Observations of aggressive children during peer provocation and with a best friend

Observational methods were used to examine aggressive children's peer relations in 2 contexts: when being teased by a peer and when interacting with a best friend. Because aggressive children may have more difficulty than nonaggressive children in both peer contexts, the authors also examined whether relations between behaviors across contexts varied as a function of aggression. Results indicated that aggression was related to children's behavior when provoked. Children's behavior when provoked was associated with fewer positive and more negative interactions with their best friend, particularly for aggressive children. Results are discussed with respect to social norms in middle childhood and informing interventions for aggressive children.     

Parental Attachment and Peer Relations in Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

Using Bowlby's (1988) theory of attachment relations in this meta-analytic study, we examined prior studies that assessed both parental attachment and peer relations during adolescence. The collective sample size reflects 12,482 participants across 53 studies conducted since 1970. The overall effect size between parental attachment and adolescent peer relations variables was approximately ½ SD (d =. 54). Analysis of specific peer relations dimensions indicates that parental attachment was related to both social competence and best friend relationship quality. Despite variations in study characteristics, this overall effect size appears remarkably stable. Studies that have employed higher proportions of Whites and female participants, North American samples, and measures with high reliability have yielded relatively higher effect sizes than comparison studies. The findings provide partial support for Bowlby's (1988) contention that the emotion-based interactions with parent figures have repercussions in other relationships. The modest size, however, indicates that other factors besides attachment to parents play an important role in peer relations.     

Object Relations and Ego Development: Comparison and Correlates In Middle Childhood

The significance of ego development and object relations for adaptation and adjustment in middle childhood was examined in a study of 92 nine- to twelve-year-old children. Subjects completed the Sentence Completion Test (SCT) and the Blatt Object Relations Scale (BORS) in individual sessions. BORS ratings were factor analyzed and a predominant factor of parental nurturance emerged. This factor was positively related to children's self-reported perceptions of parental involvement and autonomy support but was unrelated to the SCT. SCT findings revealed an expected pattern for middle childhood with the preponderance of children falling into impulsive, self-protective, and conformist stages of ego development. Both the SCT and BORS were examined in relation to aspects of children's cognitive and social functioning, assessed via teacher ratings, peer sociometrics, self-evaluations, and academic achievement records. Results showed that the SCT was primarily related to cognitive complexity variables, while the object relations measure was associated with both peer and self-evaluations. These nonoverlapping relations with varied child outcomes are discussed both in terms of methodological limitations and theoretical significance.     

依恋回避与学前儿童孤独感的关系：同伴拒绝的中介作用和师幼关系的调节作用

为了探讨学前儿童依恋回避对其孤独感的影响,以及同伴拒绝和师幼关系在其中的作用,研究采用问卷法和同伴提名法对193名学前儿童进行为期一年的追踪调查。结果表明：（1）依恋回避、同伴拒绝和孤独感之间两两显著正相关;（2）同伴拒绝在依恋回避和孤独感之间起中介作用;（3）师幼冲突调节了依恋回避通过同伴拒绝影响孤独感中介作用的前半路径。相对于师幼冲突程度较低的幼儿,高师幼冲突幼儿的依恋回避更容易导致高同伴拒绝进而体验较高的孤独感。     

Connectedness and autonomy support in parent-child relationships: links to children's socioemotional orientation and peer relationships

Connectedness and autonomy support in the parent-child relationship are constructs that emerge from object relations and attachment theories but that overlap with other commonly studied qualities of parent-child relationships to provide a unifying focus for research in this domain. In this study, these constructs were examined in relation to children's relational competence, including socioemotional orientation, friendship, and peer acceptance. Semistructured conversations between mothers and their 5-year-olds (N = 192) were videotaped at home and rated for (a) connectedness between the members of the dyad and (b) the parent' s support for the child's autonomy. Results showed that connectedness was correlated with children's socioemotional orientations, number of mutual friendships, and peer acceptance and that the relation between parent-child connectedness and children's peer relationships was mediated by children's prosocial-empathic orientation. Implications of these findings for theories that link parent-child relationships to the development of relational competence in children are discussed.     

Childhood Peer Relationship Problems and Young People's Involvement with Deviant Peers in Adolescence

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

Security of attachment and quality of mother-toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed.     

The Child Attachment Interview: a psychometric study of reliability and discriminant validity

While well-established attachment measures have been developed for infancy, early childhood, and adulthood, a "measurement gap" has been identified in middle childhood, where behavioral or representational measures are not yet sufficiently robust. This article documents the development of a new measure--the Child Attachment Interview (CAI)--which seeks to bridge this gap. The CAI is a semistructured interview, in which children are invited to describe their relationships with their primary caregivers. The coding system is informed by the Adult Attachment Interview and the Strange Situation Procedure, and produces 4 attachment categories along with a continuous measure of attachment security based on ratings of attachment-related dimensions. The main psychometric properties are presented, including interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validities, both for normally developing children and for those referred for mental health treatment. The CAI correlates as expected with other attachment measures and predicts independently collected ratings of social functioning. The findings suggest that the CAI is a reliable, valid, and promising measure of child-parent attachment in middle childhood. Directions for improvements to the coding system are discussed.     

