Behavior problems and peer rejection in preschool boys and girls

The authors tested the hypothesis that deviant behaviors within a preschool peer group would be linked with peer rejection, irrespective of child gender. Seventy-six children, aged 3 to 5 years, participated. Teachers rated children's behavior on the Child Adaptive Behavior Inventory, and children provided sociometric ratings. For a subsample of children (n = 47), observers coded aggressive, noncompliant, and withdrawn behavior using a time-sampling system. For both boys and girls, noncompliance, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal were associated with peer rejection; overt aggression was associated with peer rejection for boys, but not for girls. Analysis revealed that approximately half of the variance in sociometric and teacher ratings of peer rejection was accounted for by aggression and social withdrawal for both boys and girls. The results suggest that the association between behavior problems and peer rejection emerges at a very early age.     

Delinquent peer affiliation and conduct problems: A twin study

Many putative environmental risks correlate with individuals' genotypes. The association between delinquent peer affiliation and conduct problems may occur because of shared genetic liability. Five hundred fifty three monozygotic and 558 dizygotic twin pairs, aged 11 to 18 years, were assessed for delinquent peer affiliation and conduct problems. The authors investigated whether genes contribute to both delinquent peer affiliation and the correlation between delinquent peer affiliations and conduct problems. Delinquent peer affiliation was influenced by genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental factors; genetic factors also contributed to the correlation between delinquent peer affiliations and conduct problems, providing evidence for genotype-environment correlation. The magnitude of the genetic variance of conduct problems was contextually dependent on levels of delinquent peer affiliation and was greater at higher levels of delinquent peer affiliation.     

Assessment of peer rejection and externalizing behavior problems in preschool boys: a short-term longitudinal study

We examined the longitudinal stability of measures of negative peer status and aggressive-disruptive behavior in preschool boys. Subjects were 53 white 4- to 5- year- old boys from low-income family backgrounds. Peer sociometric measures of rejection and behavioral deviance were assessed in the fall and spring of the preschool year. Complementary measures were also obtained from teachers at both assessment points. Half of the boys designated as rejected on the basis of peer nominations maintained this status at the end of the preschool year. Teachers and peers did not agree on their selections of socially rejected children, but had good agreement concerning the identification of children with externalizing-type behavior problems. Finally, teacher and peer classifications of aggressive-disruptive children were highly stable throughout the preschool year. These findings indicate that peer-rejected children can be identified at very young ages, and that preschoolers can be reliable informants about the social maladjustment of peers.We thank the Head Start children, parents and staff who participated, and Karen Lifgren for her help with data collection.     

Effects of peer social initiations on the behavior of withdrawn preschool children

Social approach to peers was evaluated as an intervention for isolate preschoolers. During baseline, confederate peers made few social approaches to the target subjects. Confederates greatly increased their rate of social approaches during the first intervention, decreased social approaches during a second baseline, and increased social approaches again in a second intervention phase. Increases in confederate social initiations immediately increased the frequency of subjects' positive social behavior. Additionally, five of six subjects showed an increase in their own positive social initiations during intervention periods. The results suggest that: (a) peers may be programmed to increase the positive social behaviors of their isolate classmates, and (b) remediating social deficits requires assessment and intervention specifically tailored to the individual child.     

An experimental analysis of peer social initiations on the behavior of withdrawn preschool children: Some training and generalization effects

In this study, positive social initiations by an age-peer was evaluated as an intervention for isolate preschool children in training and generalization sessions. During baseline, the confederate made few social approaches to the target subjects. The confederate greatly increased his rate of positive social initations during the first intervention, decreased social approaches during a second baseline, and increased social approaches again in a second intervention phase. Increases in confederate initiations resulted in an immediate acceleration in the frequency of subjects' positive social behavior during training sessions. Additionally, for two of the three subjects, positive social behaviors were also observed to increase during generalization sessions. The results suggest that (a) peers may be trained successfully to set the occasion for positive social behaviors by withdrawn classmates, (b) increased social responding by withdrawn children in the presence of frequent peer social initiations may also generalize beyond the training setting, and (c) the magnitude of direct and generalization effects appears to be related to the entry-level repertoire of target children.     

A typology of behavior problems in preschool children

The purpose of this study was to produce a typology of behavior problems in preschool children. Distinct subtypes were identified through the use of cluster analytic techniques on data from the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC)-Parent Rating Scales. Analyses were based on archival data collected on a sample of 268 children, aged 2 to 5 years, who were referred to determine their suitability for a day treatment program. Five distinct and reliable subtypes of preschool children's behavior problems emerged. Ratings of adaptive and social skills based on the BASC Adaptive Scales and measures from the Parenting Stress Index served as external variables to assess the distinctiveness of the derived subtypes. The findings provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the subtypes identified in this study that are consistent with the findings of previous subtyping investigations focusing on school-aged children.     

