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This study examined variations in the development of classroom aggression popularity norms, as well as the role of homeroom teachers' aggression beliefs and students' perceptions of teachers' support as predictors of such variations. To achieve this goal, a sample of 63 classrooms were assessed at four time points during a school year, in nine Colombian schools. Results indicated that, overall, classroom aggression popularity norms have a nonlinear trajectory with an increase that peaks at the end of the school year. Also, we found that teachers' aggression beliefs were concurrently associated with aggression popularity norms across time, and that teachers' support prevented the increase in these norms. These findings are discussed considering their practical implications for preventing aggression in the school context.

The frequency and length of games, conflicts, and contingency sequences that took place between toddlers as they got to know one another were studied using archival data. The sample consisted of 28 unfamiliar 20- and 30-month-old toddlers (predominantly White, 16 males) who met separately with each of two other toddlers for 18 play dates. The frequency of games increased over time, while the frequency of conflict and contingency sequences decreased. The length of games increased over time while the length of conflicts and contingency sequences were stable. Age and language ability predicted changes in frequency and length of the different types of sequences. Thus, toddlers engage in less structured interactions when they first meet; their interactions become increasingly more organized and positive as the relationship evolves.

Social norms are vital for the functioning of adolescent peer groups; they can protect the well-being of groups and individual members, often by deterring harmful behaviors, such as aggression, through enforcement mechanisms like peer victimization; in adolescent peer groups, those who violate aggression norms are often subject to victimization. However, adolescents are nested within several levels of peer group contexts, ranging from small proximal groups, to larger distal groups, and social norms operate within each. This study assessed whether there are differences in the enforcement of aggression norms at different levels. Self-report and peer-nomination data were collected four times over the course of a school year from 1,454 early adolescents (M[subscript age] = 10.27; 53.9% boys) from Bogota, Colombia. Multilevel modeling provided support for social regulation of both physical aggression and relational aggression via peer victimization, as a function of gender, grade-level, proximal (friend) or distal (class) injunctive norms of aggression (perceptions of group-level attitudes), and descriptive norms of aggression. Overall, violation of proximal norms appears to be more powerfully enforced by adolescent peer groups. The findings are framed within an ecological systems theory of adolescent peer relationships.

We examined the evolution of social pretend play in toddlers and tested whether children's age, gender, and language abilities were associated with changes in social pretend play over time. We employed a unique observational data set that followed 28 children (M[subscript age] = 27 months old; 57% boys) with each of two unfamiliar peers over 18 playdates per dyad. Cross-classified multilevel models revealed a quadratic change in the number of successful initiations in toddlers' social pretend play over time with a more pronounced curve for older toddlers. Boys' failed initiations increased linearly over time, whereas girls' failed initiations remained stable. The length of social pretend play did not change significantly over time. Children's age and language abilities were positively associated with successful initiations, failed initiations, and length of social pretend play. Very young children engage in social pretend play and the nature of this play evolves as they get to know one another and form relationships.

Data from 790 older school-age (M[subscript age] = 10.2 years, SD = 1.2 years) girls (N = 427) and boys from Barranquilla, Colombia (N = 449) and Montréal, Canada (N = 331) were used to replicate findings reported by Valdivia et al. (2005). This prior study revealed contextual variations in the association between two measures of social behavior, specifically aggression and withdrawal, and two measures of effective functioning with peers, specifically sociometric preference and friendship. The Montréal participants were primarily from families with European backgrounds. The ethnicity of the participants from Barranquilla can be described as Latinx/Caribbean. Multilevel analyses provided evidence of replication of place differences only for the associations between measures of aggression and sociometric preference. Stronger negative associations were observed between (a) measures of aggression and sociometric preference, (b) measures of withdrawal and sociometric preference, and (c) withdrawal and friendship in peer groups that were high in collectivism. These findings are interpreted as largely replicating the deep structure of the findings from the Valdivia et al. study.

