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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Objective: The present study concerns an overlooked trait indicator of childhood peer status: Being fun. The study is designed to identify the degree to which being fun is uniquely associated with the peer status variables of likeability and popularity.Method: Two studies of children in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9 to 12) are reported. The first involved 306 girls and 305 boys attending school in northern Colombia. The second involved 363 girls and 299 boys attending school in southern Florida. Students completed similar peer nomination inventories, once in the first study and twice (8 weeks apart) in the second.Results: In both studies, being fun was positively correlated with likeability and popularity. In the second study, being fun predicted subsequent changes in likeability and popularity, after controlling for factors known to be related to each. Initial likeability and popularity also predicted subsequent changes in perceptions of being fun.Conclusions: Anecdotal evidence suggests that children are intensely focused on having fun. The findings indicate that this focus extends beyond the immediate rewards that fun experiences provide; some portion of peer status is uniquely derived from the perception that one is fun to be around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the moderating effect of social problem-solving (SPS) in the association between risk factors and peer victimization in a sample of Colombian adolescents. Using structural equation modeling techniques, this study assessed the extent to which changes in victimization varied as a function of the interaction between risk factors and social problem-solving. Results showed that both aggression and avoidance were predictive of initial scores on victimization, but only avoidance was found to predict its change over time. Only a main effect of SPS was found at the beginning of the year; no moderating effects were found. Results are consistent with previous findings by confirming that avoidance and aggression are risk factors for peer victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]