Assessed direct relations between three aspects of self-reported anger regulation and peer-rated social preference and aggression as well as indirect relations between these constructs as mediated by observed anger expression. Interviewed 274 second-graders following anger-arousing games. Found that anger regulation was only indirectly related to…

Analyzed preference for same-sex peers in 326 second through ninth graders. Found that same-sex preference occurred at all ages, decreased with age, was due more to a positive bias toward same-sex peers rather than negative bias against other-sex peers, and changed primarily as a function of liking for same-sex peers. Suggests that two processes…

Based on observation of 94 kindergartners and preschoolers for 3 months, this study examined changes in preschoolers' tendencies to play alone as a function of dispositional negative emotional intensity (DNEI) and changes in expressed negative emotions. Findings indicated higher emotional intensity, increased solitary play, and decreased…

Administered questionnaire and Revised Class Play to school-age children. Found evidence for the structural and functional divergence of two dimensions of social isolation: withdrawal (voluntary withdrawal from peers) and isolation (active isolation by peers). The two dimensions also differed in their predictive outcomes, with isolation being a…

Eighty adolescents and their same-sex friends rated the quality of their friendship, ranked their preference for this friendship, and participated in a videotaped discussion. Compared to boys, girls rated their friendship quality more positively and less negatively and showed more positive and less negative behavior in interaction with their…

Examined the experience of collaboration from sixth graders' perspective as a function of dyad gender and degree of friendship. Found that enjoyment expectations and affiliation perceptions were greater in dyads with greater degrees of friendship and in same-gender dyads compared with mixed-gender dyads. More positive expectation and greater…

Hypothesizes that infants with attentive mothers will interact more positively with consistent partners than with matched strangers. Finds that when mothers were attentive infant dyads composed of consistent partners interacted more than stranger dyads. Suggest that withdrawal of maternal attention may be equivalent to physical separation by a…

Investigated the role of peer language imitation in preschool children's vocabulary acquisition. Study I involved natural observations of children in day care situations. In Study II, children were introduced by naive peers was observed. (Author/SB)

Examined how children behave differently with friends and non-friends. Engaged 123 triads of target children, friends, and unacquainted peers in free-play and planning tasks. Found that children behaved more positively but also exhibited more negative behavior with friends than with non-friends. (KK)

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…

Examined relations between children's and their friends' perceptions of friendship features as a function of children's sociometric status. Found rejected children's perceptions showed considerably lower correlations with friends' perceptions than did average and popular children's perceptions; rejected children's friends perceived their…

A study demonstrated utility of cluster analysis to classify a racially diverse group of children from kindergarten to Grade 3. Four victim subtypes were identified: nonaggressive nonasocial; aggressive; asocial; and both aggressive and asocial. Early aggression levels predicted increases in victimization and chronicity. The role of asocial…

Two studies examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between adolescents' aggression, victimization, and high status. Findings indicated that both provocateurs and targets of reputational aggression had high levels of peer-perceived popularity. Proactive aggression was also associated with high popularity, while reactive aggression was…

A total of 33 hearing and 29 deaf preschoolers were observed over seven months during outdoor free play at school. Three types of peer relationships were examined: those between nonfriends, between temporary friends, and between long-term friends. The differential functions of these relationships are discussed. (NH)

Study designed to measure effects of relative ability of the peer, his familiarity to the subject, and whatever other peer characteristics might be associated with socioeconomic status.'' (Author)