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We tested the hypothesis that early adolescents' (N = 951) knowledge of who bullies whom is differentially distributed across peers. Knowledge of bullying was assessed by asking middle school students to nominate grademates who bullied or were bullied using physical or relational means. We hypothesized that peers who were closer to bullies and victims in the grade-level friendship network, such as bullies, victims, their friends, and socially central youth, would be more knowledgeable than would peers who were socially distant. Findings revealed that approximately half of the adolescents were able to identify bullies and victims, and those who were most able to do so were socially closer, particularly victims and their friends. Bullies and their friends were less likely to name peers as bullies or victims.

The overarching goal of this special issue is to consider peer victimization involvement and corresponding interventions for youth with disabilities from a social dynamics perspective that situates risks for being a victim, perpetrator, or both within a person-in-context framework. The focus here is not on a specific age range or type of disability. Rather, the aim is to provide a broad overview of issues related to peer victimization involvement of children and adolescents with various disabilities and special education needs. This introduction begins with a discussion of aspects of a person-in-context perspective that provide insights into the social dynamics of the peer victimization process. This is followed by a brief review of the literature on risk factors for involvement in peer victimization for students with disabilities. Next, summarized approaches for promoting school contexts that support students' social success and reduce their risk for involvement in peer victimization are discussed. In the final section, a brief review of the articles in this special issue are presented and considered in light of the potential to establish a national program of research on disability and peer victimization.

This study investigated moderating effects of classroom friendship network structures (centralization and density), teacher-student attunement on aggression and popularity, and gender on changes in the social status of aggression over 1 school year. Longitudinal multilevel analyses with 2 time points (fall and spring) were conducted on a sample of 856 fourth and fifth graders from 45 classrooms. Aggressive boys lost social status over time in classrooms where friendship networks were egalitarian (not centralized) and dense (with many friendship ties) and where the teacher and students were attuned to (shared perceptions about) who in their classroom was aggressive and popular. There were no effects for girls. Educational implications and prospects for setting-level theory, measurement, and intervention are discussed.

Teachers and students in 54 elementary school classrooms (first, third, and fifth grades) participated in a multi-method longitudinal study of classroom social dynamics. At each of three assessments within a single school year, observers rated teacher-student interaction quality, students completed sociometric assessments and reported on their sense of peer community and school bonding/motivation for schooling, and teachers rated students' social behavior. Teachers also completed end-of-year ratings of their strategies and beliefs regarding the management of classroom social dynamics. Multilevel models indicated that teachers' efforts to mitigate status extremes and support isolated students were associated with more positive patterns of within-year change in students' sense of peer community, responsive teacher-student interactions predicted positive changes in school bonding/motivation, and teacher-rated efforts to manage aggression and promote prosocial behavior among aggressive students predicted within-year declines in peer-nominated aggression. Teacher attunement to classroom friendship and victimization patterns, when combined with responsive teaching, was associated with more positive changes in school bonding/motivation. Teachers rated children's aggressive/mean behaviors as being more important for their teaching than social status or friendship dynamics and were more likely to believe that children should solve the latter issues on their own.

This study examined whether social goal orientation (i.e., demonstration-approach, demonstration--avoid, and social development goals) predicts changes in ethnic segregation among 4th and 5th grade African American and European American children (n = 713, ages 9-11 years) from fall to spring. Segregation measures were (a) same-ethnicity favoritism in friendships, (b) same-ethnicity favoritism in peer group affiliations, and (c) cross-ethnicity dislike. Social goal orientation was asymmetrically associated with ethnic segregation for the 2 groups. Among African Americans, aspiring to achieve high social status predicted increases in same-ethnicity favoritism and cross-ethnicity dislike. Among European Americans, aspiring to achieve high social status predicted decreases in same-ethnicity favoritism.

This study examines the roles of emotionally supportive teacher-child interactions and child characteristics (aggressive-disruptive behavior and low peer social preference) in first-, third, and fifth-grade children's perceptions of teacher closeness and sense of peer community. Results from a series of multilevel models suggest that emotionally supportive teacher-child interactions are associated with children's perceptions of closeness with their teachers (for boys and girls), as well as a greater sense of peer community (for boys only). Aggressive-disruptive children and boys tended to perceive less-close relationships with their teachers. Results indicate that classroom-level factors, particularly the supportive qualities of teachers' interactions with students, are associated with children's perceived closeness with teachers and sense of peer community, above and beyond the influence of children's individual characteristics.

