The present study examined, within a longitudinal family-informed design and across middle childhood, the predictive associations between preference for solitude and social wariness, two forms of social withdrawal, and peer difficulties. Specifically, preference for solitude, rather than social wariness, was expected to predict peer victimization…

The Dual Failure Model suggests that peer victimization (social failure) and academic difficulties (academic failure) mediate the association between externalizing and later internalizing problems. The present study sought to better understand why children with externalizing problems develop later internalizing problems by testing the Dual Failure…

This study explored the relations among self-reported bully participant role behaviors (i.e., bullying, assisting, experiencing victimization, defending, and outsider behavior) and self-reported social skills (i.e., cooperation, assertion, empathy, and self-control) among boys and girls. The sample consisted of 636 middle school students (52%…

A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the "Children's Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive" and the Aggression subscale of the "Child Behavior Checklist" were rated for 414 children with autism…

"Relational aggression" refers to harm within relationships caused by covert bullying or manipulative behavior. Examples include isolating a youth from his or her group of friends (social exclusion), threatening to stop talking to a friend (the silent treatment), or spreading gossip and rumors by email. This type of bullying tends to be…

Little is known about the early childhood indicators of adolescent risk. The link between trajectories of externalizing behavioral problems and early adolescent risk behavior was examined in a longitudinal sample of 875 child participants in the LONGSCAN studies. Five trajectory groups of children defined by externalizing behavior problems were…

The purpose of this study was (1) to evaluate psychometric properties that assess forms of aggression (i.e., relational and physical aggression) across cultures (i.e., Japan and the United States) and (2) to investigate the role of culture in the associations between forms of aggression and social-psychological adjustment problems such as…

Current tools for assessing children's social behavior in school psychology research and practice typically do not adequately measure issues most salient for young girls (e.g., experiences of relational victimization). The relation among teacher, peer, and self-reports of relational and physical peer victimization was examined for 119 fourth grade…