Defensiveness predicts peer rejection of depressed children

The present study examined the ironic possibility that defensiveness, far from suppressing depression and staving off negative interpersonal consequences, is actually associated with interpersonal difficulties (e.g. peer rejection). Participants were 72 youth psychiatric inpatients (aged 7-17 years, mean+/-SD 13.18+/-2.59 years), who completed self-report measures of defensiveness and depression. Chart diagnoses were available, and peer rejection ratings were collected. Results indicated that depressed children with a defensive style obtained the highest peer rejection ratings, other children, including depressed but non-defensive children, were not as negatively rated by peers. Implications regarding self-presentation and depression, as well as regarding clinical work with depressed people, were discussed.     

Videotape modeling for preschool children with low levels of social interaction and low peer involvement in play

This research evaluated a videotape modeling intervention for six preschool children who showed low levels of social involvement with peers in natural free-play settings. Observations across 14 weeks gave frequency and topographic data on social interactions and assessment of social involvement in play using the Parten Scale. Simultaneous observation of three children gave data on two comparison children for each target child. A multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used with two data analysis strategies. Averaged group data showed statistically significant increases in both interactions and social involvement in play. Visual analysis of the single-subject data, however, indicated no clear treatment outcome for two children, while four subjects showed a variable increase in social responding after viewing the modeling videotape. Session-by-session variability was a feature of the interaction rate measure for comparison children and for posttreatment phase data for target subjects.This research was supported by Grant No. 62-262-98 from the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and by University of Otago Research Committee Grant No. 37-877. Grateful acknowledgment is extended to Dan McKerracher and Ted Glynn for valued comments at various stages of the research. Appreciation is extended to the teachers and children of the Dunedin Free Kindergartens who participated in the study.     

Inhibition and exuberance in preschool classrooms: associations with peer social experiences and changes in cortisol across the preschool year

Associations between behavioral inhibition and activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system, a stress-sensitive neuroendocrine system indexed by salivary cortisol, have varied widely across studies. In the current study, we examined the role of peer social experiences in moderating patterns of association between inhibition/risk-aversion and cortisol reactivity. As expected based on previous research, preschool children (N = 165, 78 boys, 87 girls, 3.0-5.0 years) had significantly different social experiences in their preschool classrooms depending on temperament. Highly inhibited/risk-averse children were less socially integrated, less dominant, and less involved in aggressive encounters than both average and highly exuberant/risk-seeking children, but they were no more likely to be peer rejected. Highly exuberant children were more dominant, exhibited anger more often, and had friendships characterized by higher conflict. Cortisol levels fell from fall to spring for average and highly exuberant children but not for highly inhibited children. Unexpectedly, for highly inhibited children, having friends and being more dominant and popular than other highly inhibited children was associated with increasing cortisol levels over the school year. In contrast, highly exuberant children who were less socially integrated than other highly exuberant children maintained higher cortisol levels. Results indicate that the types of social experiences that affect stress-responsive biological systems may differ markedly for highly inhibited and highly exuberant children.     

Linking family characteristics with poor peer relations: The mediating role of conduct problems

Parent, teacher, and peer ratings were collected for 75 grade school boys to test the hypothesis that certain family interaction patterns would be associated with poor peer relations. Path analyses provided support for a mediational model, in which punitive and ineffective discipline was related to child conduct problems in home and school settings which, in turn, predicted poor peer relations. Further analyses suggested that distinct subgroups of boys could be identified who exhibited conduct problems at home only, at school only, in both settings, or in neither setting. Boys who exhibited cross-situational conduct problems were more likely to experience multiple concurrent problems (e.g., in both home and school settings) and were more likely than any other group to experience poor peer relations. However, only about one-third of the boys with poor peer relations in this sample exhibited problem profiles consistent with the proposed model (e.g., experienced high rates of punitive/ineffective home discipline and exhibited conduct problems in home and school settings), suggesting that the proposed model reflects one common (but not exclusive) pathway to poor peer relations.     