This study examines motivational precursors of social status and the applicability of a dual-component model of social competence to middle childhood. Concurrent and longitudinal relationships between self-reported social goals (social development, demonstration-approach, demonstration-avoid goal orientations), teacher-rated prosocial and aggressive behavior, and peer nominations of social status (preference, popularity) were examined over the course of an academic year among 980 3rd- to 5th-grade children. Findings support dual-component expectations. Confirmatory factor analyses verified the expected 3-factor structure of social goals and 2-factor structure of social status. Structural equation modeling (SEM) found that (a) social development goals were associated with prosocial behavior and increased preference, and (b) demonstration-approach goals were associated with aggressive behavior and increased popularity. Demonstration-avoid goals were associated with a popularity decrease. SEMs were invariant across grade, gender, and ethnicity. Discussion concerns the potential risks of high social status, extensions to the dual-component model, and the generality of an achievement goal approach to child social development. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study examined whether ethnic segregation is concurrently (fall) and prospectively (fall to spring) associated with social status among 4th- and 5th-grade African American and European American children ("n" = 713, ages 9-11 years). Segregation measures were (a) same-ethnicity favoritism in peer affiliations and (b) cross-ethnicity dislike. Social status measures were same- and cross-ethnicity peer nominations of acceptance, rejection, and cool. Among African Americans, fall segregation predicted declines in cross-ethnicity (European American) acceptance and same-ethnicity rejection, and increases in same-ethnicity acceptance and perceived coolness. For European American children, fall segregation predicted declines in cross-ethnicity (African American) acceptance and increases in cross-ethnicity rejection. Results indicate that segregation induces asymmetric changes in social status for African American and European American children. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article examined teacher-student agreement on the measure: "bullies and kids they pick on" in 38 (15 first, 12 third, and 11 fifth grade) elementary school classrooms. Overall agreement between teachers and students was low, 7.9%. The frequency of bully-victim dyads reported by teachers and victim prominence were positive predictors, and class size was a negative predictor, of teacher-student agreement. Gender and grade differences emerged. Teacher-student agreement was higher for boy-boy and girl-girl than girl-boy bully-victim dyads. The agreement on boy-boy bully-victim dyads was higher in 5th than in the 1st grade classrooms. Limitations and educational implications of these findings are discussed.

This study assessed the similarity of adolescents and their friends and peer network associates in religiosity and the extent to which these relationships were associated with antisocial behavior. The sample included 1010 Indonesian (480 male, 530 female) 8th (13.37 years) and 10th grade (15.36 years) students. Adolescents were similar to their mutual friends and network associates (identified using Social Cognitive Mapping) in religiosity, and the religiosity of both friends and network associates added to male adolescents' self-religiosity in predicting antisocial behavior; these effects were not present for girls. Peers may associate with others similar to themselves in religiosity and these associations may partially explain why religious boys exhibit low levels of aggressive behavior. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The present study addresses the influence that group norms exert on individual aggressive and prosocial behavior. The study hypothesis is that for early adolescents who change their peer group affiliations, the characteristics of the group they are leaving (departing-group influence) are not as influential as those of the group that they are joining (attracting-group influence). From a larger sample of fifth and sixth graders who were followed over a one-year period, 198 early adolescents were identified as those who changed peer group affiliations. Peer nominations on aggression, prosociality, social preference and popularity, and social network information were collected. Results confirmed that there were significant attracting- but not departing-group influences on aggression and prosociality. Expected associations between aggression, prosocial behavior, and social status were confirmed. The discussion is framed around a social-ecological perspective that emphasizes the short-term adaptive nature of aggressive behavior in some peer groups and the need for considering social mobility when assessing group influence on individual behavior.

