Children’s Evaluation and Categorization of Transgender Children

Despite extant evidence of negative peer treatment of transgender adolescents and adults, little is known about how young children perceive transgender peers, particularly those who have socially transitioned or are living in line with their gender rather than sex at birth. Whereas children have been shown to be averse to gender nonconformity in peers, because many transgender children appear and behave in ways consistent with their expressed gender (but not their sex at birth), it is unclear how children evaluate these identities. In 2 studies, we investigated 5- to 10-year-old children’s (N_total = 113) preferences for transgender versus gender-“typical” peers who either shared their gender identity or did not. We also examined whether children categorized transgender peers by their sex or expressed gender, as it might inform their evaluations. Children preferred cisgender peers over transgender peers; however, they also liked peers of their own gender rather than the other gender (e.g., female participants preferred girls over boys), demonstrating that the oft-documented own-gender bias plays an important role even when children are reasoning about transgender peers. Children did not reliably categorize transgender peers by sex or gender; yet those who categorized transgender peers by their sex showed greater dislike of transgender peers. The current studies are the first to investigate cisgender children’s attitudes toward transgender children and suggest that perceptions of gender categorization and conformity play a role in children’s evaluations of transgender peers.     

Perceptions of self and of ideal mates: Similarities and differences across the sexes

For 19 mating-relevant traits, single males (N= 53) and single females (N= 86) rated (a) themselves relative to their same-sex peers, (b) their perceptions of the qualities desired by members of the opposite sex in an ideal partner, and (c) the qualities desired in their own ideal romantic partner. Several themes emerged from the data. First, males’ and females’ judgments of what members of the opposite-sex seek were generally accurate. Second, males and females both feel that they fall short of perceived opposite-sex expectations in a few areas. Third, both males and females desire an ideal partner better than themselves, but this is especially true for females. These findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary social psychological principles.     

Perceptions of Self and of Ideal Mates: Similarities and Differences across the Sexes

For 19 mating-relevant traits, single males (N= 53) and single females (N= 86) rated (a) themselves relative to their same-sex peers, (b) their perceptions of the qualities desired by members of the opposite sex in an ideal partner, and (c) the qualities desired in their own ideal romantic partner. Several themes emerged from the data. First, males’ and females’ judgments of what members of the opposite-sex seek were generally accurate. Second, males and females both feel that they fall short of perceived opposite-sex expectations in a few areas. Third, both males and females desire an ideal partner better than themselves, but this is especially true for females. These findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary social psychological principles.     

A developmental perspective on bullying

In this paper, we examined the forms and relationship contexts of bullying in adolescence. Using cross‐sectional data, we assessed grade and sex differences in self‐reports of bullying and sexually harassing peers, as well as reports of dating aggression from1896 students from early to late adolescence. Reports of bullying others were highest around the school transition, with lowest levels at the end of high school. Boys reported more bullying and sexual harassment than girls. Sexual harassment of same‐ and opposite‐sex peers increased over the early adolescent years and leveled off in later high‐school years. There were no sex differences in the prevalence of indirect or physical aggression with a dating partner. Adolescents who bullied were at increased risk for the other forms of relationship aggression. These data highlight bullying as a relationship problem and point to the need for prevention programs to curtail the use of power and aggression in adolescent relationships. Aggr. Behav. 32:376–384, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Multiple Identity Considerations Among African American Christian Men Experiencing Same‐Sex Attraction

The authors explored the experiences of African American men who identified as Christian and experienced same‐sex attraction. Participants completed an online questionnaire addressing experiences of same‐sex attraction; meaning attributed to their attractions; the sharing of their experiences with others; and perceptions regarding the intersection of their faith, race, and sexual identity. Most respondents (61.5%) felt different from their peers for gender‐related reasons, and most (80.8%) had had homoerotic experiences during the teenage years. Over 40% of participants indicated that their primary identity was Christian, and several shared their experience sorting out attributions and meanings associated with same‐sex attraction in light of their racial and/or religious identities.     

Majority group children expect that ethnic out-group peers feel fewer positive but more negative emotions than in-group peers

Across two studies majority group children’s (8–13 years) perception of positive and negative emotions in ethnic in-group and disadvantaged ethnic out-group peers was examined. Study 1 (N?=?302) showed that children expected in-group peers to feel better in a positive situation compared to out-group peers. Whereas, in a negative situation, children expected in-group peers to feel less bad compared to out-group peers, particularly when they evaluated the in-group as very positive. Study 2 (N?=?201) replicates these findings across multiple positive and negative situations, and additionally shows that in very negative situations children expect in-group and out-group peers to feel equally bad. These results suggest that children’s perception of emotions in others is influenced by ethnic group membership.     