Despite its importance, replication has remained in the background of social development research. The aim of this special section was to elucidate and elevate the role of replication in peer relations research, examining its challenges and its utility for moving the field forward. To accomplish this aim, five sets of researchers undertook identifying an important finding from a widely cited article in the peer literature and tried to replicate its basic results using new data. As a group, the resulting five articles cover a broad range of topics, measures, and methods that are seen in peer research. Four of the five articles provide evidence of replication. This evidence was seen more for basic principles or processes observed in earlier studies than for exact or specific findings. In addition, the authors used varied approaches to replication, highlighting the need to embrace diverse methods when attempting to replicate complicated mechanisms of social development. It is argued that replication efforts should be aimed at identifying basic principles and processes of social development while clarifying the parameters that account for variability across studies in the specific findings.

The challenge and pleasures of studying child and adolescent peer experiences come from the complexity and the significance of these relationships for development in childhood and adolescence. In spite of the recognized strengths of the current literature on the effects of experiences with peers, research on peer experiences is often limited by an inattention to the effects of the hierarchical structure of the peer system. Experiences with peers are known to be situated in complex and multilevel social contexts. These contexts can be as small (or as focal) as a relationship dyad (e.g., two best friends interacting together), a peer group (e.g., more than two peers interacting together simultaneously), or as large and diverse as the cultural contexts of nation-states. A consequence of this multilevel organization peer research would benefit from the use of models that can account for variables and processes that occur at different levels of social complexity. This multilevel approach would also be multidisciplinary because it would require the integration of constructs typically studied in different scholarly disciplines. We show how a broader and less disciplinarily focused perspective can enrich our understanding of the features and processes of peer experiences.

The hypothesis that the concurrent associations between friendship features and friendship satisfaction are moderated by security-related experiences within the family was examined with two sets of analyses conducted with a sample of fifth- and sixth-grade students (M = 10.87, SD = 0.73, range 10-13 years). The main hypothesis of the study was that friendship security would be more important for friendship satisfaction when security within the family was low. The first analysis (N = 409) showed that the association between friendship security and friendship satisfaction was stronger when security with mothers was low rather than high. A second analysis (N = 266) showed that this association was stronger for children from divorced families than from intact families. Findings observed with other aspects of friendship (e.g., intimacy) appeared to be weaker than those observed with friendship security, and they were not moderated by family-related measures. These findings show that the importance of friendship security as a source of friendship satisfaction varies as a function of experience in other relationship systems.

Although peer relations are recognized as a fundamental developmental context, they have been rarely studied as a means of understanding the effects of socioeconomic status and inequality. In this paper, we show how and why peer relations provide a unique and powerful opportunity to assess the differential risks and resources available in the peer system to children and adolescents from different SES spectra. We argue that research on the intersection between SES and peer relations will enrich both these domains of study.

The effects of selective missingness on the size of observed correlations between scores derived from peer assessment procedures were examined with a sample of 719 boys and girls drawn from 57 peer groups in seven schools in Montréal, Québec, Canada or Barranquilla, a city on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia in Latin America. Peer groups (i.e., the boys or girls within in a school classroom) in which participation rates exceeded 90% were randomly assigned to either a "complete" or a "missing" group. In separate procedures, children whose scores placed them above the 20th percentile for their group were excluded from the "missing" groups on measures of passive withdrawal, popularity, and aggression. When the correlations observed with the "complete" groups were compared with the correlations observed with the "missing" groups, few differences were observed. These findings are discussed within the context of the effects of missing data on peer assessment techniques and the factors underlying the association between different peer assessment measures.

Cultural and socioeconomic differences in children's perceptions of their peers as being typical members of the cis gender group were examined in a cross-sectional sample of 351 girls (N = 164) and boys from 19 fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms (M age = 11.5) in three primary schools in Montréal (N = 156) and two schools in Barranquilla. Multilevel modeling indicated that: (a) the overall level of perceived typicality was low; (b) boys perceived other boys to be more typical than girls, whereas girls perceived girls and boys to have the same level of typicality; (c) in Barranquilla perceptions of gender typicality were higher among upper-middle-class children than among lower-middle-class children, whereas no difference was observed with the children from Montréal.

