The multifaceted impact of peer relations on aggressive-disruptive behavior in early elementary school

Aggressive and Withdrawn Behaviour at School through the Lens of Teachers and Peers: A Qualitative Study

We explored teachers' understanding of children with aggressive or socially withdrawn behaviour in their classes and we associated our findings with a status of rejected, neglected, or popular, as provided by peer nominations. Five kindergarten and elementary school teachers scored their 143 pupils with the Child Behaviour Checklist for Withdrawal and Aggression. Subsequently, only those children whose scores were 1 standard deviation above the mean for withdrawal or for aggression were included in the final sample (n = 46; Mage = 6.5 years, SD = 1.7; age range = 4-9 years). The final sample included 31 children (21.67%; females = 16) who were assessed as displaying withdrawn behaviour, and 15 (10.48%; females = 5) displaying aggressive behaviour. An open-ended semi-structured interview was administered to teachers, who described children with socially withdrawn behaviour as introverted and untalkative, children with aggressive behaviour as hostile, rule-breaking and highly active, and children with socially withdrawn or aggressive behaviour as isolated, even though different reasons were provided. The results of the sociometric status in children with socially withdrawn or aggressive behaviour are discussed.

Multilevel interactions between family and neighbourhood socioeconomic indices in childhood and later risks of self-harm and violent criminality in Denmark: a national cohort study

BACKGROUND

A socioeconomically disadvantaged childhood has been associated with elevated self-harm and violent criminality risks during adolescence and young adulthood. However, whether these risks are modified by a neighbourhood's socioeconomic profile is unclear. The aim of our study was to compare risks among disadvantaged young people residing in deprived areas versus risks among similarly disadvantaged individuals residing in affluent areas.

METHODS

We did a national cohort study, using Danish interlinked national registers, from which we delineated a longitudinal cohort of people born in Denmark between Jan 1, 1981, and Dec 31, 2001, with two Danish-born parents, who were alive and residing in the country when they were aged 15 years, who were followed up for a hospital-treated self-harm episode or violent crime conviction. A neighbourhood affluence indicator was derived based on nationwide income quartiles, with parental income and educational attainment indicating the socioeconomic position of each cohort member's family. Bayesian multilevel survival analyses were done to examine the moderating influences of neighbourhood affluence on associations between family socioeconomic position and sex-specific risks for the two adverse outcomes.

FINDINGS

1 084 047 cohort members were followed up for 12·8 million person-years in aggregate. Individuals of a low socioeconomic position residing in deprived neighbourhoods had a higher incidence of both self-harm and violent criminality compared with equivalently disadvantaged peers residing in affluent areas. Women from a low-income background residing in affluent areas had, on average, 95 (highest density interval 76-118) fewer self-harm episodes and 25 (15-41) fewer violent crime convictions per 10 000 person-years compared with women of an equally low income residing in deprived areas, whereas men of a low income residing in affluent areas had 61 (39-81) fewer self-harm episodes and 88 (56-191) fewer violent crime convictions per 10 000 person-years than men of a low income residing in deprived areas.

INTERPRETATION

Even in a high-income European country with comprehensive social welfare and low levels of poverty and inequality, individuals residing in affluent neighbourhoods have lower risks of self-harm and violent criminality compared with individuals residing in deprived neighbourhoods. More research is needed to explore the potential of neighbourhood policies and interventions to reduce the harmful effects of growing up in socioeconomically deprived circumstances on later risk of self-harm and violent crime convictions.

FUNDING

European Research Council, Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, and BERTHA, the Danish Big Data Centre for Environment and Health funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme.

Peer correlates of conduct problems in girls

Conduct problems are increasingly prevalent in girls and they uniquely predict negative outcomes. Yet, few reliable risk factors for aggression and violence in girls and women have been identified. Although preliminary evidence suggests peer relationships may be central to the development of youth conduct problems, especially in girls, rigorous interactive models of peer risk and protective factors for conduct problems are lacking. Based on 3104 10-13-year-old girls in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study, we tested the independent associations of separate peer risk factors (i.e., relational aggression victimization, physical aggression victimization, and deviant peer affiliation) with multidimensional conduct problems, including their moderation by peer support. Being the victim of relational aggression, being the victim of physical aggression, and deviant peer affiliation were each positively associated with conduct problems and perpetration of aggression whereas peer support was negatively associated with youth report conduct problems and perpetration of physical aggression. Further, elevated peer support significantly attenuated the association of being the victim of relational aggression with teacher-rated conduct problems. These results highlight the sensitivity of conduct problems to peer risk factors and suggest that peer support designates important configurations of risk that differentially relate to conduct problems in girls.