The association between self-reported mother-child attachment and social initiative and withdrawal in Chinese school-aged children

The purpose of this study was to examine relations between mother-child attachment and social initiative and withdrawal in Chinese urban children. Participants were 487 school-aged children (247 boys, 240 girls) in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Data on mother-child attachment styles were collected from children's self-reports. Information concerning social initiative and social withdrawal (i.e., shyness and social disinterest) was obtained from peer nomination. Path analyses revealed that secure attachment was positively associated with social initiative, whereas ambivalent-insecure attachment was positively associated with shyness. However, avoidant-insecure attachment was not significantly associated with social disinterest. In addition, a number of gender and developmental differences were also observed.     

Prosocial foundations of children's academic achievement

The present longitudinal research demonstrates robust contributions of early prosocial behavior to children's developmental trajectories in academic and social domains. Both prosocial and aggressive behaviors in early childhood were tested as predictors of academic achievement and peer relations in adolescence 5 years later. Prosocialness included cooperating, helping, sharing, and consoling, and the measure of antisocial aspects included proneness to verbal and physical aggression. Prosocialness had a strong positive impact on later academic achievement and social preferences, but early aggression had no significant effect on either outcome. The conceptual model accounted for 35% of variance in later academic achievement, and 37% of variance in social preferences. Additional analysis revealed that early academic achievement did not contribute to later academic achievement after controlling for effects of early prosocialness. Possible mediating processes by which prosocialness may affect academic achievement and other socially desirable developmental outcomes are proposed.     

Relationships among shyness,social competence,peer relations,and theory of mind among pre-adolescents

The present study examined the relationships between shyness, a number of personal and interpersonal variables (i.e. social skills, self-esteem, attachment style, advanced Theory of Mind skills and peer relations) in a sample of 243 Greek pre-adolescents. Participants completed self-reports of the variables. Results indicated that females scored higher than males in all social skills, as well as on shyness. Males, on the other hand, reported more peer relations. Securely attached children reported more peer relationships and achieved higher scores in theory of mind tasks, than those insecurely attached, whereas the latter had higher scores in shyness. Children who reported few peer relations were more likely to obtain higher scores in shyness. Shyness was predicted by gender (girl), poor peer relations and insecure attachment. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for practice.     

Remaining or becoming secure: Parental sensitive support predicts attachment continuity from infancy to adolescence in a longitudinal adoption study

In a longitudinal study with 125 early adopted adolescents, we examined continuity of attachment from infancy to adolescence and the role of parental sensitive support in explaining continuity or discontinuity of attachment. Assessments of maternal sensitive support and infant attachment (Strange Situation Procedure) were completed when infants were 12 months old. When the children were 14 years old, we observed mothers' sensitive support during a conflict discussion. The adolescents' attachment representations were assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. Mothers of secure adolescents showed significantly more sensitive support during conflicts than did mothers of insecure adolescents. Overall, no continuity of attachment from infancy to adolescence was found. However, maternal sensitive support in early childhood and adolescence predicted continuity of secure attachment from 1 to 14 years, whereas less maternal sensitive support in early childhood but more maternal sensitive support in adolescence predicted children's change from insecurity in infancy to security in adolescence. We conclude that both early and later parental sensitive support are important for continuity of attachment across the first 14 years of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Children's emotion regulation: Self-report and physiological response to peer provocation

The authors examined the notion that children's emotion regulation (ER) is a uniform skill by (a) investigating the concordance between self-report of ER and physiological measures and by (b) examining ER in a specific context (e.g., peer provocation) and context-free manner (e.g., during a semistructured interview of ER abilities). Seventy-two children in middle childhood (average age = 9 years) participated. Time-locked measures of heart rate reactivity and recovery were obtained in response to provoking comments, and vagal regulation was measured throughout the provocation session. Children who reported greater dysregulation showed increased heart rate reactivity to provocative comments (i.e., steeper heart rate slope) but no difference in heart rate recovery. The context-free but not the context-specific self-report measure was associated with a failure to suppress vagal tone. Implications for ER measurement and children's peer relations are discussed.     

Relational and physical forms of peer victimization in preschool

Recent studies of peer victimization have demonstrated the importance of studying relational as well as physical forms of peer maltreatment for understanding children's social-psychological adjustment problems. Studies in this area have been limited thus far by a focus on school-age children (9-12-year-olds). Given the significance of early identification of children's social difficulties for intervention and prevention efforts, this research was designed to assess relational and physical peer victimization among preschool-age children (3-5-year-olds). Results indicated that boys were significantly more physically victimized than girls whereas girls were more relationally victimized. Both relational and physical victims experienced greater adjustment problems than did their peers. Relational victimization contributed unique information about adjustment beyond that provided by physical victimization.     

