Sociometric Procedure Research Articles

Multiple Levels of Factors Protecting Against Peer Rejection in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study investigated both the risk factors and the protective factors against peer rejection at multiple levels in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their typically developing peers. Using standard sociometric procedure, we studied the peer rejection of 108 children with ADHD (aged 7 to 12) and their classmates of the same sex and age ( n = 108). Risk factors (i.e., emotional/behavioral difficulties, academic performance, conflicts in the student-teacher relationship, parental rejection) predicted peer rejection in both groups, but the quality of relationships with teachers had a stronger predictive power in children with ADHD. Protective factors at multiple levels: individual ( extracurricular activity), family ( parental warmth and family social support), social ( school social support and friendship), compensated for all the risks of peer rejection in children with ADHD. However, the effect of prosocial behavior was insignificant after controlling for emotional/behavioral problems. Only school social support and friendship moderated the relationship between rejection and the risk factors in children with ADHD. Compensatory and moderating effects of all factors were found in the comparison group. Prevention and intervention of the peer rejection of children with ADHD should be focused on multiple levels of factors, especially social ones.

ПОДХОДЫ К ОЦЕНКЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ФИЗКУЛЬТУРНО- ОЗДОРОВИТЕЛЬНЫХ И СПОРТИВНЫХ МЕРОПРИЯТИЙ КАК СРЕДСТВА ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ КОРПОРАТИВНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ

Nowadays fitness and health and sport activities organized for co-workers are an important tool to create and strengthen corporate culture. However, ways to assess effectiveness of such activities are still poorly explored. As we can see from theoretical and applied researches by the article authors during planning and organization of corporate physical and sport activities, companies rarely try to generate metrics allowing to track effectiveness of those activities and adjust program for development of corporate culture. The article analyzes possibilities of sociometric procedure, Event ROI methodology, criterial approach to assessing effectiveness of fitness and sport activities, provided by the organization. The authors come to a conclusion that when implementing practices of corporate sport and fitness programs for co-workers it is necessary to develop metrics for effectiveness assessment, create a balanced system of metrics as a system for strategic management of employees’ health. It is claimed, that in order to create successful and strong corporate culture, the fitness and sport activities should be regular, they should have a systemic approach and provide a well-organized system for monitoring and management.

Adolescent Peer Experiences and Prospective Suicidal Ideation: The Protective Role of Online-Only Friendships

Objective: This study examined characteristics of online-only friendships among suicidal and non-suicidal adolescents. In addition, the extent to which adolescents’ online-only friendships may offer a protective function, buffering the effects of peer stressors (i.e., friendship stress, relational victimization) on prospective suicidal ideation, was examined. Method: Adolescents aged 10 to 14 (n = 630) were assessed at baseline (Time 1) and one-year follow-up (Time 2). Measures of suicidal ideation, sociometric relational victimization, friendship stress, depressive symptoms, online-only friendship status and quality, and online-only friendship quality compared to in-person friendship quality, were obtained at Time 1 using sociometric procedures and self-report questionnaires. Self-report measures of suicidal ideation were collected at Time 2. Results: Descriptive results suggested that online-only friendships are relatively common among youth (38.3%), particularly for those experiencing suicidal ideation (46.3%). Suicidal and non-suicidal adolescents reported comparable levels of intimate disclosure within their online-only friendships. Although adolescents without suicidal ideation endorsed more support from in-person friendships, suicidal adolescents endorsed similar levels of support from their online-only and in-person friendships. Moderation analyses indicated that the association between both relational victimization and friendship stress and prospective suicidal ideation was attenuated among youth who reported having one or more online-only friend. Conclusion: Online-only friendships are common and may offer protective benefits for youth, particularly those experiencing suicidal ideation. Future studies should examine the specific mechanisms by which online-only friendships may confer this benefit.