Influential children in middle childhood peer culture: Effects of temperament and community culture

For children in middle childhood, the social world, particularly the behavior and attitudes of their school peers, has been shown to be an important factor in their educational and mental health outcomes. In the school environment, some children seem to influence the attitudes and behavior of their peers more than others. The behavior patterns of children, as reflected in temperamental traits, have been shown to drive peer perception in important ways and might play a role in identifying the individuals and social processes that operate in peer influence. It seems likely that temperamental traits will have different effects on school peers, dependent on characteristics of the school attended. Fourth and fifth grade children from four rural counties in the southeastern portion of the United States were studied. Temperamental characteristics were assessed based on teacher perception of six characteristics. Peer perceptions of the extent to which each child was perceived to influence others in five areas of school culture (e.g., academics, sports) was measured through a peer nomination procedure. Additional status-related perceptions and behaviors of participating children were also assessed by peer nominations. Teacher ratings of temperamental behaviors were submitted to latent profile analyses resulting in a seven-cluster model. Results indicated temperamental profiles were significantly and meaningfully associated with peer perceptions of influence as well as social status. Further, demographic differences between two groups of schools were found to moderate the effects that temperament profile had on peer influence.

Violent Victimization and Violence Perpetration Among American Indian Adolescents

In the current study, we propose an integrative approach, which will incorporate elements from the social learning and self-control theories of delinquency and crime to examine violence in an understudied, marginalized, and often discriminated subpopulation group-American Indian youth. The analysis is based on survey data collected between 2009 and 2013 from a sample of American Indian adolescents (N = 3,380) enrolled in 27 school districts located in five regions of the United States (Northern Plains, Southwest, Upper Great Lakes, Southeast/Texas, and the Northeast). The main objective of the analysis is to identify the factors more likely to predict violent offending among American Indian adolescents, a vulnerable group that has an elevated risk of violent victimization. Results of the Tobit regression analysis indicate that in both gender groups a low level of self-control, association with delinquent friends, poor school performance, and underage alcohol consumption significantly predict violence perpetration. Nonetheless, experience with direct violent victimization has the largest effect on male and female adolescents' violent behavior. Although living with both biological parents and childhood exposure to domestic violence do not influence significantly the adolescents' aggressive behavior, parental monitoring does have a significant violence-deterrent effect in both gender groups. Findings suggest that more opportunities should be created for indigenous communities to control their education systems and ensure American Indian students achieve academic success, which is one of the violence protective factors identified in this study. Moreover, measures meant to prevent youth violence in American Indian communities should also focus on parents/caregivers who, directly and indirectly, have the capacity to reduce the adolescents' risk of becoming victims and/or perpetrators of violence.

Caregiver-reported executive functioning and associated adaptive and challenging behaviour in children with histories of developmental delay

BACKGROUND

Deficits in executive functioning (EF) have been measured in individuals with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, through the use of behaviour rating scales and performance-based assessment. Associations between EF and variables such as challenging and adaptive behaviour have been observed; however, limited research exists on EF profiles in children with heterogeneous developmental delay or with intellectual disability (ID) or the impact of EF on adaptive and challenging behaviour with this population.

METHODS

The present study sought to examine the EF profile of 93 children (75 male and 18 female) previously identified with developmental delay in early childhood. EF was assessed using the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (BRIEF-2). Children were categorised into an ID group (n = 14) or no ID group (n = 79) based on scores from cognitive and adaptive behaviour assessments. EF profiles were investigated and compared by group. In addition, the impact of EF on both adaptive behaviour and challenging behaviour was measured using hierarchical linear regressions.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences in caregiver-reported EF were not observed between groups; however, both the ID and the no ID group scores were elevated as reported by their caregivers. For the overall sample, caregiver-EF accounted for significant variance in both adaptive (22%) and challenging (68%) behaviour after accounting for child age and sex.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated deficits in EF for children with and without ID. The significance of EF was accounted for in both adaptive and challenging behaviour for all children in the sample. Future research could elucidate the role of adaptive and challenging behaviour in understanding EF variability among children with histories of developmental delay.

