Peer Sociometric Status and Personality Development from Middle Childhood to Preadolescence

Sociometric status, the regard that other group members confer to an individual, is one of the most ubiquitous and behaviourally relevant attributes assigned to the person by the social environment. Despite this, its contribution to personality development has received little attention. The present three‐wave longitudinal study, spanning the age range 7–13 years (n = 1222), sought to fill this gap by examining the transactional pathways between peer sociometric status (measured by peer nominations) and Five‐Factor personality traits (measured by self‐ratings and parent and teacher ratings). Sociometric status prospectively predicted the development of extraversion. By contrast, agreeableness and neuroticism prospectively predicted the development of sociometric status. Furthermore, individual‐level stability in extraversion was associated with individual‐level stability in sociometric status. The results were robust across different sources of personality ratings. We argue that peer sociometric status in the school classroom is the type of environmental effect that has potential to explain personality development. Because of its stability, broadness, and possible impact across a variety of personality processes, sociometric status can both repetitiously and simultaneously influence the network of multiple inter‐correlated micro‐level personality processes, potentially leading to a new network equilibrium that manifests in changes at the level of the broad personality trait. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Peer harassment in primary school: the role of peers and its relationship with sociometric status

During the last decade, there has been a change in peer harassment research from a focus on the characteristics of the Aggressor-Victim dyad to the recognition of peer harassment as a whole group process, with most of children playing some kind of role. This study uses a shortened adaptation of the Participant-Role Questionnaire approach to identify these roles in 2,050 Spanish children aged 8 to 13 years. These Participant Roles were related to belonging to one of the five sociometric status groups. Factor analysis revealed four different roles, indicating that the adapted scale remains a reliable way of distinguishing the Aggressor, Victim, Defender of the victim, and Outsider roles. Boys played the roles of Aggressor and Victim significantly more frequently. The children's Participant Role was found to be related to their sociometric status. Progress in the measurement of peer harassment as a group process and the success of intervention strategies may depend on finding clearer distinctions among the different peer roles, mobilizing peer pressure, and isolating aggressors from their social support.     

The Stability of Peer Sociometric Ratings Across Ecological Settings

Although children's peer relations extend beyond the classroom, researchers have focused almost exclusively on evaluting sociometric status within the school setting. In the present study, a roster-and-rating method was used to assess the relationship between the sociometric status of 20 fifth-grade students in the classroom and in adult supervised activity groups outside of school. In addition, the 6-month stability of peer sociometric ratings in school was assessed. The correlational results showed that a child's sociometric standing in the classroom was a strong predictor of his or her standing in outside groups, and that the 6-month stability of peer sociometric ratings at school was quite high. The results are encouraging for researchers who use classroom sociometric ratings as global indices of peer relations.     

Aggression and social status: the moderating roles of sex and peer‐valued characteristics

Research on peer rejection has long emphasized links between aggressive behavior and peer liking, with aggressive children and adolescents being more rejected by peers. However, recent research shows that at least some aggressive students enjoy considerable power and influence and are perceived as “popular” within the peer group. To understand the processes underlying links between aggression and social status, the present research considered three distinct indices of social status (social preference, perceived popularity, and power) and investigated the degree to which the possession of peer‐valued characteristics moderated the links between status and aggression and whether these links varied by sex. A sample of 585 adolescents (grades 6–10) completed peer evaluation measures assessing social status, aggression (overt/physical, indirect/relational), and the degree to which peers possessed eight different peer‐valued characteristics (e.g., attractiveness, athleticism, etc.). Although sociometric indices of status were significantly related to perceived popularity, especially for boys, perceptions of power were more strongly linked to perceived popularity than to sociometric likeability. Moreover, the three indices of social status were differentially related to peers' assessments of aggression and to peer‐valued characteristics, with notable sex differences. As predicted, regression analyses demonstrated that the observed relationships between social status and aggression were moderated by the possession of peer‐valued characteristics; aggressive students who possessed peer‐valued characteristics enjoyed higher levels of perceived popularity and power and less disliking than those who did not. This relationship varied as a function of sex, the type of aggression considered, and the status construct predicted. Aggr. Behav. 32:396–408, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Grouping strategies, peer influence, and free time as classroom management techniques with first- and third-grade children