Early school competence: the roles of sex-segregated play and effortful control

The purpose of this research was to examine the role that young children's same-sex peer interactions play in influencing early school competence. The authors also examined the degree to which effortful control (EC) moderated these relations. The same-sex play preferences of 98 young children (50 boys and 48 girls; mean age = 54.77 months) were observed during the fall semester. At the end of the fall semester, one set of teachers reported on children's EC, and at the end of the following springsemester, another set reported on children's school competence (social, academic, and perceptual-motor). Results revealed that EC moderated the relations of children's same-sex play to their school competence. These patterns differed for boys and girls such that same-sex play was positively related to school outcomes for boys high in EC and for girls low in EC.     

儿童父母拒绝与同伴拒绝的关系:问题行为的中介作用和家庭环境纷杂度的调节作用

为探讨儿童父母拒绝、问题行为、家庭环境纷杂度和同伴拒绝的关系,该研究构建了一个有调节的中介模型。采用自我报告、母亲报告和同伴提名的方式对济南市三所小学4年级至6年级共307名被试进行测查,结果表明：（1）父母拒绝对儿童的同伴拒绝和外化问题行为均有显著的正向预测作用;（2）儿童的外化问题行为在父母拒绝与同伴拒绝之间起部分中介作用;（3）家庭环境纷杂度调节了父母拒绝通过儿童的外化问题行为影响同伴拒绝的中介过程的前半路径,即低家庭环境纷杂度可以作为一种保护因素,降低遭受父母拒绝的儿童出现外化问题行为的风险。     

Factor structure of the Friends and Family interview

The aim of this study was to specify the latent construct structure of the Friends and Family Interview (FFI: Steele & Steele, 2005) based on its dimensional scale coding protocol. The FFI is a semi-structured interview measuring attachment in middle childhood. We analyzed data from 341 FFI interviews with children aged 7–12 years, recruited in the Scandinavian Öresund Region. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a three-component model as best fitting the data. The first component, denoting attachment security, gathered all dimensional scales for evidence of secure base/safe haven regarding mother/father and coherence in the child’s narrative style, along with scales regarding reflective functioning, self-perception, and social functioning. The second component comprised preoccupying feelings of anger, but also derogation. The third component gathered all scales coding idealization. Inter-relations among the components were consistent with attachment theory, and respondents’ scores for all three components differed significantly across the four categorical attachment classifications. Affect regulation of negative emotion through anger and through derogation co-occurred, and was distinct from regulation through maintaining a belief that things are better than they appear (idealization). These two affect regulation strategies appeared commonly when reflective functioning, and an organized self-perception, and positive peer relations were less in evidence. The multi-dimensional FFI coding system appears to measure successfully these diverse features of the child’s narrative provided in response to the interview. Overall, our findings support the construct validity of the FFI and provide further evidence of its usefulness for assessing attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence.     

Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy in Families with Conduct-Problem Children: Links with Peer Relations

We addressed the question of whether mothers of conduct-problem (CP) children differ from mothers of non-CP children in their awareness and coaching of emotion, and also examined whether mother's awareness and coaching of emotion is associated with better peer relations in CP children. Meta-emotion philosophy, assessed through audio taped interviews, and preschool children's peer relations, observed in same-sex dyadic interaction with a close friend, were investigated in families with CP and non-CP children. Results indicated that mothers of CP children were less aware of their own emotions and less coaching of their children's emotions than mothers of non-CP children. Moderation analyses revealed that children's level of aggression moderated the relationship between mother's meta-emotion and children's peer play. For both aggressive and nonaggressive children, higher levels of mother awareness and coaching of emotion was associated with more positive and less negative peer play, although effects were stronger for families with nonaggressive children. These data suggest that both aggressive and nonaggressive children can benefit when parents are more aware and coaching of emotion. Implications for the development of an intervention program aimed at improving parental awareness and coaching of emotion is 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。     

Positive, negative, and neutral peer interactions as indicators of children's social competency: the issue of concurrent validity

Many studies examining the effects of treatments for socially isolated/withdrawn children have used behavioral measures to assess children's peer relations. In an attempt to examine the concurrent validity of these measures, we observed 258 preschool children during free play and coded their interactions into the categories of positive, negative, and neutral behaviors. We also interviewed these children individually, using a sociometric nomination procedure, and asked them to indicate liked and disliked peers. Our examination of the results revealed that, consistent with other research, the correlation between the sociometric measures and the children's total rate of interaction with peers was low. In addition, measures of positive, negative, and neutral behaviors were also only weakly correlated with the children's sociometric scores. We agree with others in concluding that multiple methods of assessment are needed to properly assess the adequacy of children's peer relations.