This study aimed to shed light on the prevalence of chronic peer victimisation among Dutch elementary school children and factors associated with (non-)disclosure of such experiences by victims. 5,961 students from 73 schools participated (51.5% male; M[subscript age] = 9.96; 77.7% native Dutch). Results showed that 12.3% of all children were…

This study examined relations of social sensitivity to social, school, and psychological adjustment in rural Chinese, urban Chinese, and Canadian children. Participants were 4th to 6th grade students (M[subscript age] = 11 years) in China (n = 593 and 443 for the rural and urban samples) and Canada (n = 325). A self-report measure of social…

We examined the link between social comparison with friends and self-perceptions of academic competence during adolescence and how personality may play a role in this link. Participants were 193 eighth-grade students who attended a rural, mid-Atlantic middle school. We used difference scores to measure the extent to which students' nominated and…

Although childhood shyness has been associated with school-adjustment difficulties in contemporary research in China, the conceptual mechanisms that may underlie these relations remain underinvestigated. The goal of this study was to examine a complex theoretical model that explicates the roles of both peer preference and teacher-child…

Peer victimization is an enduring problem in schools (Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). The current study focused on relations among two ecological variables that may be related to involvement in peer victimization: self-concept and social support. The main goal of this study was to investigate relations among social support, self-concept, and…

Popularity has been linked to heightened aggression and fewer depressive symptoms. The current study extends this literature by examining the unique contributions of same-sex and cross-sex popularity to children's development, as well as potential mediating processes. Third- and 4th-graders (212 boys, 250 girls) provided data at 3 time points over…

The aims of the present study were to (a) examine the factor structure of the "Self-Report Coping Scale" in a sample of Chinese early adolescents and (b) explore associations between coping and socioemotional functioning in this sample. Participants were N = 569 elementary school students (307 boys) in Grades 4 to 6. Participants…

Past research on the self-esteem of bullies has produced equivocal results. Recent studies have suggested that the inconsistent findings may be due, in part, to the failure to account for bully/victims: those children who both bully and are victims of bullying. In this longitudinal study, we examined the distinctions among pure bullies, pure…

This study addresses the convergent validity of a new teacher questionnaire to assess the social participation of students with special needs in regular primary schools. The Social Participation Questionnaire (SPQ) consists of four subscales representing four key themes of social participation: friendships/relationships, contacts/interactions,…

The current study investigates the accuracy of self-perceptions of competence among 43 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ages 6.9-11.9; 37 boys) attending an 8-week empirically supported behavioral summer treatment program. Having inflated self-perceptions about one's competence at the beginning of the summer predicted poorer…

The goal was to examine the relation of covert/relational and overt/physical targeted peer victimization (TPV) to each other, to positive and negative self-cognitions, and to symptoms of depression. In a sample of elementary and middle school children, TPV was assessed by self-report, peer-nomination, and parent report in a multitrait-multimethod…

This study tested transactional models to explain the short-term longitudinal links between self-perceptions and involvement in bullying and victimization among 115 9- to 10-year-old children. Self-perceptions were measured with Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children (six sub-scales) and bullying/victimization by means of peer nominations.…

There have been mixed results concerning any association between self-esteem and smoking prevalence in young people. The aim of this paper was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between self-esteem and the uptake of smoking in childhood, and how various sub-components of self-esteem are related to smoking. A sample of…

In a longitudinal study that followed children from fourth through sixth grades, we tested whether problems in children's peer relations preceded psychological maladjustment and whether adjustment difficulties paved the way for poor social relationships. Both close friendships and peer group acceptance were examined. Our findings indicated that…

Past research has indicated that there is a negative relationship between victimization and self-worth. Furthermore, children with movement problems such as developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are considered at risk of both victimization and low self-worth. This study investigated the relationship between peer-victimization and self-worth in…