Peer nominations and teacher ratings were used to examine age and sex differences in behaviors associated with perceived coolness during middle childhood. Participants were 470 students in Grades 1, 3, and 5. Participants nominated peers whom they perceived as cool; separate scores were calculated for samesex coolness and cross-sex coolness (i.e.,…

Children's evaluations of necessary harm (acts intended to prevent a greater harm) and how "maternal disapproval" and "peer relationship" play roles in this context were examined. A total of 120 children at 6, 9, and 12 years of age evaluated scenarios depicting prototypic and necessary (physical or verbal) harm. When a mother…

We examined whether the moderating role of cortisol in the relation between physical peer victimization and physical aggression was better accounted for by a diathesis-stress model or a differential susceptibility model using a multi-informant approach (direct observations, teacher reports, and parent reports) of 198 preschool-aged children…

This study examined aspects of peer clique participation that mitigated victimization by peers over a school year. Participants were 1,033 children age 8-14 years (M[subscript age] = 11.81; 444 boys and 589 girls), including 128 (66 boys) victimized children. Cliques (N = 162) and clique participation were assessed by using the Social Cognitive…

Although exclusion is commonly thought of as a form of relational or social aggression, it often reflects attempts at maintaining friendships, drawing group boundaries, and optimizing group functioning and can thus also be considered an inevitable feature of normative social interactions. This study examines the narrative accounts and judgments of…

This study compared the long-term predictive validity of person-centered personality types and variable-centered personality dimensions assessed between ages 4-6 years in a population sample of 154 children. Results indicated that the predictive power of both approaches was remarkably robust between age 17 and 22, and even increased in the case of…