Joint Contributions of Peer Acceptance and Peer Academic Reputation to Achievement in Academically At Risk Children: Mediating Processes

The longitudinal relationships between two dimensions of peer relationships and subsequent academic adjustment were investigated in a sample of 543 relatively low achieving children (M = 6.57 years at Year 1, 1(st) grade). Latent variable SEM was used to test a four stage model positing indirect effects of peer acceptance and peer academic reputation (PAR) assessed in Year 2 on academic achievement in Year 5, via the effects of the peer relationships variables on perceived academic competence in Year 3 and effortful engagement in Year 4. As expected, the effect of PAR on engagement was partially mediated by perceived academic competence, and the effect of perceived academic competence on achievement was partially mediated by engagement. In the context of PAR, peer acceptance did not contribute to the mediating variables or to achievement. Findings provide a clearer understanding of the processes by which early peer-relationships influence concurrent and future school-related outcomes. Implications for educational practice and future research are discussed.     

幼儿同伴关系发展的稳定性

研究采用同伴提名法,从2004年到2008年对三个自然班幼儿(71名)群体水平的同伴关系分别在三个时间点开始从小班到大班的追踪,考察学前期幼儿同伴关系连续变量的稳定性,结果发现:(1)幼儿同伴接纳、同伴拒绝、社会偏好和社会影响的稳定性受年龄和时间间隔的影响,在中班与大班之间均存在中等相关,而社会偏好和同伴接纳在小班与中班也存在中等相关,社会偏好在小班与大班也存在中等相关;(2)幼儿社会偏好发展模式经聚类分析为4组:一般偏好稳定组、高偏好稳定组、一般到高偏好变化组和低偏好变化组,64.79%的幼儿社会偏好发展保持稳定;(3)幼儿从小班起,女孩比男孩一直更少受到同伴拒绝,更多受到同伴偏爱。总体而言,学前期幼儿同伴关系发展具有中等稳定性,中班是稳定性发展的重要时期。     

The impact of peer relations on academic progress in junior high

The purpose of this study is to examine whether peer relations within classrooms were related to students' academic progress, and if so, whether this can be explained by students' relatedness and engagement, in line with Connell and Wellborn's self-system model. We analyzed data of 18,735 students in 796 school classes in Dutch junior high schools, using multilevel analysis. Academic progress, conceptualized as regular promotion to the next year versus grade retention, moving upward, and moving downward in the track system, was measured at the time of transition between Grades 1 and 2 (equivalent to US Grades 7 and 8). The results indicated that students who were accepted by their peers had lower probabilities to retain a grade or to move downward in the track system. Although peer acceptance was associated with relatedness and engagement, these variables did not explain why peer acceptance was associated to academic progress. Furthermore, peer acceptance and relatedness were more strongly related in classes with more negative class climates.     

Peer Perceptions and Liking of Children with Anxiety Disorders

Examined three aspects of childhood anxiety and peer liking: (1) whether or not children can detect anxiety in age-mates, (2) the degree to which peer-reported anxiety, self-reported anxiety, and presence of anxiety disorders are associated with peer liking, and (3) whether or not self-reported anxiety and presence of anxiety disorders are associated with peer liking after controlling for peer-reported anxiety. Peer raters (9.5–12.5 years) rated videotaped speech samples of target children with anxiety disorders (AD; 9.5–13 years) and target children without anxiety disorders (NAD; 9.5–13 years). Peer-rated anxiety was positively correlated with target children’s self-reported anxiety and was higher among children with AD and children with social phobia (SP). Peer liking was inversely related to peer-reported anxiety and was lower for target children with SP. Target children with SP were liked less regardless of how anxious peers perceived them to be. Peer rater and target child demographics did not moderate the relationship between peer-rated anxiety and peer liking.     

Concurrent and short‐term longitudinal associations between peer victimization and school and recess liking during middle childhood

Background Prior studies outside of the UK have shown that peer victimization is negatively associated with school adjustment. Aims To examine concurrent and short‐term longitudinal associations between peer victimization (physical, malicious teasing, deliberate social exclusion, and malicious gossiping) and two measures of school adjustment (school liking and recess liking), and test if these associations were moderated by year and sex. Sample A UK sample of 429 pupils in Years 4, 5, and 6 (Grades 3, 4, and 5, respectively, in USA) participated in the Autumn/Winter (Time 1) and 189 of these provided follow‐up data during the Spring/Summer (Time 2) of the same school year. Method Peer nominations of victimization, and self‐reports of school adjustment were collected in individual and small group interviews. Results At time 2 (but not Time 1), victimization predicted concurrent school liking among year 6 pupils but not among year 4/5 pupils, and victimization predicted recess liking among all pupils. Victimization also predicted changes in School liking among boys (not girls) and among Year 6 (not Year 4/5) pupils, and victimization predicted changes in recess liking among all pupils. Conclusions The associations between victimization and poor school adjustment found elsewhere were replicated with this British sample. The implications of these results for children's social adjustment at school were discussed.     