Peer influence on problem behaviors among students with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) exhibit increased rates of problem behaviors compared to those without ID.

AIMS

Given the evidence of peer influence in typical development, we examined the impact of classmates' characteristics on problem behaviors of students with ID. We expected higher levels of problem behaviors in special needs classrooms will influence individual development of such behaviors.

METHODS

A longitudinal design with measurements at the beginning and the end of a school year was applied. Staff reported on problem behaviors of 1125 students with ID (69 % boys; age 11.30 years,SD = 3.75) attending 16 Swiss special needs schools.

RESULTS

The peer influence hypothesis was not supported for an overall problem behavior score. However, exploratory analyses suggested that peer influence did occur for the domains anxiety, problems in relating socially, and communication disturbances (not disruptive/antisocial, self-absorbed and other types of problem behaviors). The influence of classmates on anxiety was lower when there was more variability in anxiety within the classroom. The development of communication skills benefitted from attending a classroom that was heterogeneous in the level of communication problems.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that the influence of peers on problem behaviors in special needs schools is not universal but varies between domains and depends on classroom characteristics.

The Complex Nature of School Violence: Attitudes Toward Aggression, Empathy and Involvement Profiles in Violence

Background

Aggressive behavior in adolescents has become a concern in education, where adapting to and going through high school may generate important behavior problems in adolescents.

Purpose

Analyze the relationships between parental and adolescent attitudes toward aggression and empathy. Identify profiles of direct and indirect involvement in school violence and determine differences between groups with respect to the components of empathy and attitudes toward aggression.

Methods

The sample was comprised of 1287 high school students who were administered the Beliefs about Aggression and Alternatives questionnaire, the Parental Support for Fighting and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index.

Results

The results show that beliefs in favor of the use of aggression in adolescents correlate positively with the perception of strong support from parents for aggression in response to conflict. Similarly, higher levels of support for the use of nonviolent strategies are positively related to the perception of strong support from parents. The relationships established with the components of empathy analyzed, both cognitive and emotional, were negatively correlated with favorable attitudes toward aggression. Results concerning the groups directly involved indicated that there were significant differences in the components of empathy between the groups. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis applied to the direct involvement groups showed significant differences between the groups in taking perspective. Between-group differences in empathic concern were also statistically significant for the group of active observers.

Conclusion

Taking perspective and empathic concern are moderating variables both for observers and victims and their parents in situations of violence.

Longitudinal Associations Linking Elementary and Middle School Contexts with Student Aggression in Early Adolescence

Growing up in poverty increases youth risk for developing aggressive behavior problems, which, in turn, are associated with a host of problematic outcomes, including school drop-out, substance use, mental health problems, and delinquency. In part, this may be due to exposure to adverse school contexts that create socialization influences supporting aggression. In the current study, 356 children from low-income families (58% White, 17% Latinx, 25% Black; 54% girls) were followed from preschool through seventh grade. Longitudinal data included measures of the school-level contexts experienced by study participants during their elementary and middle school years, including school levels of poverty (percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch) and academic achievement (percentage of students scoring below the basic proficiency level on state achievement tests). Regression analyses suggested little impact of these school-level contexts on teacher or parent ratings of aggression in fifth grade, controlling for child baseline aggression and demographics. In contrast, school-level contexts had significant effects on child aggression in seventh grade with unique contributions by school-level achievement, controlling for child fifth grade aggression and elementary school contexts along with baseline covariates. These effects were robust across teacher and parent ratings. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the school-based socialization of aggressive behavior and implications for educational policy and prevention programming.

