Prosocial Peer Research Articles

Becoming prosocial peers: The roles of temperamental shyness and mothers’ and fathers’ elaborative emotion language

AbstractUsing a sample of 99 2‐ to 5‐year‐olds (51 girls, 48 boys), we evaluated whether parent‐reported temperamental shyness was associated with prosocial behaviors with same‐aged peers, and considered parenting (use of elaborative emotion language) and parent and child gender as possible moderators of relations between shyness and prosocial behaviors. Active and passive forms of prosocial behavior were evaluated when children were with familiar and unfamiliar peers. There were no direct associations between shyness and peer prosocial behaviors. Fathers’ emotion elaboration predicted more active prosocial behavior with familiar peers. There were significant moderating effects of parental emotion language, and parent and child gender, on relations between shyness and prosocial behavior. When mothers used more emotion elaboration, less shy children showed more active prosocial behavior toward unfamiliar peers and less passive prosocial behavior with familiar peers. Conversely, when fathers used more emotion elaboration, more shy boys engaged in more active prosocial behaviors with unfamiliar peers. These findings suggest that multiple social and contextual factors influence whether shy children become proactive helpers and sharers. Shy boys may particularly benefit from emotion elaboration from fathers whereas less shy children may be most prepared to benefit from mothers’ emotion language.

How Does Social Behavior Relate to Both Grades and Achievement Scores?

Prosocial behavior and peer problems are an important correlate of academic development; however, these effects vary by achievement measures and social behaviors. In this paper, we examined data from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS), and we use structural equation modeling (SEM) to model the effects of prosocial behavior and peer problems on grades and competencies for both math (n = 3,310) and reading (n = 3,308) in grades 5 and 7. Our models account for the moderating effect of both gender and socioeconomic status (SES) as determined by parental education. We conclude that social behaviors relate to grades more strongly than competencies, that peer problems relate more strongly to achievement than prosocial behavior, and that the relationship is weaker in later grades. We discuss the implication that grades and achievement tests are not interchangeable measures for educators and researchers.

Optimal Items for Assessing Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Children Across Mother, Father, and Teacher Ratings

A recent meta-analysis identified optimal items for assessing sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) as distinct from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention (ADHD-IN), and a preliminary study with teacher ratings of children in the United States found strong support for the convergent and discriminant validity of 15 SCT items. The current study evaluated whether the same 15 SCT items demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity from ADHD-IN in a large, community-based sample of children in Spain, and whether validity results were replicated across mother, father, and teacher ratings. Mothers, fathers, and teachers completed measures of SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositional defiant disorder, limited prosocial emotions, anxiety, depression, shyness, peer rejection, social impairment, and academic impairment on 2,142 Spanish children (49.49% girls; ages 8–13). The 15 SCT symptoms demonstrated convergent validity along with discriminant validity with ADHD-IN across all three informants. The SCT symptom ratings also showed measurement invariance across the informants. In addition, SCT and ADHD-IN factors had different and unique associations with the other symptom and impairment factors. The 15 SCT symptoms identified in this study—consistent across mother, father, and teacher ratings—appear appropriate to serve as a standard symptom set for assessing SCT in children. Use of a common set of symptoms in future studies will advance our understanding of the SCT construct, including its etiology and developmental progression, associations with ADHD and other psychopathologies, links to impairment, and implications for clinical intervention.

Is preventing peer victimization sufficient? The role of prosocial peer group treatment in children's socioemotional development

AbstractDespite extensive research on the harmful effects of peer victimization, little is known about whether prosocial treatment from peers contributes to healthy socioemotional development. To address this issue, 366 third and fourth graders (170 boys; Mage = 9.34) were followed over three time points. Children completed measures of prosocial peer treatment, peer victimization, depressive affect, and friendship quality. Teacher‐reports of depressive affect and peer‐reports of aggression, victimization, and friendships were also obtained. Controlling for peer victimization, number of friends, and friendship quality, prosocial peer treatment negatively predicted depressive affect. For boys, prosocial peer treatment mediated the association between victimization and teacher‐reported depressive affect. These findings underscore the importance of prosocial peer group treatment and the need to broaden the goals of anti‐bullying interventions to include the promotion of positive peer interactions.