Evidence of cultural comparisons of gender-identity-measurement scales is scarce. The present study aims to assess the scalar invariance of two dimensions of a widely used gender identity scale (Egan and Perry's Multidimensional Gender Identity Inventory) across two cultural contexts. Fourth, sixth, and fifth graders from Barranquilla (Colombia) and Montréal (Canada) (n = 351) completed an abbreviated, self-report revised version of Egan and Perry's scale. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that typicality and pressure to conform to traditional gender roles are distinct factors and tend to be stable over time. Furthermore, a multi-group comparison analysis showed that the measurement model did not vary significantly as a function of cultural context. Our study adds evidence to support the use of a reliable and valid measurement instrument that is invariant across cultural settings, to allow comparisons that do not depend on contextual variations in the assessment of gender identity during childhood.

Complexities of essential aspects of the teacher-student relationship were identified in a group of German adolescents and their teachers through participant observation. It is already known that the determinants of the teacher-student relationship cannot be simply categorized and analyzed as univariate features. Using Clifford Geertz?s concept of "thick description," empirical data were collected during a six-month field study at a secondary school in the south of Germany. Thematic analyses of the extant empirical database identified six sociological principles that constitute fundamental components of the teacher-student relationship: power, dualism, solidarity, productivity, sympathy, and identity. Analyses showed that meaningful ritualized structures limit teachers and students to institutional roles that are incongruent with the general aim of having productive interactions in educational settings. The complexity of educational settings can only be grasped if the teacher-student relationship is understood as an interpersonal process. When reduced to their institutional roles, both teachers and students experienced their relationship and educational settings as unsatisfactory.

To better address the many consequences of peer victimization, research must identify not only aspects of individuals that put them at risk for victimization, such as aggression, but also aspects of the context that influence the extent of that risk. To this end, this study examined the contextual influences of gender, same-sex peer group norms of physical and relational aggression, and nationality on the associations of physical and relational aggression with peer victimization in early adolescents from Canada, China, Brazil, and Colombia (N = 865; M[subscript age] = 11.01, SD = 1.24; 55% boys). Structural equation modeling was used to test for measurement invariance of the latent constructs. Multilevel modeling revealed that both forms of aggression were positive predictors of peer victimization, but physical aggression was a stronger predictor for girls than boys. Cross-national differences emerged in levels of peer victimization, such that levels were highest in Brazil and lowest in Colombia. Cross-national differences were also evidenced in the relationship between relational aggression and victimization: the relationship was positive in China, Brazil, and Canada (listed in descending order of magnitude), but negative in Colombia. Above and beyond the cross-national differences, physical aggression was a stronger predictor of victimization in peer groups low in physical aggression, and relational aggression was a stronger predictor in peer groups low in relational aggression. Ultimately, this research is intended to contribute to a better theoretical understanding of risk factors for peer victimization and the development of more effective and culturally-appropriate prevention and intervention efforts.

Previous studies have demonstrated that several contextual factors influence the relationship between aggression and peer victimization in early adolescence, including gender of the same-sex peer group and gender composition of the school. The current study replicated and expanded on this research by examining the moderating influences of gender of the same-sex peer group, same-sex peer group norms, and classroom gender composition in a sample of early adolescents from Barranquilla, Colombia. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that both relational and physical aggression were positive predictors of peer victimization. Relationally aggressive girls were at a lower risk for victimization while physically aggressive girls were at a higher risk. Relational aggression was a weaker predictor in classes with a larger proportion of girls. Additionally, relational aggression was a weaker predictor in same-sex peer groups with a greater prevalence of relational aggression. These findings provide further evidence of multiple forms of contextual influence on social behavior. Practical implications for these findings are also provided.

Current issues in the use of peer assessment techniques and sociometric methods are discussed. Attention is paid to the contributions of the four articles in this volume. Together these contributions point to the continual level of change and progress in these techniques. They also show that the paradigm underlying these methods has been unchanged for decades. It is argued that this domain is ripe for a paradigm change that takes advantage of recent developments in statistical techniques and technology.

This study tests the hypothesis that adolescents with romantic partners are less similar to their friends on rates of alcohol abuse than adolescents without romantic partners. Participants (662 girls, 574 boys) ranging in age from 12 to 19 years nominated friends and romantic partners, and completed a measure of alcohol abuse. In hierarchical linear models, friends with romantic partners were less similar on rates of alcohol abuse than friends without romantic partners, especially if they were older and less accepted. Follow-up longitudinal analyses were conducted on a subsample (266 boys, 374 girls) of adolescents who reported friendships that were stable across 2 consecutive years. Associations between friend reports of alcohol abuse declined after adolescents became involved in a romantic relationship, to the point at which they became more similar to their romantic partners than to their friends.