Associations Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Peer-Rated Social-Behavioral Outcomes in Elementary and Middle School

There is strong evidence that peers are of central importance to children's and adolescents' social and emotional adaptation and success in school. However, it remains an open question as to whether callous-unemotional (CU) traits, or interpersonal and affective deficits that pose risk for antisocial behaviors and psychopathy, are related to social-behavioral outcomes as assessed by those who are believed to have the most accurate perspectives on such outcomes - young adolescents' peers. Using data from a longitudinal and multi-method study of peer relations (N = 379, % female = 51.90, M_age = 10.24 at Time 1), the current study addressed this gap by examining the links between teacher-reports of CU traits and conduct problems (CP) and peer-reports of the extent to which young adolescents are aggressive, victimized, excluded, prosocial, and sociable during the Fall and Spring semesters in Grade 5 (Times 1and 2) and Grade 6 (Times 3 and 4). Results revealed that teacher-rated CP, but not CU traits, was associated positively with peer-reports of aggression. CU traits, but not CP, was associated positively with victimization/exclusion and associated negatively with prosociality. CU traits and CP demonstrated opposite relations with sociability, with CU traits demonstrating a negative association. Findings are discussed in the context of the broader literature examining the social-behavioral correlates of CU traits.

Peer Influence in Elementary School: The Importance of Assessing the Likeability of Popular Children

We examined the degree to which children perceive influence behaviors and influence over social norms from different types of high-status children to vary in a sample of 453 3^rd through 5^th grade children. Using a cluster analysis of peer-nominated popularity and likeability measures, we identified a seven-cluster solution, including three high-status clusters: Well-Liked, Popular, and Popular/Well-Liked. Popular children were perceived as using ridicule and having influence over misbehavior. Popular/Well-Liked children were perceived as using playful teasing and modeling and influencing over trend-setting and sports norms, at a degree similar to Popular children. However, Popular/Well-Liked children were not perceived as using ridicule or influencing over misbehavior; rather, they scored higher than all other status groups for prosocial assertion and academic motivation. Well-Liked children were perceived as using prosocial assertion and influencing over academic motivation at a higher degree than Average children but at a lower degree than Popular or Popular/Well-Liked children. Although the influence associated with likeability alone appeared relatively limited, likeability in conjunction with popularity seems to make a difference regarding influence behaviors and norms. A person-centered approach that takes into account multiple facets of social status is likely to enhance understanding of high-status children's influence on their same-age peers.

Behavioral classroom norms in special education: Associations with peer acceptance and rejection

This study investigated the role of behavioral norms on concurrent links between problem behaviors (externalizing problems, internalizing problems, attention–hyperactivity problems) and social status (acceptance, rejection) in special education classrooms at four time points within and across school years. Two opposing models were considered, the “person–group similarity model,” suggesting moderation of behavioral norms, and the “social skill model,” suggesting no moderation. The sample included a total of 580 pupils (88% boys, Mage Time1 = 10.82 years, SD = .86) attending 37 classrooms from 13 Dutch schools for special education. Multilevel analyses revealed that the data generally supported a “social skill model,” meaning that higher individual levels of attention–hyperactivity problems and externalizing problems were related to lower acceptance and higher rejection, independent of behavioral norms. Support for behavioral norms as moderators of the link between individual behaviors and social status was limited to pupils with attention–hyperactivity problems being less rejected in classrooms in which this behavior was normative. In sum, these results provide an initial exploration of the role of behavioral norms in special education. Various explanations for the results, including special education characteristics and the value of behavioral norms, are discussed.

Longitudinal Associations between Oppositional Defiant Symptoms and Interpersonal Relationships among Chinese Children

Children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are at increased risk for developing poor relationships with people around them, but the longitudinal links between ODD symptoms and subsequent interpersonal functioning remain unclear. In the current study, we examined the bidirectional associations between ODD symptoms and children's relationships with parents, peers, and teachers. We included separate analyses for parent vs. teacher reports of ODD symptoms, with regard to subsequent interpersonal relationships. Participants included 256 children with ODD, recruited in China, along with their parents and teachers, assessed at three time points roughly two years apart. Parents and teachers reported child ODD symptoms at each time point, and children reported their perceptions of father- and mother-child attachment, peer relationships, and teacher-student relationships across the three time points. ODD symptoms reported either by parents or teachers predicted impairments in interpersonal functioning. Meanwhile, child interpersonal impairments with peers and teachers predicted subsequent increase in teacher-reported ODD symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of transactional models of influence-and of considering early intervention for ODD in protecting children from developing further deficits and impairments. Additionally, we discuss the perspectives of multiple informants on ODD symptoms, including their different patterns of association with subsequent interpersonal relationships.