You've got a friend(ly school): Can school prosocial norms and friends similarly protect victims from distress?

AbstractTesting the potential protective effects of school‐level prosocial norms and having friends on peer victimization‐related distress, this study examined whether one protective factor is particularly important in the absence of the other. An ethnically diverse sample (N = 5,991) from 26 middle schools reported on peer prosocial behavior, social anxiety, loneliness, and perceived school safety; peer nominations assessed victimization and friends. Multilevel analyses revealed that sixth grade friendless victims felt significantly less anxious, lonely, and unsafe a year later in schools characterized by stronger peer prosocial norms (e.g., helping others). Additionally, victims in less prosocial schools experienced less social anxiety if they had at least one friend. The findings suggest that attending a school characterized by prosocial peer norms can compensate for high social risk (victimized and friendless) following the transition to middle school, and having friends is important for bullied youth in less prosocial school contexts. These results highlight the importance of simultaneously studying relational and school‐level protective factors; implications for anti‐bullying interventions are discussed.

Factors associated with youth gang membership in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

This Campbell systematic review examines the predictors of youth gang membership in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The review summarises findings from eight reports from five countries and the Caribbean region. The lack of available evidence limits the extent to which clear conclusions can be drawn about the factors associated with youth gang membership. The review is based on a very small number of studies, and has significant limitations in coverage. The limited evidence of the correlates of youth gang membership suggests factors that may drive gang membership and suggests areas where interventions may prove promising in the family, school, and community domains, as well as provide a starting point for future studies.

Relationship between predictive psychiatric disorders and social difficulties among children and adolescents attending pediatric outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Dhaka

Background: Considerable numbers of children and adolescents in Bangladesh attending in pediatric outpatient department suffer from Emotional, and Behavioral disorders. These disorders are associated with social difficulties in term of Peer problem and low Prosocial behavior. Objectives: The study had been designed to find out the proportion of predictive psychiatric disorder among the children and adolescents attendees in a pediatric outpatient center and their association with Peer problem and Social difficulties. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in pediatric outpatient department of a tertiary level hospital. Purposive and consecutive sampling technique had been used and sample size was 100. Both male and female children aged 4 to 18 years were included. Structured questionnaire containing socio-demographic and other relevant clinical information and validated parent version of Bangla Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for screening psychopathology had been applied to the consented parents or caregivers of the respondents. Results: Mean age of the children was 8.17 years. Children from 4 to 10 years were 80%. The male female ratio was 1.3:1. Predictive Psychiatric disorder was 12%. Among them, Hyperactivity was 9%, Emotional disorder 5% and Conduct disorder 5%. Overall, 20% of the cases had Peer problem and they were significantly present in the cases with predictive psychiatric disorder. Low pro-social behavior was found among 75% subjects and it was found higher with predictive Psychaitric disorder group but not at significant level. Low Prosocial behavior was significantly found among the subjects with predictive Hyperactivity (P=0.033). Further, low Prosocial behavior and high Peer problem was significantly found in 77.8% subjects (P>0.001).Conclusions: This study supports the other findings of high Psychiatric disorders among the pediatric outpatient attendees and their adverse impact that would ultimately help in applying suitable screening procedure and early intervention.

Adolescent Female Offenders\u2019 Subjective Experiences of How Peers Influence Norm-Breaking Behavior

Delinquent peers have a strong influence on adolescent delinquent behavior. However, few studies have investigated adolescents’, and in particular young females’, own perspectives of the role of peers on their delinquent behavior. The purpose of the present study was to explore how young female offenders described their delinquent behavior and more specifically the role they assign to peer relations in committing or avoiding delinquent acts. Nine female adolescents, sentenced to youth service, were interviewed, and the data was analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method. The results showed that committing crimes and taking drugs with peers were portrayed as a way for the female delinquents to socialize. Delinquent and pro-social activities with peers appear to serve similar developmental functions in the sense that it is described to fulfill the same developmental needs. The young offenders also described collectively created pressures and norms in the peer group as the main contributing factor to their norm-breaking behavior, where they described being both recipients and producers of influence in the group. Another important finding was that the female offenders showed an awareness of the importance of pro-social peers and the need to eliminate delinquent friends from their peer network in order to help them refrain from deviant behavior. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Positive Peer Association Among Black American Youth and the Roles of Ethnic Identity and Gender.