Evaluation of a multi-component and multi-agent intervention to improve classroom social relationships among early elementary school-age children

We present the preliminary evaluation of a comprehensive, multi-component and multi-agent 2-year classroom intervention to enhance children's relationships with their peers and teachers among early elementary school students in Spain. The intervention contained universal components directed to the whole class plus targeted components for children with peer problems. Using a quasi-experimental design, 229 children (in 10 classrooms) formed a comparison group whose teachers engaged in their typical practices, followed the next year by 214 children (in 9 classrooms) who received the intervention. Children completed a sociometric procedure, and reported their self-perceptions of peer functioning and their relationship quality with teachers at the beginning of 1st grade (pretest) and the end of 2nd grade (posttest; 93% retention). After statistical control of pretest functioning, by posttest those in the intervention group received fewer negative sociometric nominations, perceived themselves to receive fewer negative sociometric nominations and to have greater overall peer acceptance, and reported their teachers to have greater warmth and organization, compared to children in the comparison group. However, intervention group children also received fewer positive sociometric nominations (as well as perceived themselves to receive fewer positive nominations) than comparison group children. Target children, selected for being disliked by peers, received accentuated benefits from the intervention on the outcome variables of fewer negative nominations received and greater teacher warmth. Implications for practice are discussed.

Социологические методики в антикризисном управлении организацией

The article is devoted to the possibilities of using a sociological methodology in the evaluation of the management of an organization. Such techniques can be used in crisis management. The article describes the methodology for evaluating the activities and business qualities of department managers, as well as its capabilities for evaluating the company's senior management. It includes a set of sociological methods for collecting information, such as document analysis, questionnaires, semi-formalized interviews, a sociometric procedure, SMIL testing and Luscher color choices. The authors indicate that ensuring the conditions of complete anonymity during the collection of information is a categorical requirement of the methodology.

Peer acceptance and friendships among primary school pupils: associations with loneliness, self-esteem and school engagement

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the associations between peer acceptance and friendship with loneliness, self-esteem and school engagement in a sample of 180 primary school pupils (M age = 10.94 years old, SD = 0.82, age range: 9–12 years). Peer acceptance was evaluated through a sociometric procedure, the number of children’s mutual friendships through peer nominations and friendship quality, while self-esteem and loneliness were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Peer-rated acceptance/popularity and provision of help by friends in school were both found to contribute significantly to pupils’ self-esteem and to their tendency not to avoid school. Security in friendship emerged as a moderately significant factor in predicting feelings of loneliness or school liking, while companionship among friends was found to protect moderately from loneliness in school. The present research findings support previous evidence attesting to the link between friendship-related factors and children’s psychosocial adjustment in the school environment.

The role of a supportive interpersonal environment and education-related goal motivation during the transition beyond upper secondary education

This longitudinal study investigated the role of parents and peers as well as of education-related goal motivation during educational transitioning in late adolescence. The sample consisted of 1520 upper secondary education students attending either academic or vocational upper secondary school in Finland. They were surveyed three times: (1) in the first year of their upper secondary education, (2) in the second year of their upper secondary education, and (3) two years later. The results show, first, that when students in upper secondary education pursued their educational goals out of autonomous motivation they also invested more effort in their goals, which was reflected in high levels of goal progress. High goal progress, in turn, was related to high levels of school satisfaction, whereas low goal progress was associated with the intention to drop out of school. By contrast, controlled motivation was associated neither with goal effort or goal progress in educational goals. Second, different interpersonal environments played unique and different roles in adolescents’ educational goals. While mothers’ affective warmth and involvement particularly enhanced adolescents’ autonomous motivation, fathers’ affective support directly predicted high levels of school satisfaction and low intentions to drop out of upper secondary school. The role of peer acceptance (measured using a sociometric procedure) was twofold: it was related to high autonomous motivation in adolescents’ educational goals, and it also directly predicted adolescents’ satisfaction with their chosen educational track. The intention to drop out of school is an important warning signal of later actually dropping out. Additional analyses showed that the less adolescents had the intention to drop out of upper secondary school, the more likely they were to be successful in dealing with the educational transition from upper secondary school to further education or employment.