School adjustment of first-grade primary school students: Effects of family involvement, externalizing behavior, teacher and peer relations

Adjusting to school contributes to the healthy introduction of all educational activities. For this reason, it is important to determine all facilitating and debilitating factors to the school adjustment process and to develop preventive studies for overcoming school adjustment. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting the school adjustment of first-grade primary school students based on an ecological approach. The study group consisted of 81 teachers and 517 parents. The data were gathered for 517 children aged between 64 months and 98 months from public schools located in the central districts of Ankara in the 2015-2016 academic year. Structural equation modeling was used in the present study. Thus, according to the School Adjustment Model, externalizing behaviors, teacher-student relationship, and peer relations have a significant direct impact on first-grade students' school adjustment, whereas family involvement has no statistically significant direct influence on first-grade students' school adjustment. In addition, externalizing behaviors affect school adjustment through the mediating role of teacher-student relationship and peer relations. Also, the total effect of the externalizing behavior variable on school adjustment is -0.55. The student-teacher relationship (B = 0.53) and peer relationship (B = 0.48) variables have also had an effect on school adjustment.

Avoiding antisocial behavior among adolescents: The positive influence of classmates' prosocial behavior

INTRODUCTION

Prior research has shown that classmates' behavior serves as a descriptive norm for adolescents' individual behavior. While earlier studies primarily focused on negative peer influence, classmates' prosocial behavior might be associated with positive individual development. We hypothesized more classroom-level prosocial behavior predicts a lower likelihood of future antisocial behavior of individual students over and above the effect of classmates' antisocial behavior. We further assumed this effect is mediated by adolescents' attitudes toward antisocial behavior.

METHODS

To test our hypotheses, we used three data collection points from a longitudinal study among lower secondary school students in Switzerland (N = 864; mean age at T1: 13.81 years; male gender: 52%). Participants completed self-reported assessments on prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and antisocial attitudes. Data were analyzed using multilevel models.

RESULTS

Results indicated higher levels of prosocial behavior among classmates predict lower levels of individual students' future antisocial behavior. However, the effect of classmates' prosocial behavior was not mediated by individual attitudes toward antisocial behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

While in the context of antisocial behavior the peer group is often assumed a risk, our results indicate that school peers can also exert positive influence. Hereby our finding of an effect of prosocial peer norms over and above antisocial peer norms suggests that building up prosocial behaviors in the classroom may be a promising approach for the prevention of antisocial behavior.

Child and adolescent risk factors that differentially predict violent versus nonviolent crime

While most research on the development of antisocial and criminal behavior has considered nonviolent and violent crime together, some evidence points to differential risk factors for these separate types of crime. The present study explored differential risk for nonviolent and violent crime by investigating the longitudinal associations between three key child risk factors (aggression, emotion dysregulation, and social isolation) and two key adolescent risk factors (parent detachment and deviant peer affiliation) predicting violent and nonviolent crime outcomes in early adulthood. Data on 754 participants (46% African American, 50% European American, 4% other; 58% male) oversampled for aggressive-disruptive behavior were collected across three time points. Parents and teachers rated aggression, emotion dysregulation, and social isolation in fifth grade (middle childhood, age 10-11); parents and youth rated parent detachment and deviant peer affiliation in seventh and eighth grade (early adolescence, age 12-14) and arrest data were collected when participants were 22-23 years old (early adulthood). Different pathways to violent and nonviolent crime emerged. The severity of child dysfunction in late childhood, including aggression, emotion dysregulation, and social isolation, was a powerful and direct predictor of violent crime. Although child dysfunction also predicted nonviolent crime, the direct pathway accounted for half as much variance as the direct pathway to violent crime. Significant indirect pathways through adolescent socialization experiences (peer deviancy) emerged for nonviolent crime, but not for violent crime, suggesting adolescent socialization plays a more distinctive role in predicting nonviolent than violent crime. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Cumulative contextual risk at birth and adolescent substance initiation: Peer mediation tests