The study examined whether peer association, a subtype of peer influence that involves the indirect modeling of behaviors, can promote positive development among Black American adolescents living in high-risk neighborhoods. Data were collected during a three-year longitudinal study from a sample of 316 Black American adolescents (M=11.65years). As positive peer association increased over time, youth experienced an increase in self-esteem, school connectedness, paternal and maternal closeness, and a decrease in supportive beliefs about aggression. Additionally, lower ethnic identity appeared to account for why some youth experienced a sharper increase in maternal and paternal closeness as positive peer association increased. Future interventions should consider harnessing the ability of prosocial peers to foster healthy development.

Prospective prediction of arrests for driving under the influence from relationship patterns with family and friends in adolescence

Driving under the influence (DUI) is dangerous and costly, yet there are few prospective studies on modifiable risk and protective processes that would inform prevention. Middle adolescence, when most individuals are first learning to drive and first using alcohol, may be a particularly salient period for family and friendship influences on DUI risk. In the present study, youth's family and friendship environments were observed and measured at age 16 in a diverse community sample (n=999), and then court records were used to document arrest for DUI through the age of 32years. We first examined the univariate effects of family and friendship variables on later DUI and then fit more comprehensive structural equation models to test predictive effects on the level of construct (e.g., parental monitoring) and environment (e.g., family). Results indicate that parental monitoring (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.77), positive family relations (OR=0.84), prosocial peer affiliation (OR=0.77), and deviant peer affiliation (OR=1.43) at age 16 were individually predictive of arrests for DUI from ages 16 to 32, even after controlling for both teen and parent alcohol use. The comprehensive, multivariate models indicated that the friendship environment was most predictive of arrests for DUI during the follow-up period. Together, these results are consistent with a model in which attenuated family ties contribute to substance-use-based friendships at age 16, which in turn contribute to an increased likelihood of arrest for DUI in later adolescence and early adulthood. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Promoting socioemotional competence in primary school classrooms: Intervention effects of the EMOscope

The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a brief, teacher-led intervention (EMOscope) developed to promote children’s socioemotional competence. Our sample consisted of 339 Polish pupils and their 16 teachers from 16 third grade classrooms. Teachers in the experimental condition (8 teachers) were trained to deliver the EMOscope intervention. Data were collected at pre-test and post-test. Performance tests were administered to measure children’s social understanding and emotional awareness. Furthermore, peer ratings were used to measure children’s cooperative behaviour and teachers’ reported on children’s prosocial behaviour, hyperactivity, emotional problems, conduct problems, and peer problems. Multilevel regression analysis revealed that children in the experimental condition improved significantly on emotional self- and other-awareness and on social understanding. Moreover, they decreased in teacher-rated hyperactivity, conduct problems, and total difficulties. No effects were found, however, on teacher-rated prosocial behaviour, emotional problems, peer problems, and peer-rated cooperative behaviour.

Psychosocial profiles of youth who acquire a natural mentor during a school year

ABSTRACTYouth who form bonds with supportive, nonparent adults within their existing social networks (i.e., natural mentors) experience a range of positive outcomes, but a relatively minimal amount is known regarding the psychosocial factors that prospectively predict the formation of natural mentoring relationships. Analyzing longitudinal youth data from the waitlist control group of a formal mentoring intervention, the current study investigates the psychosocial factors that predict the acquisition of natural mentoring relationships. Of youth who reported not having a natural mentor at baseline (n = 193), ages 9 to 16 (M = 11.20, SD = 1.61), 46.1% acquired a natural mentor over a school year. A significant interaction between stress (i.e., the number of recent stressful life events) and prosocial peer engagement predicted the acquisition of a natural mentor. At low levels of stress, prosocial peer engagement significantly predicted a lower likelihood of acquiring a natural mentor. This negative association became less strong with increasing stress levels. These findings highlight the importance of addressing interactions among personal and contextual factors when examining natural mentorship. The current and future investigations of naturally occurring mentoring relationships can inform the development of community-based and contextually relevant mentoring interventions.