Talking face-to-Facebook: Associations between online social interactions and offline relationships

Despite a growing reliance on social networking sites like Facebook to establish and maintain relationships, there is a dearth of research regarding the nature of online social interactions and how they may relate to face-to-face peer relationships and psychopathology symptoms. In the current study, we observationally coded the Facebook profiles and activity of 240 new university students. Sociometric procedures were used to index participants' face-to-face social acceptance and reciprocated friendships. Participants also reported on their Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and anxious-depressive symptomatology. Principal components analysis revealed that users' Facebook activity can be understood in terms of the quantity of interactions, the positive or negative quality of those interactions, and also the degree of narcissistic self-presentation present. Participants with greater ADHD symptomatology displayed a greater quantity of Facebook interactions and also more negative interaction quality on Facebook. Participants who had more reciprocated friendships in a face-to-face context displayed a greater quantity of Facebook interactions and more narcissistic self-presentation on Facebook. In contrast, more acceptance by peers in a face-to-face context was associated with less narcissistic self-presentation on Facebook. Findings suggest that university students’ online social interactions on Facebook are multi-faceted, with each facet uniquely associated with face-to-face peer relationships and psychopathology symptoms. Some facets may represent social phenomena that uniquely emerge in online environments.

Introduction to the Special Issue: 20th-Century Origins and 21st-Century Developments of Peer Nomination Methodology.

This issue of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development looks at current practices and recent advances in peer nomination methodology. Peer nominations provide a key method for assessing relationships, social status, and interpersonal behavior. This introductory article begins with a history of peer nomination methods, with a focus on the early origins of peer informant measures and the nature of Moreno's (1934) sociometric methodology (highlighting fundamental differences from the modern sociometric procedure). Next, the article addresses major changes that have occurred in peer nomination research over the course of the past 2 decades, including the recent focus on popularity and relational aggression, statistical advances, logistical challenges and innovations, and the changing conventions of the nomination procedure itself. The final section includes a brief overview of the articles included in this issue.

Positive Peer Relationships Facilitate Adjustment in the Transition to University for Emerging Adults With ADHD Symptoms

Many emerging adults, particularly those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, struggle to manage the developmental and contextual changes that accompany the transition to university. We examined new students’ formation of positive peer relationships as facilitators of their good university adjustment and as buffers of their ADHD symptom levels. Participants were 571 new university students who had moved away from home to attend university. Sociometric procedures indexed participants’ social acceptance and reciprocated friendships with university peers. Participants completed questionnaires on ADHD symptoms, internalizing difficulties, and attachment to university. Academic transcripts were obtained from the registrar. Students with high ADHD symptoms displayed poorer adjustment overall. However, peer acceptance and reciprocated friendships incrementally predicted better attachment to university, while peer acceptance predicted higher year-end grade point average. Buffering effects of friendships on internalizing difficulties and attachment to university were strongest for those with high ADHD symptoms. Implications for service provision are discussed.

The Relations of Preschool Children’s Emotion Knowledge and Socially Appropriate Behaviors to Peer Likability

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations of children’s emotion knowledge (and its components) and socially appropriate behavior to peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool children at two time-points. At both Time 1 (T1; n = 46 boys, 42 girls) and a year later at Time 2 (T2; n = 26 boys, 22 girls), children’s emotion knowledge (i.e., emotion recognition, situation knowledge) was assessed, teachers evaluated children’s socially appropriate behavior, and peer likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. A two-wave autoregressive cross-lagged model indicated that children’s T1 emotion recognition was associated with higher T2 socially appropriate behavior, and children’s T1 socially appropriate behavior was related to higher T2 peer likability, even after controlling for stability in the constructs. Socially appropriate behavior mediated the relation between preschool children’s emotion recognition and peer likability. No bidirectional associations were found. The results support the notion that teacher training should focus on promoting children’s emotion knowledge to create a classroom atmosphere characterized by positive social behaviors and harmonious peer relationships across the preschool years.

Trajectories of suicide ideation and nonsuicidal self-injury among adolescents in mainland China: Peer predictors, joint development, and risk for suicide attempts.

