Friendship is a developmentally significant relationship in childhood and adolescence that contributes to socioemotional, social-cognitive, and psychological development and well-being. It is a dyadic relationship based on mutual affection, with both friends thinking of each other as friends. Despite this definitional understanding of the dyadic…

This study investigated whether the perception of self as socially rejected might contribute to increased physical aggression among elementary-school children. It was hypothesized that physically aggressive children would become more physically aggressive over time if they perceived that they were rejected and tended to blame peers for social…

The effects of three treatments on third- and fourth-grade socially isolated children were compared. The treatments were: (1) playing games with peers accompanied by adult coaching in social skills relative to friendship making, (2) playing games with peers, and (3) playing solitary games in the presence of peers. (Author/JMB)

Examined whether children's goals in peer conflict situations were related to the strategies they proposed for resolving conflicts, and how these strategies were related to acceptance by peers. Subjects were 142 fourth through sixth graders. Found that peer acceptance was negatively related to hostile/coercive strategies for girls, and negatively…

This paper reviews the research on loneliness as an emotional consequence of relationship difficulties in childhood and its particular relevance to children with language difficulties. Suggestions are made concerning intervention efforts to reduce loneliness for children with language problems. (Author/DB)

Previous studies have demonstrated that children's goals are associated with their success in peer relationships. The current study extends earlier findings by examining changes in children's goals during hypothetical conflicts. Participants were 252 children ages 9 to 12 years old (133 boys, 119 girls). As predicted, children's goals changed…

Grounding their efforts on results of previous research, investigators have sought to improve peer relationships of unpopular children through direct instruction in social skills. Generally, such interventions have been effective in promoting specific outcomes. For example, skill-training programs improve children's ability to form colleague…

Investigates whether unpopular children exhibit a bossy interpersonal style in a problem-solving situation. A detailed sequential category coding system was constructed and focused on patterns of influence among children. Sociometric measures were used to pair 44 third- and fourth-grade children into 22 dyads containing an average-status child and…

Recent research has demonstrated that social skills training can be successful in bringing about enduring gains in unpopular children's sociometric status among peers. Further progress in promoting social competence in peer relations will depend upon the development of a framework for conceptualizing the process components underlying social…

In a study of 452 kindergartners and first graders, it was found that young children understand the concept of loneliness and can make reliable reports of their loneliness. Results indicated that it was possible to reliably assess the loneliness of young children. (GLR)

Describes theoretical models of social-information processing which include goals as a crucial component. Reviews the research on children who are aggressive, withdrawn/submissive, or prosocial and finds relationships between children's goals, their strategies for coping with problematic social tasks, and their ultimate success or failure in…

In this study, each of 33 middle class children from grades 3 and 4 was administered one of three experimental conditions designed to test in what ways coaching in social play skills improves the sociometric status of the children with their peers. The subjects were selected because of their low ratings on sociometric questionnaires. Condition 1…

Critically evaluates in terms of predictive and concurrent validity a widely used method of identifying children at risk in peer relations. This method emphasizes children's total rate of peer interaction, regardless of the quality or skillfulness of the interaction. Recommendations are given for future research in this area. (Author/DB)

Advantages and disadvantages of methods to evaluate sociometric outcomes of mainstreaming (sociometric assessment, nomination methods, rating scale method, paired comparison method, and variations on nomination and rating scale methods) are considered. (CL)

Classroom observation and a roster-and-rating sociometric technique were used to assess social interaction among Black and White third grade students who had attended integrated schools since kindergarten. Sex was a more significant factor in determining sociometric ratings for work and play than race. (GDC)