The Role of Teachers' Social-Emotional Competence in Their Beliefs About Peer Victimization

ABSTRACTOne hundred fifty preservice teachers and 25 in-service teachers were surveyed to examine whether mental representations of relationships, confidence about managing bullying, empathy toward victims, and emotional expressiveness were associated with their peer victimization-related beliefs. Teachers' confidence about managing bullying was positively associated with their prosocial peer beliefs. In addition, the belief that the distress that children experience as a result of being victimized should be dismissed was negatively related to teachers' positive representations. Teachers' reports of positive emotional expressiveness were negatively related to normative, assertive, avoidance, and dismissive victimization-related beliefs and positively related to prosocial peer beliefs. In contrast, teachers' reports of negative emotional expressiveness were negatively related to prosocial peer beliefs and avoidance victimization-related beliefs. In-service teachers reported slightly higher positive expressiveness than preservice teachers did. Minority teachers reported higher scores for positive expressiveness, empathy, and lower negative classroom expressiveness than nonminority teachers did. Implications of these findings for practice are discussed.

Cognitive self‐regulation and social functioning among French children: A longitudinal study from kindergarten to first grade

This study adds to the body of research examining the links between two components of cognitive self-regulation (inhibitory control and verbal working memory) and social functioning (social integration, social problem solving, and prosocial skills) and focuses on children's sex as a moderator of the association between cognitive self-regulation and social functioning. The participants (N = 131) were French schoolchildren followed from kindergarten (Mage = 68.36 months, SD = 3.33 months) through Grade 1. Using hierarchical regression analyses, three major findings were revealed: (1) inhibitory control was a better predictor than verbal working memory of prosocial skills assessed by peers using the sociometric technique as well as by teachers using questionnaires, after controlling for sex, mother's education, and verbal and non-verbal IQ; (2) the prosocial skills assessed by teachers in kindergarten contributed more to explaining the prosocial skills and peer acceptance assessed in Grade 1 than cognitive self-regulation; and (3) sex did not moderate the relationship between cognitive self-regulation and social functioning. These results suggest that developing strong cognitive self-regulation, especially inhibitory control and prosocial skills, in young children schooled in France could be beneficial for their social development.

Executive function and theory of mind as predictors of aggressive and prosocial behavior and peer acceptance in early childhood

AbstractExecutive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) are related to children's social interactions, such as aggression and prosocial behavior, as well as their peer acceptance. However, limited research has examined different forms of aggression and the moderating role of gender. This study investigated links between EF, ToM, physical and relational aggression, prosocial behavior and peer acceptance and explored whether these relations are gender specific. Children (N = 106) between 46‐ and 80‐months‐old completed tasks assessing cool and hot EF and ToM. Teaching staff rated children's aggression, prosocial behavior, and peer acceptance. EF and ToM predicted physical, but not relational, aggression. Poor inhibition and delay of gratification were uniquely associated with greater physical aggression. EF and ToM did not predict prosocial behavior or peer acceptance. Added to this, gender did not moderate the relation between either EF or ToM and social outcomes. The correlates of aggression may therefore differ across forms of aggression but not between genders in early childhood.

Commentary: Universal Screening for Social, Emotional and Behavioral Risk in Schools Using Protective Factors

Universal screening systems in schools are an essential component of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework is a comprehensive service delivery model designed to meet the academic and behavioral needs of students in schools. Universal screening data are used to drive decisions in the interest of reducing risk and promoting positive outcomes for students. This commentary reviews the considerations for selecting screening approaches for assessing social, emotional and behavioral risk within a proactive MTSS framework and advocate for the use of universal screening systems that involve the development of local norms, including local norms for the presence of protective factors. An increasing body of research supports the value of protective factors (e.g. connected with teachers and school, empathy, engagement, pro-social peer groups) as a means of addressing students’ needs proactively through a competency-based lens.