BACKGROUND

Children who experience multiple adversities, such as prenatal exposure to drugs and poverty, early in development are at increased risk for the early initiation of alcohol and cigarette use. However, studies that examine potentially malleable processes associated with substance use initiation in the context of exposure to cumulative stressors are scant. This study examined associations between cumulative contextual risk at birth and initiation of alcohol and cigarette use in adolescence, testing childhood peer marginalization and peer aggression and behavior problems as mediating mechanisms. Analyses further adjusted for fearfulness/inhibition and hyperactivity/distractibility to determine if the hypothesized mediating mechanisms were significant after accounting for temperamental characteristics associated with substance initiation.

METHODS

Participants were 6190 adolescents from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 Study. Data were collected on cumulative contextual risk (parent reports), substance initiation (adolescent reports), childhood peer processes and behavior problems (teacher reports), and temperamental characteristics (teacher reports). Novel discrete-time survival mediation analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized mediating mechanisms.

RESULTS

Initial analyses showed that the associations between cumulative contextual risk and both alcohol and cigarette initiation were mediated by childhood peer processes and behavior problems; however, the indirect effects became statistically non-significant after adding the temperament variables, which themselves predicted substance initiation.

CONCLUSIONS

Targeting peer processes may not be an effective way to interrupt pathways leading from early contextual risk to substance initiation. Instead, early screening and intervention efforts to delay substance initiation may need to be tailored to the individual temperamental characteristics of targeted participants.

The Effect of Having Aggressive Friends on Aggressive Behavior in Childhood: Using Propensity Scores to Strengthen Causal Inference

This study uses propensity scores to statistically approximate the causal effect of having aggressive friends on aggressive behavior in childhood. Participants were 1,355 children (53% girls; 31% minority) in 97 third and fifth grade classrooms enrolled in the Classroom Peer Ecologies Project. Propensity scores were calculated to control for the impact of 21 relevant confounder variables related to having aggressive friendships and aggressive behavior. The 21 variables included demographic, social, and behavioral characteristics measured at the beginning of the school year. Presence/absence of aggressive friends was measured in the middle of the school year, and aggressive behavior was measured at the end of the school year. Results indicate a significant effect of having one or more aggressive friends on children's aggressive behavior above and beyond the effects of the 21 demographic, social, and behavioral variables. The propensity score model is compared to two other models of peer influence. The strengths and practical challenges of using propensity score analysis to study peer influence are discussed.

Emotional Reactivity, Behavior Problems, and Social Adjustment at School Entry in a High-risk Sample

Prior research suggests that heightened emotional reactivity to emotionally distressing stimuli may be associated with elevated internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and contribute to impaired social functioning. These links were explored in a sample of 169 economically-disadvantaged kindergarteners (66 % male; 68 % African American, 22 % Hispanic, 10 % Caucasian) oversampled for elevated aggression. Physiological measures of emotional reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA], heart rate [HR], and cardiac pre-ejection period [PEP]) were collected, and teachers and peers provided ratings of externalizing and internalizing behavior, prosocial competence, and peer rejection. RSA withdrawal, HR reactivity, and PEP shortening (indicating increased arousal) were correlated with reduced prosocial competence, and RSA withdrawal and HR reactivity were correlated with elevated internalizing problems. HR reactivity was also correlated with elevated externalizing problems and peer rejection. Linear regressions controlling for age, sex, race, verbal proficiency, and resting physiology showed that HR reactivity explained unique variance in both teacher-rated prosocial competence and peer rejection, and contributed indirectly to these outcomes through pathways mediated by internalizing and externalizing problems. A trend also emerged for the unique contribution of PEP reactivity to peer-rated prosocial competence. These findings support the contribution of emotional reactivity to behavior problems and social adjustment among children living in disadvantaged urban contexts, and further suggest that elevated reactivity may confer risk for social difficulties in ways that overlap only partially with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.