This study expanded knowledge about the development of suicide ideation and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents by investigating (a) peer experiences as predictors of trajectories of suicide ideation and NSSI, (b) the joint development of suicide ideation and NSSI, and (c) the risk for suicide attempts (SA) across joint trajectories of suicide ideation and NSSI. At baseline, 565 tenth-grade Chinese adolescents (48.3% males) reported depressive symptoms and friend support. Moreover, peer victimization and friendships were assessed using a sociometric procedure. After baseline, participants completed measures of suicide ideation, NSSI, and SA every 3 months for 2 years. Three similar trajectories of suicide ideation and NSSI were identified. After accounting for depressive symptoms, peer victimization differentiated adolescents in the high trajectory of suicide ideation and NSSI from those in the low and moderate trajectories of suicide ideation and NSSI, respectively. Friend support and friendlessness distinguished between the high and low and the moderate and low NSSI trajectories, respectively. Joint trajectory models revealed a strong overlap between the course of suicide ideation and NSSI: Adolescents in the chronically high suicide ideation trajectory were at the highest risk to follow a chronically high NSSI trajectory and vice versa. Finally, adolescents in the joint chronically high trajectory were approximately 5 times more likely to report SA than were their peers, above and beyond prior SA. Findings highlight the role of negative peer experiences as risk factors for NSSI and suicide ideation, which, in turn, can potentially increase risk for SA. (PsycINFO Database Record

Do “Cool Kids” Become Risky Young Adults?

Research Article| October 01 2014 Do “Cool Kids” Become Risky Young Adults? AAP Grand Rounds (2014) 32 (4): 39. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.32-4-39 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Do “Cool Kids” Become Risky Young Adults?. AAP Grand Rounds October 2014; 32 (4): 39. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.32-4-39 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: criminal behavior, ethanol, substance use disorders, young adult, social skills Source: Allen JP, Schad MM, Oudekerk B, et al. What ever happened to the “cool” kids? Long-term sequelae of early adolescent pseudomature behavior [published online ahead of print June 11, 2014]. Child Dev. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12250 Investigators from the University of Virginia conducted a longitudinal study to examine the relationship between early adolescent pseudomature behavior (eg, minor delinquent activity, precocious romantic involvement, focus on physical appearance in friendships) and the following outcomes: adolescent and early adulthood peer relationships, and early adulthood alcohol/substance use and criminal behavior. The researchers followed a racially and socioeconomically diverse community sample of adolescents for a 10-year period. Participating adolescents were assessed annually at ages 13–15 with follow-up at ages 20–23. At each annual assessment between ages 13–15, adolescent participants nominated their closest same-gender friend and 2 other peers from within their extended circle of friends to participate in the assessment of peer attractiveness, closeness of friendships, and social competence and popularity. Measures of pseudomature behavior at ages 13–15 included self-reported minor delinquent activity in the prior 6 months (eg, theft of items costing <$5 or destroying parental property), precocious romantic behavior (number of people “made out” with), and selection of attractive peers (physical attractiveness of peers coded from videotaped observations). Adolescent self-rated valuing of popularity (5-point scale at age 13) and popularity among peers (sociometric procedure where participants’ peers listed their 10 most “liked” peers at ages 13–15) were assessed. Measures assessed in adolescence and early adulthood were social competence (peer-completed scales), alcohol and substance use (self-reported questionnaires), and criminal behavior (interview). After controlling for potentially confounding variables, the associations between pseudomature behaviors and the outcomes were assessed. A total of 184 adolescents participated in the study; follow-up data were collected on 175 (95%). Early adolescent pseudomature behavior was linked to a strong desire for peer approval, as measured through valuing of popularity (P < .05). While pseudomature behavior predicted popularity in the short term (age 13), the elevated popularity of adolescents with psuedomature behavior decreased over time and was no longer present by age 15. Pseudomature behavior in early adolescence predicted lower levels of early adulthood peer-rated social competence (P < .01). Adolescent pseudomature behavior also predicted criminal behavior and future use of and problems with alcohol and marijuana in early adulthood (P < .001 for all outcomes). The investigators conclude that a constellation of pseudomature behaviors in early adolescence predicted difficulties in social functioning in early adulthood and may indicate deviation from healthy psychosocial competence. Dr Wong has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. Minor delinquencies, early romantic behavior, and a focus on physical attractiveness when choosing friends are often seen as normal features of adolescence, perhaps not even warranting discussion during most busy adolescent clinical encounters. Teens use these pseudomature behaviors to act older than their age to gain popularity, with the goal of being considered one of the... You do not currently have access to this content.

The character strengths of class clowns.