Heterogeneity in Response during Multisystemic Therapy: Exploring Subgroups and Predictors

Multiple studies have shown that Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is, at group level, an effective treatment for adolescents showing serious externalizing problem behavior. The current study expands previous research on MST by, first, examining whether subgroups of participants who respond differently to treatment could be identified. Second, we investigated if the different trajectories of change during MST could be predicted by individual (hostile attributions) and contextual (parental sense of parenting competence and deviant and prosocial peer involvement) pre-treatment factors. Participants were 147 adolescents (mean age = 15.91 years, 104 (71%) boys) and their parents who received MST. Pre-treatment assessment of the predictors and 5 monthly assessments of externalizing behavior during treatment took place using both adolescent and parents’ self-reports. Six distinct subgroups, showing different trajectories of change in externalizing problem behavior during MST, were identified. Two of the 6 trajectories of change showed a poor treatment response, as one class did not change in externalizing problem behavior and the other class even increased. The remaining 4 trajectories displayed a positive effect of MST, by showing a decrease in externalizing behavior. Most of these trajectories could be predicted by parental sense of parenting competence. Additionally, lower involvement with prosocial peers was a predictor of the group that appeared to be resistant to MST. Adolescents do respond differently to MST, which indicates the importance of personalizing treatment. Protective factors, such as parental sense of parenting competence and prosocial peers, seem to require additional attention in the first phase of MST.

Does Training Toddlers in Emotion Knowledge Lead to Changes in Their Prosocial and Aggressive Behavior Toward Peers at Nursery?

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: Within the flourishing area of research demonstrating the efficacy of emotion-based interventions carried out by trained teachers in educational contexts in increasing children’s emotional skills, this study makes an original contribution to the existing literature by focusing on the effects of this kind of intervention on toddlers’ prosocial and aggressive behavior. Ninety-five 26- to 36-month-olds participated in a 2-month intervention in which trained teachers read emotion-based stories to small groups of children and then either involved them in conversations about emotions (experimental condition) or did not (control condition). Even after we controlled for age and general language ability, the children in the experimental condition were found to outperform the control group on measures of emotion knowledge and emotional-state talk. Furthermore, the intervention fostered gains in prosocial behavior, whereas it did not have a significant effect on the frequency of aggressive actions, which was lower at posttest in both groups. The positive effect of the training program on participants’ prosocial behavior was no longer significant when we controlled for gains in emotion knowledge and emotional-state talk. Practice or Policy: The results encourage the implementation of early educational programs focused on emotion knowledge in order to foster children’s prosocial behavior toward peers.

Downloading culture: community building in a decentralized file-sharing collective

ABSTRACTFile-sharing collectives have significantly disrupted models of digital media distribution since their emergence and widespread popularization in the late 1990s. This study investigates how semi-anonymous and decentralized collectives construct their communities of practice. Conducting a case study of a private torrenting community, data were gathered via participant observation, interviews, and online postings (i.e., blogs and forums). Findings challenged dominant notions of opportunism, selfishness and task-oriented individualism advanced by Human–Computer Interaction scholars. Three key constructs were identified in private torrent community building: boundary construction, membership maintenance, and a sense of belonging and solidarity. Findings illustrate how a file-sharing community cultivates the formation of prosocial digital peers, fosters an affective approach to peer-to-peer collectives, and ultimately forges a downloading virtuoso community. This sisyphean, goal-oriented community seeks to create a comprehensive archive of media artifacts independent of and in opposition to dominant corporate platforms. The community demonstrates a downloading culture inspired by technological design, yet driven by trust and solidarity.

Factor Structure and Reliability of the Parent-Informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a Scottish Preschool Sample

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: Despite it being a widely accepted measure of social, emotional, and behavioral problems among children and young people, the factor structure underlying the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is contested. Recent research has suggested a need to consider methodological bias in the SDQ, associated with the positive wording of some of the items, as a separate latent construct. Using data from the 2006–2007 Growing Up in Scotland study, we performed confirmatory factor analyses with 1,789 parents’ SDQ reports of their 4-year-old children, estimating and comparing 3 competing factor models: a 5-factor model, 3-factor model, and a 6-factor model incorporating a method factor. Results indicated that the 6-factor solution was the best fitting model. Several items from the original Pro-Social Behaviour and Peer Relationship Problems subscales loaded higher on the method factor than the original, suggesting bias influences across the SDQ domains. Reliability analysis demonstrated poor internal consistency for the individual difficulties subscales but good internal consistency for a Total Difficulties score and moderate internal consistency for the strengths subscale. Practice or Policy: As the SDQ is widely used internationally, further research is required to facilitate interpretation across populations and purposes (i.e., screening, diagnosis, or outcome assessment).