This study examined antisocial and prosocial behavior of N = 439 adolescent athletes between 14 and 17 years of age (67 teams). Multi-level analyses showed that team membership explained 20 and 13 percent of the variance in antisocial and prosocial behavior in the sports context, respectively. The team effects suggest that aggregating antisocial…

This short-term longitudinal study examined changes over time in social competence with peers as a function of child and classroom characteristics. One hundred and seventy ethnically diverse low-income children, all new to their peer groups, entered childcare classrooms with heterogeneous entry policies and ethnic/racial compositions. We observed…

The purpose of this study was to test direct, additive, and mediation models involving family, neighborhood, and peer factors in relation to emerging antisocial behavior and social skills. Neighborhood danger, maternal depressive symptoms, and supportive parenting were assessed in early childhood. Peer group acceptance was measured in middle…

Research suggests that adolescents' ratings of the appropriateness of parental reactions are influenced by several constructs, including adolescents' perceptions of the type of parental reaction, the emotions felt by the adolescent and parental intentions. However, little is known regarding how these constructs are differentially predictive of…

Children's target experiences (as recipients of prosocial peer acts and victims of peer aggression) were investigated for their concurrent and longitudinal associations with prosocial and aggressive behavior. Forty-four children (initially 22-40 months) were observed in naturalistic interactions with peers during a two-month period for each of…

In this investigation, the moral development of physically abused (N = 28), neglected (N = 26), and nonmaltreated (N = 28) five-year-old children from low socioeconomic backgrounds was examined through observational measures of prosocial behaviors, moral transgressions, and emotions associated with moral development. Findings showed that…

This paper critically reviews the literature on the links between temperament and social development in children and adolescents. Social development is broadly defined to include externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems, prosocial behaviour and social competence. It concludes that there are clear links between specific dimensions of…

Trait emotional intelligence ("trait EI" or "trait emotional self-efficacy") is a constellation of emotion"related self"perceptions and dispositions comprising the affective aspects of personality. The present study investigated the role of trait EI in children's peer relations at school. One hundred and sixty pupils (83 girls; mean age = 10.8…

Two studies examined fifth- and sixth-grade students' perceptions of antisocial and prosocial teasing among peers and potential correlates of individual differences in their tendencies to engage in both forms of teasing. The children were rated as showing a greater tendency to be prosocial teasers than antisocial teasers by both teachers and…

Experimental research suggests the differentiation of "nice" and "nasty" theory of mind (ToM). Over 5000 parents from the Twins Early Development Study reported on nice (e.g., being considerate) and nasty (e.g., blaming others) behaviours following their twins' second, third, and fourth birthdays. Factor analyses yielded four factors and it was…