This study investigated the prospective association between moral disengagement and bystander behaviors in bullying situations, including both defending and passive bystanding. A diverse sample of Canadian school children (N = 130; 68 boys and 62 girls; mean age = 11.36 years) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study over a 4-month period. Computer-based questionnaires were used to assess passive bystanding and defending by using both self-report and peer-report measures, as well as moral disengagement using self-report. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test longitudinal associations between moral disengagement and the bystander behaviors, resulting in an overall pattern that was consistent with Bandura's (1999) sociocognitive theory of moral agency. Findings also revealed important sex differences and methodological issues, particularly with regard to the use of peer-nomination tools versus self-report tools.

This cross-national study investigates the perception of the impact of students' relationships towards teachers and peers on scholastic motivation in a total sample of 1477 seventh and eighth grade German (N?=?1088) and Canadian (N?=?389) secondary school students. By applying Multigroup Confirmatory Latent Class Analysis in Mplus we confirmed four different motivation types: (1) teacher-dependent; (2) peer-dependent; (3) teacher-and-peer-dependent; (4) teacher-and-peer-independent motivation types in Québec, Canada, as they were found in a preliminary study among German students in the state of Brandenburg (Raufelder, Jagenow, Drury, & Hoferichter, 2013). However, across the two samples, the class sizes varied considerable. The largest group among Canadian students was composed of teacher-and-peer-dependent students, followed by teacher-and-peer-independent students, while the largest group among German students was composed of peer-dependent students, followed by teacher-and-peer-independent students. In both settings the teacher-dependent motivation type constituted the smallest group. These results manifest the different impacts of social environmental variables on the motivation of German and Canadian students, having practical implications for school psychologists and educators in general.

Multilevel modeling was used to examine contextual variations in the structure of the "self" in a sample of 918 lower- and upper-middle class early adolescents (M age = 10.37 years, SD = 1.19) from a "majority" cultural context (i.e., Barranquilla in the Caribbean region of Colombia) and a "nonmajority" context (i.e., Montreal, Quebec, Canada). It was expected that the associations between measures of the self-concept (i.e., indices of self-perceived competence) and a measure of general self-worth would differ in majority and nonmajority contexts and would vary as a function of socioeconomic status, the relative emphasis placed on individualism and collectivism and gender. Findings indicate that contextual factors moderated the extent to which self-worth is associated with components of early adolescents' self-concept. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

A 5 year, ten wave longitudinal study of 338 adolescents assessed the association between two forms of cognitive vulnerability (intolerance of uncertainty and fear of anxiety) and worry. Multilevel mediational analyses revealed a bidirectional and reciprocal relation between intolerance of uncertainty and worry in which change in one variable partially explained change in the other. Fear of anxiety and worry also showed evidence of a bidirectional relation, although change in fear of anxiety had a much weaker mediational effect on change in worry than vice versa. The findings show that relative to fear of anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty may play a greater role in the etiology of worry in adolescents.

Latent growth curve modeling was used to study the co-development of internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of 2844 Korean fourth graders followed over four years. The project integrated two major theoretical viewpoints positing developmental mechanism: directional model and common vulnerability model. Findings suggest that (a) boys and girls follow different developmental trajectories in both domains in early adolescence; (b) bidirectional progression from initial levels of each domain to the developmental pattern of the other domain emerged among boys, while only unidirectional progression from externalizing to internalizing problem emerged among girls; and (c) all risk factors are not equally risky across domain and gender; parental violence was a common cross-domain risk factor for boys, whereas affiliation with delinquent friends was a common cross-domain risk factor for girls. Implications for future research and intervention were discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 6 figures.)

The idea of successful development is used as the conceptual platform for a proposal that three basic principles of developmental science be expanded. Specifically, we propose that (a) developmental science needs to be reframed as a guide for what successful development is and how it is manifested at different times of the life course; (b) that the integrative emphasis of developmental science needs to emphasize the intersection of developmental domains as well as the integration of concepts from other disciplines; and (c) that careful distinctions need to be made between the life span approach (i.e., research focused on processes within one moment of the life course) and the life history approach (i.e., understanding stability and change across part of the life course). It is argued that the concept of successful development can be used to enrich developmental science.