This study systematically investigated the effects of different procedures on classroom behaviors ranging from teacher designated seating groups and seating groups based on sociometric data to peer encouragement and free time reinforcers. Subjects were first- and third-grade children in classrooms using a Follow Through program model. Data were taken on the attending behavior of the children in small groups arranged by the teacher. The level of appropriate attending behavior was low and did not increase when the groups were restructured based on sociometric data. The introduction of instructions to the peer groups to help the child with his or her work brought about a major increase in the third-grade subjects' appropriate behavior. Appropriate attending behavior for the first-grade children did not increase to the predetermined acceptable level until a free time period for each peer group was made contingent upon the appropriate behavior of the subject in each group. Frequencies of verbal interactions suggested peer attention has an effect on the appropriateness of peer interactions.     

Children's verbalizations and cheating behavior during game playing: the role of sociometric status,aggression, and gender

The first goal of this study was to investigate sociometric status, aggression, and gender differences in children's verbalizations and cheating behavior during game playing using a fine-grained observational coding system. The second goal was to control for the effects of differential peer treatment and bias on children's behavior by observing children in a standardized procedure with unfamiliar peer confederates. Participants were 111 second-grade African American children, half average and half rejected sociometric status, half aggressive and half nonaggressive based on peer nominations, and half boys and half girls. Rejected children engaged in more cheating behavior and made more negative and argumentative verbalizations than average status children. Boys made more negative and argumentative verbalizations than girls. Aggressive children did not differ from nonaggressive children, in terms of either verbalizations or cheating behavior.     

Peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics and sociometric rejection: Differences between pupils who have moderate learning difficulties and their mainstream peers

Background: The outcomes of social inclusion and skills training programmes for pupils with special educational needs have been mixed. Programmes are generally based on research with mainstream samples yet it has been suggested that the social skills important for sociometric acceptance may be different for children who have special educational needs. Aims: The study aims to compare peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics associated with sociometric status for included children who have moderate learning difficulties and their mainstream classmates. Sample: Mainstream classmates (N=867) of all the children ascertained as having Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) and included in mainstream middle schools (8–12 years) in one English county. Subgroups of rejected mainstream (n=38) and pupils with MLD (n=32) were further investigated. Method: Discriminant function analysis was carried out with peer assessment items as predictors of sociometric status group membership in the mainstream sample and contrasted with previously reported data from pupils with MLD in the same classes. Cluster analysis was used to identify behavioural subtypes within the rejected groups drawn from each sample. For pupils with MLD subtypes were validated using teacher assessments of social behaviour. Results: Systematic differences were identified across different analyses between the peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics associated with rejected sociometric status for pupils with MLD and for mainstream pupils. Conclusions: The appropriateness of generic social skills training programmes for promoting the social inclusion of pupils with MLD should be questioned and consideration given to rejected pupil subtypes.     

Mediators in the Relationship Between Parental and Peer Characteristics and Beer Drinking by Early Adolescents1

Social learning theory suggests that parents and peers influence adolescent drinking directly by providing social reinforcement and models for imitation, and indirectly by first influencing various expectations adolescents form about drinking. In this study, longitudinal data were used to investigate several mediators that could account for the relationships between adolescent beer drinking and parent and peer drinking behaviors and attitudes. The results show that peer drinking indirectly influences adolescent drinking by shaping adolescents' norms on drinking, drinking preferences, and expected consequences of drinking related to friends and problem behavior, whereas parental alcohol use and peer attitude toward alcohol largely directly influence adolescent beer drinking. The results suggest that influence is in large part direct or indirect depending on the source of the influence. In addition, different types of mediators may account for different relationships.     