Behavioral predictors of changes in social relatedness and liking school in elementary school

Normative trends and behavioral predictors for three dimensions of social relatedness were examined in a 6-month longitudinal study of 383 students in Grades 3, 4 and 5. Student reports of social relatedness (teacher supportiveness, school supportiveness, loneliness) and liking school indicated that students in each of the grades felt less positive about the school environment and liked school less in the Spring compared to the Fall. Girls reported higher levels of teacher supportiveness and school supportiveness. Reports of school supportiveness were lower among students at higher grade levels. Teacher-rated aggression predicted declines in students' perceptions of teacher supportiveness, increases in their sense of loneliness, and decreases in reports of liking school across the school year. Teacher-rated closeness predicted the maintenance of student perceptions of high levels of relatedness. Peer social preference predicted increases in loneliness. A path model indicated that the association between aggressive behavior and liking school was mediated by the association between aggressive behavior and perceptions of teacher supportiveness.     

The Role of Teacher Cognition and Behavior in Children’s Peer Relations

This study explored the role of the classroom teacher in peers’ evaluations of liking and disliking of their classmates. Teacher cognitions about children (teacher liking of students, teacher attributions for aggressive student behavior) and teacher behavior toward children (positive, corrective/negative) were examined as mediators in the link between children’s own behavior (aggression, prosocial behavior) and peer liking and disliking. Participants were 127 second-graders in 12 classrooms (64 males, 63 females). Data on child behavior were collected through peer and teacher report, data on teacher cognitions about children were collected through self report, data on teacher behavior toward children were collected through naturalistic classroom observations, and data on peer liking and disliking were collected through peer nominations. Data were analyzed using path analysis. Results indicated that teacher cognitions about children and corrective/negative teacher behavior toward children mediated the relations between aggressive and prosocial child behavior and peer disliking.     

Being liked is more than having a good personality: The role of matching

Is possession of desirable personality characteristics the only predictor that someone will be well-liked in a group of acquaintances, or does similarity to others in the group also matter? We tested participants (n = 844) who had been assigned to peer groups and had spent 6 weeks together. Participants assessed self and peer personalities. We found that after controlling for attributions of desirable and undesirable personality characteristics, individuals with similar personality patterns liked each other more than individuals with dissimilar patterns. Further analysis revealed similarity of basic demographic attributes (i.e., sex and race) predicted liking independent of personality similarity. Results provide a comprehensive analysis of relations between personality similarity and liking among acquaintances in a randomized, naturalistic design.     

Unpopularity and disliking among peers: Partially distinct dimensions of adolescents' social experiences

The paper examines whether unpopularity and disliking among peers are partially distinct dimensions of adolescents' negative social experience. We recruited 418 students (187 boys, 231 girls, M = 12.12 years, SD = 4.33) from an urban junior high school. These early adolescents completed a peer nomination inventory assessing aspects of their social relationships with peers (i.e., popularity, liking, unpopularity and disliking), reciprocated friendships and behavioral reputations with peers (i.e., relationally and overtly aggressive, relationally and overtly victimized, withdrawn and prosocial). The participants also completed self-report inventories assessing their feelings of loneliness and peer victimization. In addition, academic performance data was obtained directly from school records. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that unpopularity and disliking among peers were associated with different behaviors. Unpopularity was also associated with reports of loneliness, relational victimization and low numbers of reciprocated friends, whereas disliking was associated with low academic performance. These results highlight the importance of multidimensional conceptualizations of negative social experiences in early adolescence and the differential risks associated with unpopularity and disliking among peers.     