Social competence and conduct problems in young children: issues in assessment

Examined the differences in various facets of social competence in 2 groups of young children (ages 4-7 years)--a clinic-referred group of aggressive children (N = 60) diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder or conduct problems and a matched comparison group of typically developing children (N = 60). Four aspects of social competence were assessed: social information processing, actual observations of conflict management skills and social play interactions during peer interactions, positive social interactions with mothers and fathers at home, and teacher reports of social competence. The social information processing assessed included problem-solving skills (hypothetical skills as demonstrated on a social problem-solving test), self-perceptions (child's awareness of his or her own social self and feelings of loneliness), perceptions of others (attributions), and perceptions of others' attitudes toward oneself. To determine the construct validity of various means of assessing child social competence, we correlated children's social information processing measures with parent and teacher reports of social adjustment and with actual observations of interactions during peer play and at home with parents. Results comparing the 2 groups suggest that young children with conduct problems have deficits in their social information processing awareness or interpretation of social cues--they overestimate their own social competence and misattribute hostile intent to others. Tests of cognitive problem solving and observations of peer play interactions indicated that the children with conduct problems had significantly fewer positive problem-solving strategies and positive social skills, more negative conflict management strategies, and delayed play skills with peers than the comparison children. Correlation analyses indicated significant correlations between children's negative attributions and the ratio of positive to negative problem-solving strategies with observations of peer play interactions.     

Joint drumming: social context facilitates synchronization in preschool children

The human capacity to synchronize body movements to an external acoustic beat enables uniquely human behaviors such as music making and dancing. By hypothesis, these first evolved in human cultures as fundamentally social activities. We therefore hypothesized that children would spontaneously synchronize their body movements to an external beat at earlier ages and with higher accuracy if the stimulus was presented in a social context. A total of 36 children in three age groups (2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 years) were invited to drum along with either a human partner, a drumming machine, or a drum sound coming from a speaker. When drumming with a social partner, children as young as 2.5 years adjusted their drumming tempo to a beat outside the range of their spontaneous motor tempo. Moreover, children of all ages synchronized their drumming with higher accuracy in the social condition. We argue that drumming together with a social partner creates a shared representation of the joint action task and/or elicits a specific human motivation to synchronize movements during joint rhythmic activity.     

Parent and peer social support compensation and internalizing problems in adolescence

The general benefits of social support are well-documented; however, little is understood about the unique contributions of social support from specific sources, such as parents and peers. In addition, it is unknown whether social support from some sources might buffer against a lack of social support from another source for the outcome of internalizing problems. The current study investigated two research questions: (a) What is the association between social support from mothers, fathers, classmates, and close friends and internalizing problems for adolescent boys and girls? and (b) Can social support from one source (e.g., mothers) buffer against internalizing problems when social support from another source (e.g., fathers) may be lacking? Do these associations vary by gender? These research questions were examined with a sample of 364 middle school students (61.3% female). Students completed a series of self-report questionnaires assessing social support and internalizing symptoms. Multiple group structural equation models indicated that social support provided general benefits from all sources for early adolescent boys and girls. Regarding stress-buffering with low support as a stressor, no evidence was found for compensation between mothers and fathers. Mother support compensated for low classmate support for both boys and girls and father support compensated for low classmate support for boys. Classmate support compensated for low close friend support for boys. Implications in the context of the school environment for both boys and girls are discussed.     

Psychological correlates of peer victimisation in preschool: social cognitive skills,executive function and attachment profiles

Most research into peer victimisation has focussed on children aged 8 years and above and has included a study of the correlates of victimisation, including cognitive and social skills, and attachment profiles. Recent research has started to investigate aggression and victimisation in younger groups and has found that the nature of aggression differs from that in older children in terms of the types of victimisation involved and the stability of the roles. This study investigated some of the correlates of roles taken in victimisation in 104 children aged 4–6 years, using a cartoon methodology to elicit peer nominations for aggressor, victim, and defender. It examined the social cognitive abilities, executive function skills, and attachment profiles of aggressors, victims, and defenders. Victims did not exhibit poor performance on the social cognitive tasks or have insecure attachment qualities as has been found with victims during middle childhood. Aggressors did not perform highly on the social cognitive tasks in contrast to older aggressors and bullies. Defenders were found to perform above average (although not significantly different from other groups) on the social cognitive tasks. These findings are related to the nature of aggression and victimisation at this age, and a developmental change hypothesis is proposed to accommodate them. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–18, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Assessing social competencies in lower income preschool children

This study examined social competencies in 4-year-old, lower income, nonwhite preschool children in a replication of work by Shure, Spivack, and Jaeger. Age differential interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills were investigated, i.e., ability to generate alternative solutions to interpersonal problems, consequential thinking, and school achievement as they relate to behavioral adjustment ratings by teachers and independent observers. A teacher's rating of a child as aberrant or adjusted predicted an independent observer's rating of that child in a naturalistic setting. Children who were rated as adjusted by their teachers had significantly higher scores on an achievement inventory than those children who were rated aberrant, but the study did not find the predicted relationship between problem-solving thinking and adjustment. A version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York, September 1979. The study was supported by grants from the McGregor Fund, the Eloise and Richard Webber Foundation, the David M. Whitney Fund and by the Detroit Public Schools Region 7, for which the authors express grateful appreciation. The authors also wish to thank Myrna B. Shure for her help in carrying out this replication.     

