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.,…

Data were collected about 95 fourth-grade and fifth-grade children from three sources (teachers, parents, and children) on four constructs related to aggression (proactive aggression, reactive aggression, callous-unemotional traits, and anger dysregulation) by using a multitrait-multimethod design. Two goals were addressed through a…

Although the effect of physical and relational (i.e., traditional) victimization on psychopathology is established, the interdependent contribution of cybervictimization is unclear. We test a longitudinal path model theorizing that (a) children's physical and relational victimization in Grade 4 or 5 is associated with more cybervictimization…

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine if autonomic nervous system reactivity moderated the association between relational victimization and two established outcomes of peer maltreatment, anxious/depressive symptoms and anxious rejection sensitivity. A total of 119 female (M[subscript age] = 12.47, SD[subscript age] = 1.96)…

Positive friendships have been related to decreasing levels of children's physical aggression over time. While this evidence calls for interventions aimed at helping children build good-quality friendships, tests of causality through experimental manipulations are still needed. The goal of this study was to examine whether an intervention aimed to…

This study examined the friendship processes around prosocial and aggressive behaviors and the moderating role of early adolescents' perceived relatedness with teachers. Differences between fifth graders in elementary school and sixth graders in middle school were examined. The sample was from 48 classrooms (N = 879, 51% girls at Wave 1, N = 859,…

This study examined the prospective links between maladaptive anger regulation and aggressive behavior in middle childhood over a 10-month period, analyzing the mediating influence of peer problems. Participants were 599 elementary school children in Germany, aged 6-10 years at Time 1 (T1) and 7-11 years at Time 2 (T2). Anger regulation at T1 was…

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…

This study examined the role of aggressiveness and parenting in the development of children's moral self-concept. Participants were 198 elementary school children and their parents (M = 8.65 years, SD = 2.44). Participants completed a structured moral self puppet interview and a questionnaire about their relationship to parents. Parents completed…

The effects of guilt, shame, and externalization of blame on aggressive behavior were investigated among a total of 307 Finnish fifth and sixth graders (M[subscript age] = 11.9 years). Self-reported proneness to feel guilt and shame was expected to reduce levels of peer-reported aggressive behavior, whereas self-reported externalization of blame…

Using peer nominations of physical aggression and perceived popularity in the spring semester of fifth grade, we identified 54 popular aggressive and 42 nonpopular aggressive preadolescents in a diverse sample of 318 participants recruited from an urban school district. Physical aggression in the spring semester of sixth grade was included to…

For socioeconomically disadvantaged children, a positive experience in kindergarten may play a particularly important role in fostering the behavioral adjustment and learning engagement necessary for school success. Prior research has identified supportive student--teacher relationships and classroom emotional support as two features of the…

This study examined the relations between multiple types of peer victimization, affective reactivity to victimization, and academic achievement. Participants (179 fifth-grade boys and girls) completed repeated daily measures of peer victimization and negative affect; a standardized measure of achievement was collected concurrently. The daily…

This study examined attention and memory processes assumed by the social information-processing model to be biased in aggressive children. We also explored whether similar biases were associated with overt and relational aggression. A total of 96 fourth through sixth graders saw videos of overtly and relationally aggressive child actors and…

This study examined the construct validity of nonverbal social aggression and the relation of nonverbal social aggression to dimensions of children's social status. Peer nominations of verbal social, nonverbal social, direct veral, and physical aggression, as well as social dominance, perceived popularity, and social acceptance, were collected…