The impact of children's clique membership on their peer nominations for social behaviors and status was examined in a sample of 455 third- through fifth-grade children. Social identity theory (SIT) and children's peer group affiliation and context served as primary conceptual frameworks for this investigation. As suggested by SIT, results…

The role of conflict in parent-adolescent relationships is a topic of considerable theoretical debate and empirical investigation; however, limited attention has been devoted to the strategies used by family members to deal with disagreements and their outcomes and how they differ from early to late adolescence. This study explored conflict styles…

This study examined associations between children's descriptions of sibling conflicts and their resolutions during a structured negotiation task. A sample of 58 sibling dyads (older sibling M age = 8.39 years, younger sibling M = 6.06 years) were privately interviewed about an actual conflict. Each child provided a narrative that was coded for…

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…

Occasions where children oppose each other have been claimed to convey intellectual benefits through their association with justification and resolution. They have been claimed to promote social rejection through their association with aggression. Because it is inconceivable that intellectual benefits imply social costs, either the relation…

Examined 475 adolescents from Grade 7 through early adulthood to identify antecedents and pathways of teen parenthood. Found that teen fatherhood and motherhood were predicted by individual and peer configurations such as a combination of high aggression, low academic competence, low popularity, and low family SES. Peer characteristics, race, and…

This study examined the unique roles of peer rejection and affiliation with aggressive peers in the development of relational and physical aggression in a sample of 979 2nd through 4th grade children. Information about target children and their best friends' aggression and peer rejection was gathered via peer-nominations when the majority of…