Porn,Peers, and Performing Oral Sex: The Mediating Role of Peer Norms on Pornography’s Influence Regarding Oral Sex

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to offer insights into how pornography use might be linked to young adults’ sexual experiences via the mediating role of peer norms (i.e., their perceptions of what same-sex peers do sexually). We focused on oral sex behavior, as it is common in pornography and among young people. Young adults (N = 349; ages 19–30; 54% female) were recruited through a crowdsourcing website. Participants completed an anonymous online survey about the frequency that they observed various sexual behaviors in online pornography, the frequency that they engaged in these behaviors, and their perceptions of the frequency that their peers engaged in these behaviors. Frequency of viewing cunnilingus (men) or fellatio (women) in pornography predicted how often they engaged in oral sex, and this association was mediated by their perceptions of how frequently their peers engaged in oral sex. Peer norms did not mediate how frequently they received oral sex. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding how pornography may relate to young people’s social norms surrounding oral sex and their performance of sexual behaviors, as well as for understanding generally how media consumption relates to adoption of media behaviors through suggesting a social norm.     

Children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers: a multimethod assessment

Children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers were examined in 2 studies. Study 1 examined the degree to which 4th-8th-grade boys and girls (N = 408) nominated the same peers for multiple criteria. Children viewed liked others as prosocial and disliked others as antisocial but associated perceived popularity with both prosocial and antisocial behavior. In Study 2, a subset of the children from Study 1 (N = 92) described what makes boys and girls popular or unpopular. Children described popular peers as attractive with frequent peer interactions, and unpopular peers as unattractive, deviant, incompetent, and socially isolated. In both studies, children's perceptions varied as a function of the gender, age, and ethnicity of the participants.     

Interests and Leadership among Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether there is a differential relationship in the socialization of children with respect to gender identification when responses of children were examined with respect to race and sex (N = 596 fifth and sixth grade boys and girls). Strong father preference was found to have no effect on the choice a boy will make when choosing between male and female peers, during preadolescence, while a strong mother preference by a girl is related to the sex of the peers she chooses. Preadolescent girls who identify with their mothers chose girls with whom to interact in a variety of activities more frequently than they chose boys. A greater proportion of girls preferred to engage in activities with their mothers than boys preferred to engage in activities with their fathers. No differences were observed between racial groups in terms of girls' choices involving peers. Black boys, however, preferred to engage in activities with opposite-sex rather than same-sex peers to a greater extent than white boys.     

The influence of sexually explicit Internet material and peers on stereotypical beliefs about women's sexual roles: similarities and differences between adolescents and adults

Previous research on the influence of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) on adolescents' stereotypical beliefs about women's sexual roles has three shortcomings. First, the role of peers has been neglected; second, stereotypical beliefs have rarely been studied as causing the use of SEIM and the selection of specific peers; and third, it is unclear whether adolescents are more vulnerable to the effects of SEIM than adults. We used data from two nationally representative two-wave panel surveys among 1,445 Dutch adolescents and 833 Dutch adults, focusing on the stereotypical belief that women engage in token resistance to sex (i.e., the notion that women say "no" when they actually intend to have sex). Structural equation modeling showed that peers who supported traditional gender roles elicited, both among adolescents and adults, stronger beliefs that women use token resistance to sex. Further, the belief that women engage in token resistance predicted adolescents' and adults' selection of gender-role traditional peers, but it did not predict adolescents' and adults' use of SEIM. Finally, adults, but not adolescents, were susceptible to the impact of SEIM on beliefs that women engage in token resistance to sex.     

Differential effects of identification with family and peers on coping with developmental tasks in adolescence

Adolescents from three Italian cities responded to a questionnaire concerning the particular peer-group with which they were associated and identification with their family, aspects of the process of coping with seven developmental tasks, and demographic characteristics. The participants were 1600 male and female teenagers, with a mean age of 16.28 years, who were approached at schools and various meeting places in three Italian cities. The study shows that effective coping with developmental tasks depends largely on the degree of identification with both family and peer-group. Those who identify with both social groupings show advantages in various critical situations. Adolescents only identifying with either family or peers get emotional and instrumental support from that group but not from the other, thus, they are supported in some critical situations but not in others. Adolescents who are unwilling or unable to identify with their family and/or their peers are less successful in managing the transition to adulthood than others who are close to their parents and peers. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the type of group adolescents join, be it a formal group or an informal street group, has no significant effect on their coping strategies.     

Effect of relationship status on perceptions of physical attractiveness for alternative partners

Coupled people, those in a relationship, devaluate the attractiveness of an alternative partner compared to noncoupled people (D. J. Johnson & C. E. Rusbult, 1989). The present research tested two competing hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. According to the motivational hypothesis, coupled and noncoupled people initially perceive opposite‐sex others as equally attractive. Coupled people, however, recalibrate their perceptions. In contrast, the perceptual hypothesis proposes that coupled people do not perceive opposite‐sex others as attractive. The present study tested these competing hypotheses by measuring both involuntary and self‐reported perceptions of attractiveness of opposite‐sex models. Supporting the motivational hypothesis, coupled participants (n = 38) and noncoupled participants (n = 34) exhibited the same degree of pupil dilation, however, coupled participants reported lower attractiveness ratings.     