Identifying two potential mechanisms for changes in alcohol use among college-attending and non-college-attending emerging adults

This study tested whether pro-alcohol peer influences and prosocial involvement account for increases in drinking during the transition into emerging adulthood and whether these mechanisms differ depending on college attendance and/or moving away from home. The authors used structural equation modeling of prospective data from 825 young men and women. For 4 groups defined by college and residential status, more drinking in the spring of 12th grade predicted more pro-alcohol peer influences the following fall, and more pro-alcohol peer influences in the fall predicted increases in drinking the following spring. Going to college while living at home was a protective factor against increases in drinking and selection of pro-alcohol peer involvements. Prosocial involvement (measured by involvement in religious activities and volunteer work) was not significantly related to post-high school drinking except among college students living away from home. Prevention efforts should focus on (a) reducing opportunities for heavy drinking for college and noncollege emerging adults as they leave home and (b) increasing prosocial involvement among college students not living at home.     

Creative potential and the sociometric status of children

The social adaptation problems of highly creative children were first discussed by Torrance (1961a, 1961b), but there is still no clear consensus as to whether or not creative children suffer from social rejection. The social status of these children in classroom groups deserves attention because of the educational and developmental importance of sociometric position. The present study utilized a multivariate approach to sociometric status (exploratory principal‐components analysis). The principal components were subjected to cluster analysis, which produced a clear sociometric taxonomy, comprising “neglected,”; “popular,”; “academic,”; and “rejected”; groups. Most of the highly creative children were in the neglected group. Further exploration using path analysis demonstrated that the child's self‐perceived social distance from other group members represents an intervening variable which is related to creative potential and is negatively associated with popularity in classroom groups.     

Ethnic differences and the closing of the sex gap in alcohol use among college-bound students.

In this study, the authors used Web-based surveys to examine differences in alcohol use by sex and ethnicity and factors associated with these group differences among 2,241 college-bound students. A Sex x Ethnicity interaction indicated that the sex gap was much larger for Latino than for Caucasian students. Although peer influence was important for both Caucasian and Latino students, family influences were significant only for Latino youths. The sex differences in drinking among Latino youths were largely explained by the combination of same-sex family member and same-sex peer drinking through values about the acceptability of drinking behavior. Among Caucasians, perceptions of peer behavior exerted a stronger influence on drinking behavior than among Latinos. These results suggest that interventions targeting peer influence are likely to be most effective for Caucasian students. In contrast, for Latinos, particularly Latina women, family characteristics may be an important target for prevention.     

Loneliness and social dissatisfaction in Turkish adolescents

The present study is an investigation of the relationships of sociometric status, gender, and academic achievement to loneliness levels of Turkish adolescents. Participants were 370 secondary school students (186 girls and 184 boys). Data on loneliness and social dissatisfaction levels of students were collected with the Turkish version of S. R. Asher and V. A. Wheeler's (1985) Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale. Sociometric data were gathered by using a rating scale and a positive nomination measure devised by S. R. Asher and K. A. Dodge (1986) in which participants were classified into one of four groups (popular, rejected, neglected, and controversial). The scores obtained from these measures were treated by a method similar to that of J. D. Coie, K. A. Dodge, and H. Coppotelli's (1982) standard score approach. Results revealed that sociometric status was significantly related to loneliness and social dissatisfaction as a function of peer relations. Members of the rejected group reported significantly higher levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction than did members of the controversial, popular, and neglected groups. The controversial group was also significantly different from the popular group in loneliness level. No significant gender differences were found. Results also revealed a significant negative relationship between achievement scores and loneliness, indicating that as the level of loneliness increased, academic achievement decreased.     

The role of attractiveness and aggression in high school popularity

This study examines the effects of physical attractiveness and aggression on popularity among high school students. Previous work has found positive relationships between aggression and popularity and physical attractiveness and popularity. The current study goes beyond this work by examining the interactive effects of physical attractiveness and aggression on popularity. Controlling for race and gender, the results indicate that attractive students are seen as more physically and relationally aggressive than those who are less attractive. We also found that those who are both physically attractive and aggressive are perceived to be more popular than those without such characteristics. However, the same interaction showed the opposite effect when predicting sociometric popularity instead of perceived popularity. These results contribute to the understanding of the differences between those who are well-liked (sociometric popularity) and those who are socially visible (perceived popularity), and the unique predictors of these two dimensions of status in the peer group.     