This study tested the effects of 5 classroom contextual features on the social status (perceived popularity and social preference) that peers accord to aggressive students in late elementary school, including classroom peer status hierarchy (whether within-classroom differences in popularity are large or small), classroom academic level, and grade level as the main predictors of interest as well as classroom aggression and ethnic composition as controls. Multilevel analyses were conducted on an ethnically diverse sample of 968 fourth- and fifth-graders from 46 classrooms in 9 schools. Associations between aggression and status varied greatly from one classroom to another. Aggressive students were more popular and better liked in classrooms with higher levels of peer status hierarchy. Aggressive students had higher social status in Grade 5 than in Grade 4 and lower social preference in classrooms of higher academic level. Classroom aggression and ethnic composition did not moderate aggression-status associations. Limitations and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (Contains 5 figures and 1 table.)

This White House report investigates the essential role that peers play in promoting or preventing bullying. Bullies use bullying to attain success and recognition; their success in doing so depends on the characteristics of the bully, the relationship that exists between bullies and those whom they target for harassment, and the reactions of classmates who witness bullying. The author describes the two social worlds of bullying: Marginalized bullies may resort to bullying from an inability to control their impulsive actions or from a desire to gain status, whereas connected bullies may use their popularity to dominate low-status peers. Bullies and victims often have a previously existing relationship that presages bullying before it happens, which, if known, would alert knowledgeable adults about possible trouble spots. Educators who exclusively target peripheral, antisocial cliques as the engine of school violence problems may leave intact other groups that are more responsible for mainstream peer support of bullying. A strong step educators could take would be to periodically ask students about bullying and their social relationships. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

Focusing on a sample of 382 African American (206 female) and 264 European American (132 female) students in diverse fourth and fifth grade classrooms, this study investigated three questions concerning the connections between peer groups and academic achievement during early adolescence: (a) How is group structure (i.e., hierarchy and cohesion) associated with group centrality (i.e., status) in the classroom? (b) Does group structure predict academic achievement? and (c) Do peer-group status systems support or undermine academic achievement? Results were similar for African American and European American students. Group hierarchy was positively associated with group centrality but negatively associated with individual academic achievement. Individual status was positively associated with academic achievement. Discussion focuses on multifaceted peer-group influences on academic achievement and implications for educational practice. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

With a sample of African American and European American 3rd- and 4th-grade children (N = 486, ages 8-11 years), this study examined classroom ethnic composition, peer social status (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity as nominated by same- and cross-ethnicity peers), and patterns of ethnic segregation (i.e., friendship, peer group, and cross-ethnicity dislike). African American--but not European American--children had more segregated relationships and were more disliked by cross-ethnicity peers when they had fewer same-ethnicity classmates. African American children's segregation was positively associated with same-ethnicity social preference and perceived popularity and with cross-ethnicity perceived popularity. European American children's segregation was positively associated with same-ethnicity social preference but negatively associated with cross-ethnicity social preference and perceived popularity.

Teachers and students in 39 1st, 3rd and 5th grade classrooms participated in a study of teaching practices and classroom peer networks. Teachers reported on their attitudes towards aggression and withdrawal, provided rationales for their seating arrangements, and were observed on patterns of emotional and instructional support and classroom organization. Students were surveyed or interviewed for peer nominations of friendship, popularity, being cool, and aggressive and prosocial behavior, and from these nominations classroom-level indices were derived concerning the richness of positive and negative social ties among children, the egalitarian or hierarchical nature of social status hierarchies, and classroom norms for aggressive and prosocial behavior. Preliminary results suggest that teachers' attitudes towards social behavior are associated with the degree of liking and disliking their students express; teachers' grouping patterns are associated with numerous features of classroom social networks; and teachers' observed emotional support was associated with higher rates of friendship reciprocation. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This study investigated the independent and interacting effects of classroom-level embeddedness (i.e., hierarchical vs. egalitarian) and classroom density on the perceived popularity and social preference of aggressive and victimized 3rd-4th grade students (N = 881). A cohesive blocking procedure was used to compute embeddedness. Multilevel analyses indicated that aggressive children achieved much higher perceived popularity in hierarchical classrooms with high density. While children with high victimization scores were unpopular across classrooms, they were least unpopular in egalitarian classrooms with high density. Furthermore, aggressive children were more disliked in low-density classrooms, and victimized children were more disliked in hierarchical classrooms. Implications for educational management of classroom social structures are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