The goal of the current study was to examine how the presence of a best friend might serve as protection against the effect of negative experiences on global self-worth and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis). A total of 103 English-speaking male (n = 55) and female (n = 48) participants from Grade 5 (M = 10.27 years) and Grade 6 (M = 11.30 years) completed booklets about their experiences that occurred 20 min previously and how they felt about themselves at the moment, and they provided saliva multiple times per day over the course of 4 consecutive days. Having a best friend present during an experience significantly buffered the effect of the negativity of the experience on cortisol and global self-worth. When a best friend was not present, there was a significant increase in cortisol and a significant decrease in global self-worth as the negativity of the experience increased. When a best friend was present, there was less change in cortisol and global self-worth due to the negativity of the experience. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This study examines variability in patterns of peer group antipathy. Same-grade adolescent peer groups were identified from sociometric nominations of preferred affiliates in a community sample of 600 Finnish ninth-grade middle school students (mean age = 15.0 years). Hierarchical linear modeling determined characteristics of youths in actor groups (nominators) that predicted antipathy for youths in target groups (nominatees) on the basis of target group characteristics. Most antipathies were based on dissimilarity between groups representing the mainstream culture and groups opposed to it. The higher a peer group's school burnout, the more its members disliked students in peer groups with higher school grades and students in peer groups with higher sports participation. Conversely, the higher a peer group's school grades, the more its members disliked students in peer groups with higher school burnout. Students in peer groups with less problem behavior disliked students in peer groups with more problem behavior. There was some evidence of rivalry within the mainstream culture: The higher a group's school grades, the more its members disliked groups whose members participated in sports. (Contains 5 figures and 3 tables.)

The current study examined social dominance and peer victimization as possible intervening and moderating variables of the association between peer liking and relational aggression because previous findings suggest that social dominance and peer victimization are important for predicting the acceptableness and success of aggression. A total of 367 5th- and 6th-grade students from Quebec, Canada, completed peer ratings of their classmates on measures of peer liking, relational aggression, social dominance, and peer victimization. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that peer victimization worked as a mediator and a moderator, such that victimization explained the link between peer liking and relational aggression, and that this association was only significant at high levels of peer victimization. Alternatively, social dominance worked as a suppressor, with the link between peer liking and relational aggression becoming stronger once social dominance was controlled in the multiple regression. Social dominance did not moderate the same association. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Background: The current study examined the pathway from peer victimization to depressive symptoms and body mass index (BMI) as mediated by self-concept for physical appearance in both obese and non-obese adolescents. It was thought that this pathway would be particularly important for obese adolescents because, compared to non-obese adolescents, they are at risk for being victimized and because the victimization would be more likely to lead to lower self-concept. Method: Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, the current study examined self-reports of peer victimization, self-concept for physical appearance, depressive symptoms, height, and weight in 1,287 adolescents at three time periods over four years starting when the participants were between the ages of 12 and 13. Results: For non-obese adolescents, victimization did not predict changes in depressive symptoms and body mass index (BMI) four years later. For obese females, the mediated pathway was found from victimization to self-concept to both depressive symptoms and increases in BMI. For obese males, the findings were more complicated. In this group, the mediated pathway was found from victimization to self-concept to decreases in BMI, but a mediated pathway was not found for depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The current study suggests that a risk-factor for being victimized, such as obesity, may play an important role in the long-term effects of victimization by making it more likely that the adolescent will be victimized over the long term but also that victimization can reinforce the negative self-perceptions that the adolescent already has. It is important to go beyond using obesity as a predictor of long-term adjustment and examine the processes and experiences of obese individuals that might more directly cause depression or changes in health.