Expectations and perceptions at school transitions: The role of peer status and aggression

This study integrated research on aggression, peer status, and social and academic functioning across the middle- and high-school transitions. We examined how peer status and aggression are related to adolescents' expectations about their academic and social functioning in a new school system before the transition into that system, and their perceived academic and social functioning after the transition. Social preference, perceived popularity, overt and relational aggression, and social and academic expectations were assessed in Grades 5 and 8; identical peer status and aggression constructs and perceived social and academic functioning were assessed in Grades 6 and 9. Results indicated moderate correlations between adolescents' social and academic expectations and perceived functioning across both school transitions. Girls reported higher social and academic functioning than boys did in most cases. Perceived popularity was consistently positively associated with academic and social expectations for middle and high school, whereas social preference was associated with perceived social functioning in both middle school and high school. The link between aggression and outcome variables varied by age and was moderated by gender and peer status.     

The Relevance of Self‐Evaluations for Students' Career Optimism

This study investigated how people's beliefs regarding their vocational abilities (i.e., career decision self‐efficacy) are associated with their perceived academic control, self‐liking, and self‐competence. It also assessed the relevance of these 4 types of self‐beliefs for personal job optimism among 268 Croatian college students. Results indicated that participants' career decision self‐efficacy and perceptions of their chances of finding jobs nationwide were significant predictors of personal job optimism. Furthermore, the influences of self‐competence and perceived academic control on personal job optimism were mediated by career decision self‐efficacy. These results extend previous research and may be informative for vocational guidance interventions.     

Peer relationships and adolescents’ academic and non‐academic outcomes: Same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer effects and the mediating role of school engagement

Background. The literature has documented theoretical/conceptual models delineating the facilitating role of peer relationships in academic and non‐academic outcomes. However, the mechanisms through which peer relationships link to those outcomes is an area requiring further research. Aims. The study examined the role of adolescents’ perceptions of their relationships with same‐sex and opposite‐sex peers in predicting their academic performance and general self‐esteem and the potentially mediating role of school engagement in linking these perceived peer relationships with academic and non‐academic outcomes. Sample. The sample comprised 1,436 high‐school students (670 boys, 756 girls; 711 early adolescents, 723 later adolescents). Method. Self‐report measures and objective achievement tests were used. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to test the hypothesized model and its invariance across gender and age groups. Results. Perceived same‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with academic performance and general self‐esteem. Perceived opposite‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with general self‐esteem and an indirect positive link with academic performance, but mediation via school engagement was not as strong as that of perceived same‐sex peer relationships. These findings generalized across gender and age groups. Conclusion. Adolescents’ same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer relationships seem to positively impact their academic performance and general self‐esteem in distinct ways. It appears that school engagement plays an important role in mediating these peer relationship effects, particularly those of same‐sex peer relationships, on academic and non‐academic functioning. Implications for psycho‐educational theory, measurement, and practice are discussed.     

Peer attachment and self-esteem: A meta-analytic review

Peer attachment might provide individuals with opportunities to build their sense of self-worth. The purpose of this paper was to meta-analytically review literature on peer attachment and self-esteem. A total of 22 articles reporting 24 studies documenting correlations between peer attachment and self-esteem in adolescents and emerging adults were included in this meta-analysis. Of these studies, most examined links between global peer attachment and self-esteem, while few studies reported any associations between specific dimensions of peer attachment (i.e., trust, communication, and alienation) and self-esteem. Results showed significant correlations between peer attachment and self-esteem, consistently found both in studies focused on global attachment as well as in studies including specific attachment dimensions. Furthermore, since a significant heterogeneity was found across the studies, the effects of various categorical and continuous moderators related to characteristics of the study samples and designs were tested. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Interrelations that foster learning: An investigation of two correlational studies

The theoretical tenets of academic engagement, as outlined by Schaufeli and colleagues, have received limited attention. There is credence to indicate that Schaufeli et al.'s conceptualization has educational implications. Extending this avenue of inquiry, we report two longitudinal studies that explore the motivation‐related attributes of engagement within the framework of self‐efficacy. A number of research questions were developed for examination—for example, does enactive learning experience influence academic achievement, via students' engrossment (i.e. absorption) of a subject matter? Does students' sense of resilience and persistence (i.e. vigor) heighten their self‐efficacy beliefs for academic learning? For the two studies (Study 1: 311 Year 11 students; Study 2: 249 Year 12 students), utilizing different cohorts, we measured these constructs at multiple time points. Existing Likert‐scale inventories were administered repeatedly, and data collected were analysed using causal modeling procedures. MPlus 7.2 yielded a number of key findings—for example: (a) the positive impact of Time 1 enactive learning experience on Time 2 absorption and vigor, (b) the positive impact of Time absorption on Time 3 self‐efficacy, (c) the positive impact of Time 2 absorption on Time 4 achievement and (d) the positive impact of Time 1 self‐efficacy on Time 2 absorption and vigor.     