Children's meta‐perceptions and meta‐accuracy of acceptance and rejection by same‐sex and other‐sex peers

The goals of this study were to examine children's meta‐perceptions and meta‐accuracy of acceptance and rejection in the peer group, the degree to which these perceptions vary by perceiver sex and sex of the reference group, and the association between these perceptions and children's actual functioning in the peer group. Participants were 644 fourth‐grade children. Meta‐perceptions and meta‐accuracy were derived from sociometric nominations of actual and perceived acceptance and rejection. Children more accurately perceived how they were seen by same‐sex peers than how they were seen by other‐sex peers. They also perceived more rejection than acceptance from other‐sex peers. Meta‐accuracy for rejection was low regardless of the sex of the reference group. Sex of the reference group significantly moderated the association between meta‐perceptions and meta‐accuracy of acceptance and rejection and children's actual peer relationships. These findings indicate the importance of examining these relatively understudied social cognitions in research with children and the importance of taking the sex of the reference group into account in future peer relations studies using peer nomination methods.     

Dancing is belonging! How social networks mediate the effect of a dance intervention on students' sense of belonging to their classroom

What does it take to feel you belong? Using a sample of 606 students in 30 classrooms, with 15 classrooms participating in a school‐based dance intervention, we examined intrapsychic and extrapsychic sources of social belonging using social network analysis. Whereas outdegree (the number of outgoing liking nominations to classmates) served as a proxy variable for students' active acceptance of others, indegree (the number of ingoing liking nominations from other peers) served as a proxy variable for the passive acceptance by others. Both measures should account for changes in students' sense of belonging to their classroom. Multilevel longitudinal mediation analyses supported our predictions—increased belonging related to increasing acceptance by others and of others, which were experienced by students participating in the dance intervention for a year (vs. a non‐treated control group). We discuss our findings within the current debate on the use of distal variables to explain intrapsychic constructs.     

Person Perception in Young Children Across Two Cultures

To adult humans, the task of forming an impression of another social being seems effortless and even obligatory. In 2 experiments, we offer the first systematic cross-cultural examination of impression formation in European American and East Asian preschool children. Children across both cultures easily inferred basic personality traits, such as nice and mean, about unfamiliar peers from behavioral information, whether or not they were specifically prompted to do so. Children were able to identify peers they had seen before, to remember the traits associated with these peers, and to anticipate future behaviors consistent with the traits they had attributed. Thus, for basic traits, the ability to make behavior-to-behavior predictions, via an intervening trait inference, is present in young children across diverse cultures.     

Guilt by Association: The Relationship between Deviant Peers and Deviant Labels

This study broadens labeling theory by examining the role deviant peers play in earlier stages of the labeling process. We propose that deviant peers serve as a source of information used in the decision to apply a deviant label by parents and school authorities. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health with cross-sectional (n = 12,011) and longitudinal (n = 9,267) samples, results show that higher levels of peer deviance are related to receiving both informal and formal labels. We also find that associating with deviant peers amplifies the effect of individual deviance on receiving an informal label.     

Adolescents' self-efficacy to communicate about sex: its role in condom attitudes, commitment, and use

This study examined whether and how self-efficacy to communicate with parents and peers about sex relate to sexually experienced adolescent males' and females' (N= 144, 112) condom attitudes, intentions, and use. Results showed that males who reported greater self-efficacy to communicate with parents used condoms more frequently; and both males and females who can communicate with peers used condoms more frequently. Self-efficacy to communicate with peers was related to more positive condom attitudes, which in turn were associated with greater condom commitment and use. Greater ability to communicate with parents was also related to greater condom commitment and use among males. These results suggest the importance of designing interventions that give adolescents the skills they need to feel efficacious in their ability to communicate about sex and contraception.     

The Risk and Protective Functions of Perceived Family and Peer Microsystems Among Urban Adolescents in Poverty

Utilized a pattern-based approach to discover the different constellations of perceived social transactions separately for family and peer systems and explored the risk and protective functions of these microsystem profiles for both depression and antisocial behavior among a sample of ethnically and racially diverse urban adolescents living in poverty. Measures of perceived social support, involvement and hassles with family and peers, as well as perceived social acceptance and peers' values were entered into two sets of iterative cluster analyses to identify distinct profiles of family and peer transactions. From each of the perceived family and peer transactional analyses, six replicated profiles emerged. Several of the profiles were consistent with expectations from prior literature such as Enmeshing families and Rejecting peer networks, while others were novel and intriguing such as Entangling peers. Family profiles were consistent in their risk and protective associations for both depression and antisocial behavior, while the peer profiles varied in their effects for each developmental outcome. For example, the Rejecting peer profile placed adolescents at increased risk for depression but protected them from antisocial behavior. Implications for future research and preventive intervention are discussed.