Children's Peer Relationship Problems Research Articles

A Social Emotional Learning Training Programme in a Poor Rural Primary School in Central China: A Pre-Post Intervention Study.

Many universal school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes in the U.S. and Europe have been found to improve social skills and reduce emotional distress and behaviour problems. The aim of this study is to determine whether an adapted version of the SEL can reduce social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties in children in mainland China, using a pre-post intervention design. The study was conducted in a primary school in an economically-disadvantaged rural area in Henan province in central China. The intervention consisted of 16 weekly 90-minunte classroom sessions involving all 190 children in the school. Social and emotional problems were assessed pre- and post- intervention using the Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results suggest that: (1) the programme can reduce children's peer relationship problems, and that the reduction was sustainable at the two post-intervention assessments; (2) the intervention effects on emotional symptoms or total difficulties in the overall population are very few, but children identified as high risk in the initial assessment benefited from the programme. This is the first published report on the effectiveness of a school-based SEL programme in mainland China. Although the improvement are limited, the programme does benefit some children.

Trajectories of Emotional Symptoms and Peer Relationship Problems in Children after Nuclear Disaster: Evidence from the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, which occurred in March 2011, is having long-term effects on children. We planned this study to describe the trajectories of emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems in children and to examine potential risks and protective factors over the 35 months following the accident. The sample was 11,791 children in the first to sixth elementary grades. We identified four patterns for emotional symptoms and three patterns for peer relationship problems, using group-based trajectory modelling. For emotional symptoms, female gender, experience of tsunami and nuclear plant accident, out-of-prefecture evacuees, and insufficient physical activity were associated with the very severe trajectory. In contrast, for peer relationship problems, male gender, experience of nuclear plant accident, and insufficient physical activity were associated with the very severe trajectory. Different factors might be related to the very severe trajectories of emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems.

Fathers’ Commute to Work and Children’s Social and Emotional Well-Being in Germany

Using the German Socio-Economic Panel study, we addressed the main question: Is fathers’ commute to work associated with increases in child social and emotional well-being as measured in Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires? If so, would this association be mediated by reduced time spent with children or moderated by change in family income due to commuting? The findings show that fathers’ daily commute to work was associated with more peer relationship problems, and it also appeared to be linked to more emotional symptoms and greater hyperactivity in children. Fathers’ weekly commute was also linked to child emotional problems. The likelihood of having peer relationship problems in children increased with the distance of fathers’ daily commute to work. This is one of only two studies on this important topic and much further research is warranted.

Peer-relationship difficulties in children with brain injuries: Comparisons with children in mental health services and healthy controls

Positive peer relationships are essential in healthy development. The prevalence of peer-relationship problems in children after acquired brain injury (ABI) has yet to be explored, although ABI does inevitably impact upon peer interactions. We aimed to explore how peer-relationships and emotional distress after ABI may differ from the levels reported by healthy children or mental health controls. Parents of 214 children (137 “healthy” children, 27 children using mental health services and 40 children with ABI) aged 9–15 years participated. A questionnaire measure of peer-relationship functioning and emotional distress was completed. Children with ABI experienced a greater degree of peer-relationship difficulties and emotional distress than healthy controls. No difference was found in reported peer relationship difficulties or emotional distress between ABI children and the children accessing mental health services. We conclude that emotional distress and co-occurring peer-relationship difficulties are as prevalent in a population of children after ABI as may be expected in a population of children under the care of mental health services, yet, unlike the latter group, appropriate intervention services are not commonly available. Interventions that aim to enhance peer relationships after childhood ABI may provide an essential resource to the benefit of outcome.

Contextual determinants of mothers' interventions in young children's peer interactions.

In this study, the role of context in mothers' interventions in their preschool children's peer relationship problems was investigated. Event theme (aggression, peer rebuff, or initiating play), the child's role in the event (actor or target), the child's age and sex, and the mother's emotional reaction were examined as predictors of the extent to which mothers (N = 71) said they would discuss peer relationships, encourage peer interaction, and use power assertion in response to a series of videotaped vignettes depicting common peer relationship problems. Mothers suggested using more discussion in aggressive situations and more encouragement in initiating play situations. Mothers said they would use more power assertion when the child was the actor (i.e., provocateur), rather than the target, in an aggressive situation. Findings are discussed in terms of (a) the importance of considering context in understanding how mothers intervene in their children's peer relationships and (b) the need to examine moderators of cross-contextual consistency in mothers' interventions.