Objective: The objective of the current study was to assess whether relationships with mothers and peers moderate the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and anxiety disorders. That is, positive and supportive experiences were expected to minimize the effects of CSA whereas nonsupportive experiences were expected to magnify them. Method: Participants from a large, stratified, multistage-area, probability community sample provided retrospective reports of CSA and childhood relationships with mothers and peers and a modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview produced life-time psychiatric diagnoses of four non-phobic anxiety disorders after the age of 18. Results: Utilizing multiple-regressions, a two-way interaction found that for those reporting low levels of friendship quality there was a stronger link between CSA and the number of diagnosed anxiety disorder than those reporting high levels of friendship quality. In addition a three-way interaction found that those reporting to have no friends and a low quality mother-child relationships had the strongest association between CSA and the number of diagnosed anxiety disorders, while those reporting to have many friends and a high quality relationship had the weakest association. Conclusions: The findings from the current study suggest that relationships with friends and parents may play an important role in understanding the links between childhood sexual abuse and later anxiety disorders and that these relationships may also be important sources of protection against the negative effects of childhood sexual abuse.

This longitudinal study investigated prospective links between social isolation and adjustment problems among 166 (77 girls, 89 boys) Finnish children ages 7 to 9. Peer nominations for social engagement and self-reports of internalizing and externalizing problems were collected in the spring of the 1st and 2nd grade. Friendship moderated prospective associations between peer and adjustment variables. Among friended children, there were no prospective associations between social isolation and either internalizing or externalizing problems. Among unfriended children, initial social isolation was positively linked to subsequent increases in internalizing and externalizing problems, and initial internalizing and externalizing problems predicted subsequent increases in social isolation. The findings suggest that friendship buffers against the adverse consequences associated with being isolated and presenting adjustment difficulties.

The field of developmental psychopathology has been challenged by various issues in understanding the link between social experiences and psychopathology. These challenges involve conceptual, methodological and statistical concerns that are often interrelated. This article examines four advances in resolving these concerns. First, co-rumination and deviancy training are discussed as specific interpersonal processes that are examples of important social experiences for predicting psychopathology. Second, dynamic properties of dyadic interaction are discussed as one of the recent advances in methodology for this area. Third, the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model is outlined as one of the recent statistical advances in the study of individuals within a dyad. Fourth, changes in the study of culture are presented as informing the understanding link between social experiences and developmental psychopathology. (Contains 1 figure.)

The effect of friendship reciprocation and friend aggression on the stability of aggression across a 6-month period following the transition to secondary school was studied in a sample of 298 Grade 6 children from a predominately white, middle-class, Midwestern American community. The stability of aggression was generally high but it varied as a function of (1) the level of aggression of both individuals in the friendship and (2) whether the friendship was reciprocated. For children with high initial levels of aggression, those with unreciprocated aggressive friends were the most stable in their aggression. For children with low initial levels of aggression, most children remained stably low in aggression, with type of friendship and friend aggression having little effect on stability. Adolescents who were high in aggression at time 1 (T1) and had an aggressive friend (reciprocated or not) remained aggressive at time 2 (T2), but those who were aggressive at T1 and had nonaggressive friends actually displayed much lower levels of aggression at T2. The opposite did not occur for those adolescents low in aggression at T1. Those low in aggression with aggressive friends at T1 did not increase in aggression. These findings were discussed in light of current thinking about the effect of friendship on development. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Although research on friendship reveals the significance of friendship for children, questions about friendship and development remain unanswered. It is argued that the study of friendship would benefit from a return to basic questions about what friendship is, how it is measured, and how it varies across people and contexts.

As the study of peer relations has grown and developed, it has gained a prominent position in the understanding of developmental process and psychopathology. During its development, research in peer relations has moved from a more undifferentiated, global state to a state of increased articulation and complexity. This introductory essay attempts to provide examples of five models that reflect the state of the art in peer relation research: Markers, moderators, mediators, mechanisms, and meanings. Examples from the papers in the special issue and research from the general field of peer relations are used to illustrate these five approaches to the study of peer relations and developmental psychopathology.

The goal of this study was to investigate the extent to which aggressive-disruptive peers contribute to the development of externalizing and internalizing problems in children, while controlling for children's own behavior. We examined 2 sets of peers: (1) those that the child nominated as friends, and (2) those that nominated the child as a friend. The participants were 236 boys and girls attending 3rd to 5th grade at the beginning of the study, who were followed over a period of 2 years. Results showed that choosing more aggressive peers on the nomination procedure was associated with more externalizing problems and self-reported depressive symptomatology over time. On the other hand, being liked by more aggressive children generally was not associated with elevated externalizing or internalizing problems.