Individual and social risk factors related to overt victimization in a sample of Spanish adolescents

This study analyzes the role of adolescents' self-esteem, loneliness, sociometric status, and perceptions of family and classroom environment on overt vicitimization by peers in a sample of 1319 Spanish adolescents (48% boys and 52% girls), ages 11 to 16 years (M=13.7, SD=1.5). The findings from structural equation modeling suggest that adolescents' self-esteem, loneliness, and sociometric status had a significant direct effect on overt victimization by peers, and adolescents' perceptions of family and classroom environment had a significant indirect effect on peer overt victimization mediated by self-esteem, loneliness, and sociometric status. The findings are discussed with the consideration of these variables as individual and social risk factors for overt victimization by peers.     

Assessing children's social skills: Validation of the Behavioral Assertiveness Test for Children (BAT-C)

The present study assessed the relationship between specific child responses on the Behavioral Assertiveness Test for Children (BAT-C) and sociometric indices obtained from peers. Fourth and fifth graders completed peer nominations of their best friends and the children they most admired, peer ratings of likeability, and the BAT-C. Sociometric status was determined by classifying each child as either high or low on peer nominations and peer ratings. Examination of the effects of sociometric status as moderated by race and sex revealed several significant differences in BAT-C responses. Children who were more highly liked or were often named as best friends were significantly less compliant. Differential responding on several additional verbal categories was observed as a function of the interaction between sociometric status and race and/or sex. These findings not only demonstrate the validity of several response categories observed on the BAT-C, but also suggest that in social skills training, different component responses may be targeted across child populations.The authors wish to express their appreciation to Jean Birbilis, Candace Conley, Tony Genoff, Marieta Knopf, and Donna Wadley for their assistance in data collection and analysis.     

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.     

Social information processing and sociometric status: Sex,age, and situational effects

Theoretically based measures of social information-processing patterns in specific situations were developed and administered to popular, average, socially rejected, and socially neglected girls and boys in the first, third, and fifth grades (total n=95). Measures included interpretations of peers' intentions, quantity and quality of responses generated to problematic stimuli, evaluations of responses, and enactments of particular responses. Three kinds of situations were generated empirically as stimuli: being teased, being provoked ambiguously, and initiating entry into a peer group. Deviant children (rejected and neglected) were found to respond deficiently compared to average and popular children, but only in the situation in which they were teased. Older children performed more competently than younger children in all three situations. Interactions among gender, sociometric status, and age also were found. Findings were interpreted as evidence of the elusiveness and complexity of social information-processing defects among low sociometric status children.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the staff of the Monroe County Community School Corporation in the conduct of this research. This research was supported by an Indiana University doctoral dissertation grant and an Indiana University Women's Studies Grant awarded to the first author, and by NIMH Grant 37062 awarded to the second author. The authors wish to thank Steven R. Asher and Kenneth H. Rubin for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

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.     

Opposites detract: Middle school peer group antipathies

This study examines variability in patterns of peer group antipathy. Same-grade adolescent peer groups were identified from sociometric nominations of preferred affiliates in a community sample of 600 Finnish ninth-grade middle school students (mean age = 15.0 years). Hierarchical linear modeling determined characteristics of youths in actor groups (nominators) that predicted antipathy for youths in target groups (nominatees) on the basis of target group characteristics. Most antipathies were based on dissimilarity between groups representing the mainstream culture and groups opposed to it. The higher a peer group’s school burnout, the more its members disliked students in peer groups with higher school grades and students in peer groups with higher sports participation. Conversely, the higher a peer group’s school grades, the more its members disliked students in peer groups with higher school burnout. Students in peer groups with less problem behavior disliked students in peer groups with more problem behavior. There was some evidence of rivalry within the mainstream culture: The higher a group’s school grades, the more its members disliked groups whose members participated in sports.