Analyses of children's peer relations have recently begun considering interpersonal behaviors and perceptions from the perspective of the Social Relations Model. An extension of this model, the Triadic Relations Model (TRM), allows for consideration and analysis of more complex three-person data to understand triadic processes; separate individual, dyadic, and triadic variance; and model co-occurrences among dyadic phenomena. The goal of this article is to provide a didactic introduction to the TRM and its potential for studying peer relations. The TRM is applied to data from nine classes (N = 162) of third and fourth grade boys and girls involving perceptions (peer nominations) of actors' (aggressors') behavior toward partners (victims). We report and illustrate interpretation of 7 variance and 16 covariance estimates from this TRM analysis of who perceives whom as bullying whom. In particular, triadic analyses revealed a tendency for children to perceive others as sharing the same aggressors and the same targets for aggression as themselves. We discuss implications of findings for studying aggression, as well as extensions of this model, such as incorporating multiple constructs or connecting the TRM estimates with individual and dyadic variables, and challenges of using the TRM. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This study identified correlates and developmental antecedents that distinguish popular-aggressive elementary school children from other youth. Drawing on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1022), popular-aggressive children were identified through teacher ratings over Grades 3-6. Potential correlates included social competence as rated by observers, mothers, and teachers. Potential developmental antecedents included cognitive functioning, maternal sensitivity, and participation in child care through age 4.5. Multinomial regressions allowed for the determination of group differences net of covariates such as gender, ethnicity, maternal education, and income-to-needs. Results showed that popular-aggressive elementary school children were distinguished from other youth as having had an extensive child-care history. Discussion focuses on developmental associations between child-care quantity and aggression.

This study compares three variations in how researchers construct middle childhood social networks: (1) with "friendships" or "affiliations" as a relational tie; (2) with children providing "self reports" of relationships, or in addition, "multi-informant reports" of relationships in which they are not involved; and (3) whether network computation is "correlational" or "distance-based." The sample was 357 fourth- and fifth-grade students in 17 classrooms. The strongest differences were between self-reported friendship and affiliative networks. Results showed that compared with affiliations, friendship networks had smaller groups, more isolates, and lower fall-to-spring stability. Agreement in social placement between friendship and affiliative networks was generally average, but poor for unpopular and aggressive children. Multi-informant affiliative networks were most robust in their positioning of aggressive children. Multi-informant centrality was uniquely uncorrelated with aggression. Network computation differences were not substantial. Discussion focuses on recommendations for research and the educational promise of network technology.

This study asks whether bullies have higher social status than their victims. Social status was measured by social preference, popularity, and physical competence as perceived by children and teachers. A survey instrument was introduced to enable identification of specific victims associated with specific bullies. The sample was 508 fourth and fifth grade children from midwest U.S. elementary schools. Results indicated that peer- and teacher-perceived popularity were the optimal status measures for capturing heterogeneity in bully-victim status imbalances. In addition, the gender of victims of male bullying was critical. Powerful, popular-aggressive bullies and unpopular victims were found in same-sex dyads, but unpopular-aggressive boys were also identified as bullying popular girls. All bullies were disliked. Implications are drawn for peer sexual harassment and for innovations in sociometric technology. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

In this article, the authors use social network analysis and multilevel modeling to examine a central feature of classroom social organization: the ethnic composition of the classroom. They examine classroom ethnic composition as it relates to patterns of social integration between African American and European American children. They asked whether the social integration patterns of black and white students vary according to whether their classroom has a clear ethnic majority and, if so, whether the numerically preponderant group is African American or European American. They hypothesized that integration patterns within majority black and majority white classrooms would depend on children's status as a numerical majority or minority in the classroom and also on minority status in the macrosystemic culture. As such, a white student in a majority black classroom should have different integration patterns from a black student in a majority white classroom. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

This study examined who among the 526 fourth to sixth graders are nominated as among the coolest kids in their class. There were two questions: (1) Are popular-aggressive (tough) children nominated as cool by a broad spectrum of their peers, or only by a select few? (2) Does variability in children's cool nominations more closely follow their individual characteristics or group affiliations? Three-level hierarchical linear modeling (nominators in groups in classrooms) tested the study hypotheses. The main finding was that children in aggressive groups nominated tough peers as cool and children in nonaggressive groups nominated popular-nonaggressive (model) peers, regardless of nominators' individual characteristics or the prominence of their groups across diverse classroom contexts. Girls were proportionately more likely to nominate tough than model boys, but only a minority (less than 25 percent) of relatively aggressive girls nominated any boys as cool. Findings indicate that normative boy and girl peer cultures give broad reputational support to some aggressive children.