Class clowns traditionally were studied as a type concept and identified via sociometric procedures. In the present study a variable-centered approach was favored and class clown behaviors were studied in the context of character strengths, orientations to happiness and satisfaction with life. A sample of 672 Swiss children and adolescents filled in an 18 item self-report instrument depicting class clown behaviors. A hierarchical model of class clown behaviors was developed distinguishing a general factor and the four positively correlated dimensions of “identified as a class clown,” “comic talent,” “disruptive rule-breaker,” and “subversive joker.” Analysis of the general factor showed that class clowns were primarily male, and tended to be seen as class clowns by the teacher. Analyses of the 24 character strengths of the VIA-Youth (Park and Peterson, 2006) showed that class clowns were high in humor and leadership, and low in strengths like prudence, self-regulation, modesty, honesty, fairness, perseverance, and love of learning. An inspection of signature strengths revealed that 75% of class clowns had humor as a signature strength. Furthermore, class clown behaviors were generally shown by students indulging in a life of pleasure, but low life of engagement. The four dimensions yielded different character strengths profiles. While all dimensions of class clowns behaviors were low in temperance strengths, the factors “identified as the class clown” and “comic talent” were correlated with leadership strengths and the two negative factors (“disruptive rule-breaker,” “subversive joker”) were low in other directed strengths. The disruptive rule breaking class clown was additionally low in intellectual strengths. While humor predicted life satisfaction, class clowning tended to go along with diminished satisfaction with life. It is concluded that different types of class clowns need to be kept apart and need different attention by teachers.

SOCIJALNE KARAKTERISTIKE DECE KOJA USPOSTAVLJAJU PRIJATELJSKE DIJADE

Uspostavljanje prijateljske dijade predstavlja razvojni zadatak dece i indikator je socijalne adaptacije koja ima relevantnu ulogu u celokupnom razvoju individue. S obzirom na to da je prijateljstvo, pre svega, socijalni odnos, ovo istraživanje se bavilo pitanjem da li postoje razlike u socijalnim karakteristikama dece sa i bez prijatelja na ranom osnovnoškolskom uzrastu. Kao relevantne varijable po kojima bi se razlikovala deca koja imaju prijatelja i deca koja nemaju prijatelja, uzete su prosocijalno ponašanje, socijalna prihvaćenost i socijalni uticaj koji ujedno predstavljaju indikatore socijalne adaptacije. Uzorak se sastojao od 101 deteta, koja su podeljena u dve grupe (deca koja imaju prijatelja = 54; deca koja nemaju prijatelja = 47). Razdvajanje dece u grupe koje imaju i koje nemaju prijatelja je izvršeno na osnovu sociometrijskog postupka. Pored sociometrijskog postupka, primenjena je i Skala procene prosocijalnog ponašanja ‒ forma za učiteljice. Rezultati pokazuju da postoji statistički značajna razlika između dve grupe dece po pitanju svih indikatora socijalne adaptacije. Rezultati ukazuju da deca koja imaju prijatelja ranije ispunjavaju razvojni zadatak formiranje prijateljske dijade i pokazuju viši stepen socijalne adaptacije.

Interpersonal Relations: Psychological Violence and the Student’s Status in the Academic Group

The main questions of this article were: are the different kinds of psychological violence the predictors of student’s statuses and which type of this influence we can find? The answer to these questions is an important symptom of intragroup psychological health because links between violence and statuses demonstrated relation’s quality. There were investigated such kinds of psychological violence as communicative intolerance, cynicism, aggression, hostility. We required finding the influence of these personality traits on intragroup relations and informal power, sociometric and referentometric student’s statuses. The sample consisted of 204 university psychology students of the first, the third and the fifth years. Data were collected via Sociometric (Moreno) and Referentometric (Chedrina) procedures, Power structure (Kondratiev), Questionnaire of Communicative Tolerance (Boyko) and the Cook – Medley hostility scale. According to the results of descriptive statistics the level of some investigated characteristics of psychological violence was within the mean significance. But the mean significance of communicative intolerance was more than the tendency to the communicative tolerance. All characteristics of psychological violence (intolerance, cynicism, aggression, hostility) had direct significant correlations between each other and these factors had inverse significant links with different types of statuses. Therefore we concluded that cynicism, aggression and hostility weren’t predictors of any student’s statuses in the educational group. At the same time aggression and hostility were mediators for communicative intolerance as statuses predictors lowering every kind of statuses.

