Social norms are vital for the functioning of adolescent peer groups; they can protect the well-being of groups and individual members, often by deterring harmful behaviors, such as aggression, through enforcement mechanisms like peer victimization; in adolescent peer groups, those who violate aggression norms are often subject to victimization.…

This study examined variations in the development of classroom aggression popularity norms, as well as the role of homeroom teachers' aggression beliefs and students' perceptions of teachers' support as predictors of such variations. To achieve this goal, a sample of 63 classrooms were assessed at four time points during a school year, in nine…

Evidence of cultural comparisons of gender-identity-measurement scales is scarce. The present study aims to assess the scalar invariance of two dimensions of a widely used gender identity scale (Egan and Perry's Multidimensional Gender Identity Inventory) across two cultural contexts. Fourth, sixth, and fifth graders from Barranquilla (Colombia)…

In a sample of 473 4th- and 5th-grade students, we examined the interaction between the type of clique to which a child belongs and the clique's level of perceived cohesion on a clique member's social and emotional adjustment. Perceived cohesion of a clique was operationalized as the degree to which the clique was perceived as an entity and was…

The aim of this study was to examine the antecedents of cross-racial/ethnic friendships and same-racial/ethnic friendships. The sample consisted of 444 (161 African American, 108 European American, 100 Asian American, and 75 Latino) children who were in the fourth grade from 39 classrooms in 10 public elementary schools. Results of Mixed Linear…

This study examined the effects on 6- and 8-year old children (n = 160) of rejection versus acceptance by an initial group, the reason for the rejection or acceptance (personal versus category-based), and the norms (inclusion versus exclusion) of a new group to which the children were assigned, on their negative affect and attitudes towards the…