgroup prejudice. Results also revealed main effects on group attitudes of participants' age and group norms, as well as a peer status × status reason interaction, but participants' negative affect was only affected by their age. The basis of the effect of peer group rejection on outgroup prejudice is discussed.

Assessing the social and affective outcomes of inclusion

The systematic assessment of the social and affective outcomes of inclusion has been lagging behind the assessment of academic outcomes. This is particularly problematic in view of research evidence supporting concerns about peer rejection and bullying. In this article, Norah Frederickson and Elizabeth Simmonds, of University College London, and Lynda Evans and Chris Soulsby, from Foxwood Special School, report their evaluation of the social and affective outcomes of a special‐ mainstream school inclusion initiative that places particular emphasis on peer preparation. Measures completed by pupils were used to assess peer group inclusion, social behaviour, bullying and feelings of belonging at school. Results showed that pupils who had transferred from special to mainstream schools experienced positive social outcomes and none experienced peer group rejection. However, results were less positive for mainstream pupils with special educational needs and the authors discuss possibilities for development. Trends in peer reports of bullying suggest that there is no room for complacency and that ongoing monitoring is required.

Peer exclusion and victimization: Processes that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children's classroom engagement and achievement?

Longitudinal data from a study of kindergarten through 5th graders were used to estimate a structural model in which chronic peer exclusion and chronic peer abuse were hypothesized to mediate the link between children's early peer rejection, later classroom engagement, and achievement. Peer exclusion and abuse were expected to predict changes in 2 forms of school engagement (classroom participation and school avoidance), and changes in both forms of engagement were expected to predict changes in achievement. The model fit the data well and lent support to the premise that distinct forms of peer maltreatment and classroom engagement mediate the link between early peer rejection and changes in children's achievement. Early peer rejection was associated with declining classroom participation and increasing school avoidance, but different forms of chronic peer maltreatment mediated these relations. Whereas chronic peer exclusion principally mediated the link between peer rejection and classroom participation, chronic peer abuse primarily mediated the link between rejection and school avoidance. Children's reduced classroom participation, more than gains in school avoidance, anteceded decrements in children's achievement.

An Economic Analysis of "Acting White"

This paper formalizes a widely discussed peer effect titled “acting White.” “Acting White” is modeled as a two-audience signaling quandary: signals that induce high wages can be signals that induce peer group rejection. Without peer effects, equilibria involve all ability types choosing different levels of education. “Acting White” alters the equilibrium dramatically: the (possibly empty) set of lowest ability individuals and the set of highest ability individuals continue to reveal their type through investments in education; ability types in the middle interval pool on a common education level. Only those in the lower intervals are accepted by the group. The model's predictions fit many stylized facts in the anthropology and sociology literatures regarding social interactions among minority group members.

An Economic Analysis of "Acting White"*

This paper formalizes a widely discussed peer eect entitled 'acting white'. 'Acting White'is modeled as a two audience signaling quandary: signals that induce high wages can be signals that induce peer group rejection. Without peer eects, equilibria involve all ability types choosing dierent levels of education. 'Acting White'alters the equilibrium dramatically: the (possibly empty) set of lowest ability individuals and the set of highest ability individuals continue to reveal their type through investments in education; ability types in the middle interval pool on a common education level. Only those in the lower intervals are accepted by the group. The model's predictions …t many stylized facts in the anthropology and sociology literatures regarding social interactions among minority group members.

Conceptions and Perceived Influence of Peer Groups: Interviews with Preadolescents and Adolescents

72 fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade boys and girls were interviewed to investigate developmental changes in perceptions of peer groups and group influence. Results indicated that preadolescents defined groups on the basis of common activities and social behavior and considered group influence to be greatest in these domains. Older adolescents were more likely to describe peer-group influence as global and far reaching, affecting one's appearance, illicit acts, attitudes, and values. Corresponding to increases in peer-group conceptions emphasizing group attitudes/norms and global influence were increases in the extent to which subjects felt that peer-group acceptance or rejection influenced self-evaluation. Developmental changes in the apparent reference-group functions of peer groups for adolescent identity formation are discussed.