Adaptation of the Participant Role Scale (PRS) in a Spanish Youth Sample

In recent years, bullying research has transitioned from investigating the characteristics of the bully-victim dyad to examining bullying as a group-level process, in which the majority of children play some kind of role. This study used a shortened adaptation of the Participant Role Scale (PRS) to identify these roles in a representative sample of 2,050 Spanish children aged 8 to 13 years. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three different roles, indicating that the adapted scale remains a reliable way to distinguish the Bully, Defender, and Outsider roles. In addition, measurement invariance of the adapted scale was examined to analyze possible gender differences among the roles. Peer status was assessed separately by gender through two sociometric procedures: the nominations-based method and the ratings-based method. Across genders, children in the Bully role were more often rated as rejected, whereas Defenders were more popular. Results suggest that although the PRS can reveal several different peer roles in the bullying process, a more clear distinction between bullying roles (i.e., Bully, Assistant, and Reinforcer) could better inform strategies for bullying interventions.

Shyness, Child–Teacher Relationships, and Socio‐Emotional Adjustment in a Sample of Italian Preschool‐Aged Children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating role of child–teacher relationship quality (i.e., closeness, conflict, and dependence) in the association between children's shyness and indices of socio‐emotional adjustment and maladjustment. The participants were Italian preschool children (63 boys; 66 girls) and two lead teachers per classroom (N = 7 classrooms). In each classroom, one teacher, randomly selected, evaluated the quality of the child–teacher relationship; the other evaluated children's social competence and maladjustment. Peer liking was measured using a sociometric procedure. Parents provided an assessment of their children's shyness. Shyness was positively related to teacher‐reported rejection and internalizing problems whereas shyness was negatively associated with closeness and conflict with teachers. Moreover, closeness, conflict, and dependence in the child–teacher relationship moderated the links between children shyness and indices of preschool social competence and maladjustment. For example, among children with low levels of closeness, shyness was negatively associated with teacher‐reported social competence and positively related to teacher‐reported peer rejection. At very high levels of dependence, there was a negative relation between shyness and social competence. The findings suggest that a positive child–teacher relationship may be a protective factor in avoiding social maladjustment in Italian scuole d'infanzia, where most pupils remain with the same teacher for 3 years. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Intrinsic Religiosity Buffers the Longitudinal Effects of Peer Victimization on Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Peer victimization is a common and potentially detrimental experience for many adolescents. However, not all youth who are exposed to peer victimization experience maladaptive outcomes, such as depression. Thus, greater attention to potential moderators of peer victimization is particularly important. The current study examined the potential moderating effect of intrinsic religiosity and religious attendance on the longitudinal association between physical and relational victimization and depressive symptoms. A diverse sample of adolescents (N = 313; Mage = 17.13 years; 54% female; 49% Caucasian, 24% African American, 19% Latino, 8% mixed race/other; 80% Christian religious affiliation) were recruited from a rural, low-income setting. Adolescents completed self-report measures of religious attendance and intrinsic religiosity, and two forms of victimization (i.e., physical and relational) were assessed using sociometric procedures in 11th grade. Depressive symptoms were measured in both 11th and 12th grade. Results suggest that relational victimization is associated prospectively with depressive symptoms only under conditions of adolescents’ low intrinsic religiosity. Findings may contribute to efforts aimed at prevention and intervention among adolescents at risk for peer victimization and depression.

Links Among Italian Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Competence, Teacher–Child Relationship Quality, and Peer Acceptance

Research Findings: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations among teacher–child relationship quality (close, conflictive, and dependent), children's social behavior, and peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool-age children (46 boys, 42 girls). Preschool teachers evaluated the quality of the teacher–child relationship and children's social behaviors (i.e., social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal). Peer-rated likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. Results indicated that conflictual teacher–child relationships were related to high aggressive behavior, and dependent teacher–child relationships were positively associated with children's anxiety-withdrawal. Moreover, we found an indirect association between close teacher–child relationship quality and peer likability through children's social competence. Practice or Policy: The findings provide evidence that the teacher–child relationship is critical for children's social behaviors and that social competence is uniquely related to peer likability.