Asserts that associations between child and adolescent aggression and competence need to be understood according to basic aspects of group process, such as dominance, resource control, and regulation of retaliatory gestures between group members. Maintains that although moderately aggressive children may be given status and power within the peer group, it does not mean that they are adjusted or that they will receive affection or kindness from peers. (Author/KB)

Examined the relationship between early adolescents' involvement in romantic relationships and their emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment, depending on same-sex peer relationships. Found a negative relationship between romantic involvement and emotional and behavioral adjustment for adolescents who were unpopular with same-sex peers. Negative relationships to academic performance surfaced only for girls, independent of same-sex peer acceptance. (TJQ)

Assessed Canadian young adolescents' peer relationships as students moved from grade 6 in small elementary schools to middle-level schools offering grades 7 to 12. Found that girls experienced greater instability in reciprocated friendships than boys. Found that girls, more so than boys, lost old friendships and formed new friendships with unfamiliar peers. (Author/DLH)

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 friends. Ranked-friendship preference related to behavior less than perceived-friendship quality. (Author/KB)

Used new longitudinal clustering technique to identify and compare groups of children with distinct longitudinal profiles of peer social preference during elementary school. Identified a stable popular group, stable average group, and unpopular group, all with decreasing social preference. Groups showed overlap over time with closest corresponding sociometric category. Externalizing and internalizing behavior generally decreased over time. (Author/KB)

Examined whether maternal behavior at Time 1 would be associated with sibling interaction at Time 2, and whether the quality of sibling interactions would be associated. Found that both mothers and children influenced the quality of sibling relationships over time. (SD)

Examined impact of peer experience on seventh graders' strategies for coping with peer hassles. Found that more aggressive adolescents perceived more control over hassles. More aggressive, unpopular adolescents used more negative strategies; more popular aggressive females used more problem-focused strategies. Withdrawn adolescents perceived less control over peer hassles, used fewer negative and problem-focused strategies, and used more emotion-focused strategies. (Author/KB)

Investigated whether friendships with deviant peers would be related negatively to the emotional and behavioral adjustment of 305 adolescents, 13 years of age. Found that adolescents with deviant friends were more delinquent than those with no mutual friends or nondeviant friends, and showed similarly problematic depression levels as friendless youth but were less lonely than the latter group. (Author/KB)

Studied sibling-directed self-disclosure of 40 preadolescents through interviews, a questionnaire, and subjects' daily diaries. Found that warmth in sibling relationship was most strongly associated with sibling disclosure, but not with rivalry, conflict, or power. Daily sibling disclosures were more strongly associated with reports of unhappy sibling interactions, but were unrelated to interview reports of disclosing. (Author/TJQ)

Evaluates empirical studies to determine whether Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in children meets DSM-IV definitional criteria of mental illness. Concludes that children who experience a sense of inappropriateness in their culturally prescribed sex role but do not experience discomfort with their biological sex should not be considered to have a GID. (SM)

Examined differences in attraction to same- and other-sex peers as a function of sex, age, individual characteristics, and context in adolescents studied longitudinally from elementary to middle school. Found attraction to aggressive peers and to peers standing out in observable ways increased with age and upon entry to middle school, whereas attraction to peers with good classroom- based behavior decreased. (Author/KB)

Provides a conceptual and empirical analysis of the associations between the fundamental sociometric dimensions of acceptance, rejection, and social preference. Examines whether nomination and rating scale measures index the same constructs. Notes that sociometric ratings measure social preference, but can also yield indicators of acceptance and rejection. (JPB)

Introduces the basic ideas of Jacob Moreno's (1934) historical model of sociometric judgment and discusses how developmental psychologists have used this model in child development research. Traces the development of sociometric techniques to study children's peer relations, and notes the limitations of contemporary sociometric techniques. (JPB)

Examined role of friendship aspects in moderating behavioral antecedents and outcomes of peer victimization among fourth and fifth graders. Teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors predicted increases in peer-reported victimization; relation of internalizing behaviors to increases in victimization was attenuated for children with a protective friendship. Victimization predicted increases in internalizing and externalizing behaviors for children without a best friendship. (JPB)