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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.

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.

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.

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.)

Sentiment analysis is a computational method that automatically analyzes the valence of massive quantities of text. Basic sentiment analysis involves extracting and counting emotionally-laden keywords from passages of text (e.g., hate, love, happy, sad). This study describes using sentiment analysis to explore changes in emotion expression in a developmental context. A sample of n = 8,688 poems published online by children and adolescents from Grade 4 to Grade 12 was analyzed. Sentiment analysis coded words as positive or negative and these were averaged within each poem to obtain its relative percentage of positive and negative sentiment. Polynomial regressions explored linear and nonlinear trends in sentiment scores by grade. Among the results, negative sentiment demonstrated an upward curvilinear trend, increasing sharply from Grade 6 to Grade 11 and then decreasing afterward. Positive sentiment demonstrated a sinusoidal pattern throughout development. Overall, these findings are consistent with previous research on the progressions of emotion expression in childhood and adolescence. Despite some limitations, sentiment analysis presents an opportunity for researchers in developmental psychology to explore basic questions in emotional development using large quantities of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive functions (EFs) may help children to regulate their food-intake in an "obesogenic" environment, where energy-dense food is easily available. There is mounting evidence that overweight is associated with diminished hot and cool EFs, and several longitudinal studies found evidence for a predictive effect of hot EFs on children's bodyweight, but longitudinal research examining the effect of cool EF on weight development in children is still scarce. The current 3-year longitudinal study examined the effect of a latent cool EF factor, which was based on three behavioral EF tasks, on subsequent mean levels and 3-year growth trajectories of body-mass-index z-scores (zBMI). Data from a large sample of children, with zBMI ranging from normal weight to obesity (n = 1474, aged 6–11 years at T1, 52% girls) was analyzed using structural-equation modeling and linear latent growth-curve modeling. Cool EF at the first wave (T1) negatively predicted subsequent zBMI and zBMI development throughout the 3-year period in middle childhood such that children with better EF had a lower zBMI and less steep zBMI growth. These effects were not moderated by the children's age or gender. In conclusion, as early as in middle childhood, cool EFs seem to support the self-regulation of food-intake and consequently may play a causal role in the multifactorial etiology of overweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiencing chronic stress early in life has been linked to anxiety symptoms and related outcomes. This study examined whether emotional self-regulatory processes, specifically children's awareness of emotion regulation strategies, would qualify the link between cumulative stress and anxiety symptoms in childhood. One hundred and twenty-nine 6- to 11-year-olds (M = 8.84; SD = 1.61; 47% girls) participated in the study. We derived an index of nine environmental stressors and quantified children's emotion regulation strategy awareness from an interview about their emotional experiences. Parents reported on children's anxiety symptoms. As expected, cumulative stress was positively associated with anxiety symptoms. Emotion regulation strategies moderated the effect of cumulative stress on anxiety symptoms, such that children with larger repertoires had fewer symptoms in the context of low stress, but more symptoms in the context of high stress. Results offer new insight in understanding anxiety symptoms in childhood and demonstrate the importance of children's emotion regulation strategy knowledge as a novel facet of regulatory skill that may characterize the specific emotion dysregulation implicated in the emergence of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies used chronological age to examine the relationship between aging and volunteerism. In the current study, we examined the influence of subjective life expectancy (SLE) on volunteering based on the socioemotional selectivity theory emphasizing that older adults focus on very close relationships. Data of 11,203 older adults, 55 to 74 years old (M = 65.0, SD = 5.6), from five waves (2006–2014) of the Health and Retirement Study were included. Growth curve modeling results showed that older adults with higher SLE scores at baseline not only spent more time volunteering but also showed a slower decrease in volunteering over time. Furthermore, changes in older adults' SLE were associated with a change in volunteering. The findings may show the relative importance of close relationships and social activities for older adults and contribute to demystifying the differences shown in the volunteer participation among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study establishes a sequence of developing mental state understandings in infants. We used three violation-of-expectation paradigms to assess fifty-seven 16-month-olds' ability to (a) infer an actress's intention from her prior repeated approaches to an object, (b) recognize her emotion by watching her facial-emotional display, and (c) deduce her false belief by noticing her lack of visual access to a change in the experimental setup. Contingencies between passing the three tasks were analyzed. Results showed that the infants made sense of intention first, followed by emotion, and then false belief. This progressive sequence parallels what has been found with preschoolers using verbal theory-of-mind tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between felt gender typicality (self-perceived similarity to the same-gender peer group) and psychosocial adjustment (self-esteem, peer social competence, depression, victimization, and aggression) was examined in a sample of early adolescents in New Delhi, India (N = 296, 130 girls, mean age = 12.73 years). We also explored whether adolescents' gender-differentiating cognitions (felt pressure for gender conformity, work sexism, and entity beliefs) affect their adjustment, alone and in interaction with felt typicality. Results indicated that felt typicality was associated with higher self-esteem in girls and in older adolescents, with lower depression in older adolescents, and with higher peer social competence. Gender-differentiating beliefs were especially detrimental to girls' and younger adolescents' psychosocial adjustment, with mixed results for boys' adjustment. Gender beliefs also moderated the influence of felt typicality on adjustment. Felt atypicality was associated with greater depression and aggression when adolescents also reported strongly sexist beliefs; and with greater victimization for older adolescents who had high felt pressure or work sexism. Further, boys with strong entity beliefs failed to derive peer social competence from felt typicality. Results indicate that gender self-discrepancy—a disconnect between how one sees oneself in relation to the same-gender peer group and how one feels one's gender should be—is problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined emerging adults' gender identity and its link with several gender-related and social outcomes, by using a novel dual-identity approach that was originally developed in children. Dutch emerging adults between 18 and 25 years old (N = 318, M age = 21.73, SD = 2.02; 51% female) indicated their similarity to the own-gender group and the other-gender group to assess gender identity. They completed questionnaires assessing gender-typed behavior (internalized sexualization, toughness, emotional stoicism) and attitudes (i.e., sexism); friendship efficacy and ability; and social-emotional adjustment. Cluster analysis on the gender-identity items revealed four gender-identity types: (a) feeling similar to one's own gender, but not to the other gender (Own-GS); (b) feeling similar to both one's own and the other gender (Both-GS); (c) feeling dissimilar to one's own gender (Low-Own-GS); and (d) feeling similar to neither gender (Low-GS). Own-GS and Low-GS adults were most gender-typed in their behavior and showed sexist attitudes. Both-GS adults felt efficacious and were highly able to relate to both genders, whereas the other groups felt efficacious and were able to relate to only one gender (Own-GS, Low-Own-GS), or to neither gender (Low-GS). Low-Own-GS and Low-GS were least well-adjusted social-emotionally. Findings suggest that identifying with one's own gender is helpful for certain aspects of social-emotional adjustment but that also identifying with the other gender provides the advantage of flexible social and interpersonal skills and egalitarian gender attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review theory and research on the assessment, development, and consequences of individual differences in gender identity, as studied among ordinary school children. Gender identity encompasses children's appraisals of compatibility with, and motivation to fit in with, gender collectives; it is a multidimensional construct. Five dimensions of gender identity are considered in depth: felt same-gender typicality, felt other-gender typicality, gender contentedness, felt pressure for gender conformity, and intergroup bias. A host of cognitive, affective, social, and defensive processes contribute to these forms of gender identity, all of which in turn affect children's psychosocial adjustment. Felt same-gender typicality promotes self-esteem and protects children from harmful effects of stressors, but it is associated with negative attitudes toward other-gender peers and activities unless children feel at least somewhat similar to the other gender as well. Felt other-gender typicality distresses children who do not also feel same-gender–typical. The other three gender identity variables encourage self-serving behavior (e.g., dominance) if children view it as appropriate for their gender. Children who feel gender-atypical or discontent with their gender suffer considerable distress if they feel pressure for gender conformity. Gender contentedness may be a particularly powerful contributor to children's adoption of gender-typed behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current study was to better understand the development of gender typicality in young adulthood by applying the dual-identity approach to gender typicality, previously developed with children, to a university sample. Participants (n = 215, Mage = 20.20 years; 62% female) were asked to rate their perceived similarity to both own- and other-gender peers. They also completed questionnaires assessing sexist attitudes, internalized sexualization (females), adherence to male-typed behaviors in the context of interpersonal relationships (males; adherence to physical toughness and restrictive emotional expressivity), gender-based relationship efficacy, friendships, self-esteem, social self-efficacy, and social anxiety. Results indicated that self-perceived gender typicality involves comparisons to both gender groups, and that meaningful typologies can be created based on similarity to own- and other-gender groups. As with children, results indicated that identifying with one's own gender was advantageous in terms of low social anxiety and relationships with own-gender peers. For adults who identified with both own- and other-gender peers, we identified additional social benefits (i.e., efficacy and friendships with other-gender peers). Further, we identified a downside to own-gender typicality: individuals who identified only with their own gender had more sexist attitudes than those who identified with the other gender. Findings support the viability of the dual-identity approach in young adults, and have implications for researchers assessing gender typicality across development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]