Change over time in interactions between unfamiliar toddlers.

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.

Gender and contextual variations in self-perceived cognitive competence.

School performance and cognitive competence can be conceptualized as social and relational constructs. Thus, we expect their association to vary as a function of other socially-embedded variables which have proven meaningful in the academic domain. The present study takes a critical theory approach to assess gender-related and contextual variability in the association between peer-assessed school performance and self-perceived cognitive competence.

Positive and negative actions early in the relationship predict later interactions among toddlers.

Very little is known about the role of early interactions in the development of peer relationships among toddlers. The present study examined whether behaviors early in the formation of toddler relationships predict interactions later in their relationships. Twenty-eight unfamiliar 20- and 30-month-old toddlers from a predominately European background met separately with each of two other toddlers for 18 playdates.

Psychophysiological adjustment to formal education varies as a function of peer status and socioeconomic status in children beginning kindergarten.

The transition to kindergarten can be stressful as children adjust to novel separations from their caregivers and become accustomed to their peer group. A 9-month study of 96 children (M  = 5.37 years, SD = 0.

Associations between interpersonal behavior and friendship quality in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis examined concurrent associations between aggression, withdrawal, assertion, and prosocial behavior and each of positive and negative friendship quality across studies with 22,657 children and adolescents (M  = 11.71 years; 51.7% girls; 67.

Contextual variations in associations between measures of aggression and withdrawal and functioning with peers: A replication study.

Data from 790 older school-age (Mage = 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.

Replication studies of critical findings from the peer literature: An introduction.

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.

Indirect effects of HPA axis dysregulation in the association between peer victimization and depressed affect during early adolescence.

Objective: Previous research has identified a link between peer victimization and depressive symptoms during adolescence. The goal of the current study is to examine the possible indirect effects of HPA axis dysregulation in the link between adolescent peer victimization and depressive symptoms.

Method: A total of 113 boys (n = 61) and girls (n = 52) participants from grade 5 (M age = 10.

The effect of classroom aggression-related peer group norms on students' short-term trajectories of aggression.

Using a four-wave/seven-month longitudinal design with a sample of 1595 preadolescents (53% boys, 47% girls, M  = 10.2 years) from 63 fourth-, fifth- and sixth- grade classrooms in nine mixed-sex schools in Bogotá, Colombia, we examined whether growth trajectories of measures of overt and relational aggression varied as a function of classroom norms for aggression. Multilevel growth mixture modeling revealed (a) distinct trajectories of overt and relational aggression for boys and girls and (b) that norm salience (i.

Gender is Key: Girls' and Boys' Cortisol Differs as a Factor of Socioeconomic Status and Social Experiences During Early Adolescence.

The risks associated with negative peer relationships and low socioeconomic status (SES), and how they impact diurnal cortisol and the cortisol response to negative experiences, have never been studied together in early adolescents; this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. Saliva was collected from 95 early adolescents (M = 10.80, SD = 0.

Peer relations and socioeconomic status and inequality.

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.

Studying the Same-Gender Preference as a Defining Feature of Cultural Contexts.

Research on culture would be enriched by studying the connection between gender and peer relations. Cultures vary in the roles, privileges, opportunities, and right that are ascribed to girls and boys. They are known to also differ in the degree to which girls and boys interact with each other.

Evidence Base Update for Measures of Social Skills and Social Competence in Clinical Samples of Youth.

Social skills and social competence are key transdiagnostic processes in developmental psychopathology and are the focus of an array of clinical interventions. In this Evidence Base Update, we evaluated the psychometric properties of measures of social skills and social competence used with clinical samples of children and adolescents. A systematic literature search yielded eight widely used measures of social skills and one measure of social competence.

Being fun: An overlooked indicator of childhood social status.

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.

Daily Affect and Self-Esteem in Early Adolescence: Correlates of Mean Levels and Within-Person Variability.

Emotions and self-esteem are critical components of well-being and adaptation during adolescence. People differ in their average levels of affect and self-esteem, as well as in how much their affect and self-esteem fluctuate from moment to moment. Fluctuations in affect in particular have not been extensively examined in relation to adolescent-relevant variables.

PROMIS Peer Relationships Short Form: How Well Does Self-Report Correlate With Data From Peers?

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) peer relationships short form (PR-SF), including association with peer-reported friendships, likeability, and social reputation.

Method: 203 children (Mage = 10.12 years, SD = 2.

Self-Continuity Moderates the Association Between Peer Victimization and Depressed Affect.

Two longitudinal studies conducted with early adolescents (ages 10-13) examined the hypothesis that self-continuity, or the degree to which individuals feel that they remain the same person over time regardless of how their specific characteristics may change, would moderate the association between victimization and depressed affect. Both Study 1 (N = 141) and Study 2 (N = 100) provided evidence of the moderating role of self-continuity as a buffer on the effect of peer victimization. Study 2 confirmed that self-continuity had a moderating effect after controlling for academic performance, number of friends, self-esteem, self-concept clarity, hopelessness, and self-blame.

The Current Status of Peer Assessment Techniques and Sociometric Methods.

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.

Factors that promote and impede other-sex friendships: a qualitative study of Iranian adolescent girls.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors that promote and impede other-sex (OS) friendships in adolescent girls.

Methods: A qualitative study conducted with 20 adolescent girls recruited in public places in Tehran, Iran. Information was collected through semi-structured interviews and coded via the conventional qualitative content analysis approach.

Social Competence in Childhood Brain Tumor Survivors: Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of a Peer-Mediated Intervention.

Objective: Evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary outcomes of a peer-mediated intervention to improve social competence of brain tumor survivors and classmates.

Method: Twelve childhood brain tumor survivors and 217 classroom peers in intervention (n = 8) or comparison (n = 4) classrooms completed measures of social acceptance and reputation at 2 time points in the year. The intervention (5-8 sessions over 4-6 weeks) taught peer leaders skills for engaging classmates.

Male Iranian adolescent's reasons for having an other-gender friend.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the primary reasons why male Iranian adolescents enter into other-gender friendships.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with a sample of 21 male adolescents recruited in public places in Tehran, Iran. Information about each boy's experiences with other-gender friends was collected via semi-structured interviews whose contents were analyzed with a conventional qualitative content analysis approach.

Friendship Security, But Not Friendship Intimacy, Moderates the Stability of Anxiety During Preadolescence.

A two-wave longitudinal study of 380 preadolescents (M age = 10.87) from largely middle-class schools in Montréal, Québec, Canada, assessed the hypothesis that friendship security, but not friendship intimacy, moderates the stability of anxiety during adolescence. This central but largely overlooked question about peer relations concerns which aspects of friendship account for the effects of friendship on emotional adjustment.

Adolescent friend similarity on alcohol abuse as a function of participation in romantic relationships: Sometimes a new love comes between old friends.

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.

Attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in childhood: Distinguishing between targets.

This investigation researched the association between the attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in children by distinguishing between targets. Study 1 focused on the attribution of human characteristics by bullies, victims, bully/victims, and non-involved children toward friends and non-friends. The data from 405 children (M = 10.

Assessing the Multi-faceted Nature of Test Anxiety Among Secondary School Students: An English Version of the German Test Anxiety Questionnaire: PAF-E.

The current study concerns the validation of an English version of the German Test Anxiety Inventory, namely the PAF-E. This questionnaire is a multi-faceted measure of test anxiety designed to detect normative test anxiety levels and in consequence meet the need of consultancy. Construct and criterion validity of (PAF-E) were examined with a sample of 96 secondary students (Mage = 12.