Examined the nominations that elementary students with mild disabilities made for peers they perceived as cool. The total sample was comprised of 948 students (496 girls, 452 boys) from the metropolitan Chicago area and North Carolina and included 107 (11.3%) students with mild disabilities. Overall, students with mild disabilities nominated prosocial and athletic peers who affiliate with students with mild disabilities. However, aggressive boys who are central in the social network were highly likely to view aggressive peers as cool. Results are discussed in relation to implications for social interventions for students with mild disabilities.

This analysis of third and fourth graders suggests that enemy relationships are common, often of short duration, and partially reflective of negative behavior patterns between boys and girls in elementary school. (Contains 4 tables.)

The purpose of this article is to synthesize recent work on aggression and victimization in educational settings from an ecological perspective. Four questions directed towards school psychologists and bullying researchers guide this review: (a) How do bullies fit into their peer ecologies? (b) How do victims fit into their peer ecologies? (c) How can teachers impact bullying and victimization? (d) How can parents impact bullying and victimization? Our goal is to encourage school service professionals, prevention and intervention researchers, developers of antibullying curricula, and child development researchers to consider the implications of these questions as part of their effort to confront victimization and understand its contextual roots.

Examined subtypes of "popular" among 452 fourth- through sixth-grade boys. Found that peers perceived popular-prosocial boys as cool, athletic, leaders, cooperative, studious, not shy, and nonaggressive. They perceived popular-antisocial boys as cool, athletic, and antisocial. Findings suggested that highly aggressive boys can be among the most popular and socially connected in elementary classrooms. (Author/KB)

Configural analyses of teacher- , peer- , and self-assessments of students' interpersonal competence were evaluated with 948 students (including 107 students with mild disabilities) in 59 elementary classrooms. The study found 54% of boys and 64% of girls with mild disabilities were in configurations suggesting adjustment problems or poor outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. (Author/DB)

I. INTRODUCTION This symposium by the Missouri Law Review is a vital opportunity to find common ground between psychological and legal knowledge with respect to bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying, whether [...]

This study examined peer affiliations of aggressive children in a sample of 948 students (496 girls, 452 boys) from 59 elementary classrooms (4th-6th grades). Groups were identified as zero aggressive, nonaggressive, aggressive, and mixed. The deviant peer group hypothesis was partially supported. Two thirds of aggressive boys and one half of aggressive girls were members of nonaggressive or mixed peer groups. Unpopular aggressive boys were most likely to be members of nonaggressive groups, whereas popular aggressive boys were most likely to be in aggressive and mixed groups. Aggressive and nonaggressive associates tended to be similar on key social characteristics (i.e., popularity, athleticism, leadership).

This article argues that social constructions have a psychological reality that exists apart from structural conditions. Our thesis is developed in four sections. First, psychological evidence is reviewed that illustrates how people classify and evaluate others on the basis of salient visual or auditory information, such as race, ethnicity or gender. Although this discussion should generalize to the construction of ethnic and gender differences, we concentrate on the Black-White race relationship in the United States. Secondly, we briefly survey the debate between constructionists and essentialists within psychology, and address how social psychological findings may contribute to constructionist theory and sociological research. Thirdly, a psychological defence of the racial construct is given. It is argued that although race is crucial to the full understanding of majority-minority relations, its usefulness is best seen in conjunction with structural formulations. Finally, an interactive model of race and social structure is submitted. Taking economic class as an example, research is reviewed that suggests how race and social structure jointly influence people's stereotypes within differing historical and cultural contexts. The black middle class is used as a case where analysis requires attention to both race and structure.