Friendships with Peers Who are Low or High in Aggression as Moderators of the Link between Peer Victimization and Declines in Academic Functioning

This paper reports two prospective investigations of the role of friendship in the relation between peer victimization and grade point averages (GPA). Study 1 included 199 children (105 boys, 94 girls; mean age of 9.1 years) and Study 2 included 310 children (151 boys, 159 girls; mean age of 8.5 years). These children were followed for two school years. In both projects, we assessed aggression, victimization, and friendship with a peer nomination inventory, and we obtained children's GPAs from a review of school records. Peer victimization was associated with academic declines only when children had either a high number of friends who were above the classroom mean on aggression or a low number of friends who were below the classroom mean on aggression. These results highlight the importance of aggression levels among friends for the academic adjustment of victimized children.     

Relations among peer acceptance,inhibitory control,and math achievement in early adolescence

This study examined relations among peer acceptance, inhibitory control, and math achievement in ninety-nine 4th and 5th grade early adolescents. Teachers rated students on peer acceptance and students completed a computerized executive function task assessing inhibitory control. Math achievement was assessed via end of year math grades. Results indicated that both inhibitory control and peer acceptance were positively and significantly related to math achievement. In addition, peer acceptance significantly mediated the relationship between inhibitory control and math grades when all three variables were entered simultaneously in a linear regression model. These results suggest that peer acceptance is an important indicator of social functioning and plays a significant part in academic success in the classroom. Results also suggest that indicators of social functioning – such as peer acceptance – need to be included in addition to cognitive functioning, when examining academic achievement in early adolescence.     

Malingering on the Personality Assessment Inventory: Identification of Specific Feigned Disorders

Summary: Two nonverbal methods for assessing degree of interpersonal attraction were explored. Twenty children ranging from 11 to 13 years of age were asked to select two liked and two disliked classmates of the same sex. On four different trials, subjects selected one geometric block to represent themselves and one to represent a pre-selected classmate, then placed the figures on a ruled board. Distance between objects was measured and found to be significantly related to degree of peer liking. In addition, subjects were asked to draw each of the four peers. The human figure drawings were rated for total pictorial detail which was found to vary strongly across magnitude of liking for female subjects, and for parts integration which was found to vary with degree of peer liking for both sexes. The degree of rated positive affective tone of drawings was also found to increase with liking. Implications for the use of these two interpersonal assessment techniques in clinical practice were discussed.     

Nonverbal assessment of interpersonal affect.

Two nonverbal methods for assessing degree of interpersonal attraction were explored. Twenty children ranging from 11 to 13 years of age were asked to select two liked and two disliked classmates of the same sex. On four different trials, subjects selected one geometric block to represent themselves and one to represent a pre-selected classmate, then placed the figures on a ruled board. Distance between objects was measured and found to be significantly related to degree of peer liking. In addition, subjects were asked to draw each of the four peers. The human figure drawings were rated for total pictorial detail which was found to vary strongly across magnitude of liking for female subjects, and for parts integration which was found to vary with degree of peer liking for both sexes. The degree of rated positive affective tone of drawings was also found to increase with liking. Implications for the use of these two interpersonal assessment techniques in clinical practice were discussed.     

Pupils' liking for school: Ability grouping,self‐concept and perceptions of teaching

Background. Research indicates that affective aspects of development provide a basis for autonomous learning. Pupils' liking for school may be a useful indicator of their relationships with teachers and the school. Aims. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to establish the properties of a measure of pupils' liking for school and to examine associations between this measure, pupils' experiences in lessons, their self‐concepts and the amount of setting implemented in school. Sample. A stratified sample of 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools was selected for the research. Schools represented a variety of ability‐grouping practices in the lower school (Years 7–9), from completely mixed‐ability to setting in all academic subjects. All Year 9 pupils were included in the sample. Methods. Pupils completed a questionnaire containing items on their self‐concept, liking for school, and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science. Data on pupils' gender, ethnic origin, social disadvantage and attainment was also collected. Results and conclusions. The properties and correlates of scales indicating pupils' liking for school and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science are established. Liking for school is greater among girls, pupils with higher academic self‐concepts, and those with more positive perceptions of teaching. Pupils are more positive about teaching they experience in English than in mathematics or science. When other variables are statistically controlled, there is no significant effect of the extent of ability grouping in the school as a whole. Affective aspects of learning should not be neglected in the drive to raise standards.