Small group social skills training (SST) is recommended to improve the social behavior and peer relations of rejected children, but child responses vary. This study explored variation in intervention experiences that emerged in a large study of a school-based SST program for peer-rejected children and associations with program outcomes. One…

Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Previous research suggests that social--cognitive factors mediate the association between social--environmental risk and aggression in high-risk samples, but less is known about the relation among these factors in suburban youth. The present study examined whether such an association occurred for suburban youth exposed to low levels of social…

In the present study, attitudes of elementary school teachers toward different types of bullying (verbal, physical, and relational) were investigated. Six written vignettes describing all types of bullying were given to 405 elementary school teachers (F = 218; M = 187). Results indicated that teachers perceived relational bullying, specifically,…

This study examined perceived behavioral atypicality as a predictor of children's school-based adjustment. First, a descriptive pilot study was conducted to examine children's reasons for nominating peers as behaviorally atypical. Then, atypicality was investigated in relation to school-based adjustment in a two-wave panel design. Social problems,…

The present study investigated the predictive influence of students' reactive emotional coping and racial socialization experiences on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior adjustment problems. Participants were 148 African American male youth attending a secondary school in a large northeastern city. Behavioral outcomes included teacher…

Early school failure is a critical factor in the development of peer rejection and antisocial behavior in children. This paper describes three sets of instructional strategies that have been shown to promote high levels of academic competence by arranging frequent opportunities for correct skill practice: (a) teaching children at their…

Provides a review of the literature in the area of social characteristics of children with AD/HD, and outlines interventions for working with specific social problems. Presents possible reasons for the peer rejection of AD/HD students and includes inappropriate social behavior, social knowledge deficits and biases, and negative interactions with…

This longitudinal study examined the relation between stable sociometric status among same-gender classmates at age 10-11 and peer situation and social adjustment at age 15. Rejected, popular, and average groups of both genders (N = 90) were selected from a representative school sample. Rejected boys and girls preserved their low position among…

College students (n=80) rated children labeled as male/female, "gifted"/"average" and gender-typical/gender-atypical in academic interests on 30 adjective scales. Children labeled "gifted" were rated closer to "odd" than to "fits in well." Gender-atypical boys were considered more "odd" and gender-atypical girls were rated less "odd" than were…

The present study aimed to analyze differences between aggressive and nonaggressive rejected students in four sets of variables: personal, family, school, and social. Participants in the study were 843 Spanish adolescents ranging in age from 11 to 16 years old, of whom 47% were boys. Results indicated that these two subgroups of rejected students…