Childhood Peer Relationship Problems and Later Risks of Educational Under‐achievement and Unemployment

This paper examines relations between the extent of children's peer relationship problems at age 9 and their later risks of educational under-achievement and unemployment by the age of 18 years. Results showed that children with high rates of early peer relationship problems were at increased risk of under-achievement and unemployment when compared with children with low rates of early peer relationship problems. These elevated educational and occupational risks were explained by two processes. First, associations between early peer difficulties and later disadvantage were in part noncausal, and arose because of the personal characteristics (IQ and attentional problems) and social backgrounds (socioeconomic adversity, exposure to parental change, and punitive parent-child interaction) of children with early peer problems. Second, problematic peer relations during childhood appeared to place young people at increased risk of a range of adolescent interpersonal and school-related difficulties, including weaker peer attachments, interpersonal problems with teachers, school truancy, suspension, and early school leaving. In turn, these experiences and behaviours served to reduce the educational and employment opportunities of children with early peer problems. Results highlight the importance of childhood peer relationships for academic and occupational success.

Childhood peer relationship problems and young people's involvement with deviant peers in adolescence.

Using prospective longitudinal data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, this article examined the relationship between children's peer relationship problems in middle childhood and their subsequent risk of forming deviant peer affiliations in adolescence. The analysis proceeded in three steps. First, a structural equation model demonstrated a moderate association between early peer relationship problems and later deviant peer affiliations (r = .27). Second, the model was extended to include a latent variable measure of early conduct problems. This analysis revealed that when the confounding effects of concurrently measured conduct problems were taken into account, peer relationship problems in middle childhood were no longer significantly related to young people's choice of deviant peers in adolescence. Third, the model was further extended to include lagged variables, permitting an examination of possible reciprocal relationships between early conduct problems and peer relationship problems. Results suggested that both early peer relationship problems and adolescent deviant peer involvement are symptomatic of early child behavioral adjustment. The implications of these findings for explanations of deviant peer selection are discussed.

Peer Relationship Problems in Children with Tourette's Disorder or Diabetes Mellitus

Peer Relationship Problems in Children with Tourette's Disorder or Diabetes Mellitus

Peer Relationship Problems in Children with Tourette's Disorder or Diabetes Mellitus

Peer relationships, social skills, self-esteem, parental psychopathology, and family functioning of children with Tourette's disorder and a chronic disease control group of children with diabetes mellitus were compared. Children with Tourette's disorder had poorer peer relationships than their classmates and were more likely to have extreme scores reflecting increased risk for peer relationship problems than children with diabetes mellitus, but did not report self-esteem problems or social skills deficits. Measures of peer relationships were not related to severity or duration of tics. Children with Tourette's disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were at increased risk for poor peer relationships. The psychosocial problems of children with Tourette's disorder do not appear to be the generic result of having a chronic disease.

Children's problems with friends

Children who are seen in clinical settings frequently experience interpersonal difficulties with peers. Because of this, efforts to help children improve their friendships should be an essential aspect of the child treatment process. Accordingly, this article first reviews developmental findings on children's peer acceptance and friendships to provide a framework for understanding children's social functioning. Next, the article describes current approaches to assessing and intervening with children's peer relationship problems. Specific interventions include social skills training, strategies for enhancing peer friendships, and ways to reduce competing behavior problems. Finally, two case examples are provided that illustrate several of the main intervention themes. In general, the purpose of the article is to assist practicing therapists in integrating information on children's social functioning into their everyday clinical practice. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Children's problems with friends

Children who are seen in clinical settings frequently experience interpersonal difficulties with peers. Because of this, efforts to help children improve their friendships should be an essential aspect of the child treatment process. Accordingly, this article first reviews developmental findings on children's peer acceptance and friendships to provide a framework for understanding children's social functioning. Next, the article describes current approaches to assessing and intervening with children's peer relationship problems. Specific interventions include social skills training, strategies for enhancing peer friendships, and ways to reduce competing behavior problems. Finally, two case examples are provided that illustrate several of the main intervention themes. In general, the purpose of the article is to assist practicing therapists in integrating information on children's social functioning into their everyday clinical practice. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Social Skills Training With Children: Where Do We Go From Here?

Provides an overview and update of social skills training (SST) as an intervention approach for children's peer relationship problems. The relative paucity of recent outcome studies on SST was noted. SST research stimulated investigation of children's peer relations; however, problems remain with this intervention approach. Three areas highlighted for further investigation of SST include: (a) broadening intervention models to account for multisystemic influences (e.g., peers, teachers, family) on children's peer relationships, (b) considering other indices of social functioning (e.g., peer friendships and support) as treatment outcomes in addition to peer acceptance and social behavior, and (c) designing treatment studies that are sensitive to the realities of clinical practice.

Having Friends and Influencing People Family Approaches to Peer Problems in Children and Adolescents*

This paper looks at peer relationship problems in children and adolescents from a systemic point of view. The way in which family members typically become involved in these problems and the manner in which their involvement can contribute to maintenance of the difficulties, are discussed. The object of family intervention becomes to bring the child into direct positive relationship with peers whilst involving the family to support the child's initiative and independence, rather than the child's dependence on them, for solutions to problems. Six strategies which have been helpful to families are explained by way of illustration. The therapist's role in the process is also illustrated.