Sex differences in social memory among preschool children

Preschool children, 17 boys and 18 girls, attending a day-care center, were presented with photographs of all 37 children in the center and required to supply the name of each pictured child. Girls made significantly fewer errors in identification than boys (p<.05), although boys spent more time in the day-care program (p<.025). Girls were, on the average, 4 months older than boys (p<.01), but age was not significantly correlated with number of identification errors. No sex differences were obtained on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, memory, or perceptual-performance scales of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. Results were consistent with previous findings for college students and were interpreted in terms of differential child-rearing practices and observational learning.This research was supported by Grant 216-15-36 from the Cooperative State Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, to the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.     

A comparative analysis of the effects of social skill training and teacher-directed contingencies on social behavior of preschool children with disabilities

This study investigated the effects of an analog social skill training program and a teacher-directed contingency strategy on promoting social responding among four preschool children with mild disabilities and their peers. The social skill training program consisted of five lessons targeting the skill areas: Initiating, responding, and maintaining social interactions. The teacher directed contingency consisted of prompting target children when they were not socially involved with peers, and providing verbal praise when they were socially involved with peers. Subjects were divided into two training pairs and received both interventions in a reversal design. Presentation order was counterbalanced across the two training pairs. Results indicated that the teacher directed contingency was more effective in promoting higher levels of social responding in a free-play setting. Results also suggest that social skill training may not always be a necessary prerequisite to promote increased social interactions among children who display low rates of social interaction with peers, but possess necessary skills.     

Hyperactive children and peer interaction: Knowledge and performance of social skills

This study investigated hyperactive children's peer relations using the framework of social skills theory. Subjects' (15 hyperactive and 15 control boys aged 7 through 11) knowledge of socially appropriate behavior was assessed using the Social Knowledge Interview (Geraci & Asher, 1980). Additionally, performance of social skills with peers was rated by independent judges during free play, a cooperative puzzle task, and a persuasion task. Peers also rated subjects'desirability as partners for work, play, and friendship. Analyses showed that hyperactive subjects had deficits in knowledge of how to maintain relationships and handle interpersonal conflict, and demonstrated more negative behavior in the cooperative puzzle task than did controls. Hyperactive subjects also were rated by judges as less likely to achieve academic success than controls and were rated by peers as less desirable potential work partners in school. Significant correlations between social knowledge and performance with peers were found. It was concluded that hyperactive boys exhibit deficits both in their social knowledge and in their performance of socially skilled behavior.This research was conducted as part of doctoral research by the first author, under the supervision of the second and third authors. We are grateful for the assistance of Diane Arnkoff, who served on the committee, for her helpful comments and suggestions. Thanks also go to Al Farrell for his statistical consultation. We gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of the Georgetown University Child Development Center, where the data were collected.     

The social concomitants of competitive and impatient/aggressive components of the Type A behavior pattern in preschool children: peer responses and teacher utterances in a naturalistic setting

The Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) was used to classify 120 children from 9 preschool classrooms as high or low on behaviors associated with the Type A pattern. Peer responses to the children were gathered sociometrically and utterances of classroom teachers were tape recorded in a naturalistic setting. Boys gave higher sociometric ratings to high competitive girls and girls gave higher ratings to low-competitive boys. Teacher verbal utterances addressed to high-competitive children were characterized by less challenging cognitive processes and lower affective quality. Teacher verbal utterances addressed to children high on impatience/aggression were characterized by lower affective quality, fewer opportunities for child autonomy, more social/behavioral instructions, and more physical expressions of affection.     

Physiological correlates of conduct problems and anxiety in hyperactive and learning-disabled children

Thirtysix learning disabled children (21 of whom were also classified as hyperactive) were subgrouped according to teacher ratings of tension-anxiety and conduct problems and then compared on measures of tonic and phasic autonomic arousal. The results indicated that children rated high on the conduct problem dimension evidenced smaller amplitude specific skin conductance responses, and that anxiety appeared to exert a moderating effect on physiological responses. When the hyperactive sample was considered separately, lower skin conductance levels were observed in children rated high on conduct problems than in hyperactive children rated low in conduct problems. These findings support the notion that hyperactive and learning-disabled children are heterogeneous at a physiological level and suggest that physiological differences previously attributed to hyperactivity may actually be correlates of the conduct problem dimension.