Profiles of Kindergarten Classroom and Elementary School Contexts: Associations with the First-Grade Outcomes of Children Transitioning from Head Start

Poor quality classroom and school contexts may impede the academic and behavioral adjustment of low-income students when they transition into kindergarten. Several studies have examined the impact of teacher-student interactions on student progress, whereas others have explored the impact of school-level adversity (e.g., student poverty, school achievement levels). Expanding on prior findings, this study used latent profile analysis to characterize kindergarten contexts in terms of both classroom teacher-student interaction quality and school-level adversity. Following 164 children longitudinally and accounting for functioning in Head Start prior to kindergarten entry, associations between kindergarten context profiles and first grade outcomes revealed that children who experienced dual-risk contexts in kindergarten (classrooms with poor quality teacher-student interactions in schools with high levels of adversity) demonstrated the greatest aggression and social difficulties in first grade. Associations between kindergarten context profiles and first grade academic outcomes were less clear.

An Overview of Classroom Composition Research on Social-Emotional Outcomes: Introduction to the Special Issue

Classroom composition research on social-emotional outcomes (CCRSO) aims to systematically explore how characteristics of classmates are related to the social-emotional outcomes of children and adolescents. In this introduction to the special issue, we first provide an overview of the scientific roots of CCRSO. We then develop a conceptualization of research areas typically of interest in CCRSO, which comprises 4 different fields of inquiry. Based on this, an overview on exemplary studies in these areas of research is given. Finally, we provide an introduction to methodological approaches and current challenges of CCRSO. We end with a brief discussion on potential future research directions.

Classroom Peer Influence From the Entire Class, Dominant Students, and Friends

Recent research indicates that the development of antisocial behavior among students is influenced by the behavioral characteristics of their classmates. However, not all peers in a given class may exert the same influence. Thus, we examined the extent to which individual development is predicted by the perceived proportion of all students with antisocial behavior in the classroom, socially dominant students, and friends. A short-term longitudinal study comprising 4 measurements was conducted on 7th-grade students. In total, 825 students completed self- and peer-reports on aggressive, delinquent, and disruptive classroom behavior. Longitudinal, multilevel negative binomial analyses showed that the perceived characteristics of the entire classroom, dominant students, and friends in one’s class significantly predicted self-reported aggressive and disruptive behavioral development but not delinquency. The impact of the 3 social groups under study in this regard did not differ significantly. Classroom effects were independent of students’ out-of-classroom friend influences.

Aggression Norms in the Classroom Social Network: Contexts of Aggressive Behavior and Social Preference in Middle Childhood

In a cross-sectional sample of African-American 2nd-4th grade students (N = 681), we examine the moderating effects of classroom overt and relational aggression norms on peers' social acceptance of classmates who exhibit overt and relational aggression in urban schools. Extending theory and research on classroom norms, we integrate social network data to adjust aggression norms based on children's direct and indirect connections in the classroom. Results of multilevel models indicate that network-based classroom aggression norms moderated relations between children's aggressive behavior and their social preference. Specifically, children benefited socially when their form of aggressive behavior fit with what was normative in the classroom social context. The moderating effect of classroom aggression norms was stronger for the association between overt aggression and social preference than relational aggression and social preference. Relationally aggressive youth were socially preferred by peers regardless of the classroom norm, although this positive association was magnified in classrooms with higher levels of relational aggression. Future research focused on aggression norms within classroom social networks are discussed and implications for school prevention efforts are considered.

A Developmental Perspective on Peer Rejection, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Conduct Problems Among Youth

Peer rejection and deviant peer affiliation are linked consistently to the development and maintenance of conduct problems. Two proposed models may account for longitudinal relations among these peer processes and conduct problems: the (a) sequential mediation model, in which peer rejection in childhood and deviant peer affiliation in adolescence mediate the link between early externalizing behaviors and more serious adolescent conduct problems; and (b) parallel process model, in which peer rejection and deviant peer affiliation are considered independent processes that operate simultaneously to increment risk for conduct problems. In this review, we evaluate theoretical models and evidence for associations among conduct problems and (a) peer rejection and (b) deviant peer affiliation. We then consider support for the sequential mediation and parallel process models. Next, we propose an integrated model incorporating both the sequential mediation and parallel process models. Future research directions and implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Early childhood precursors and adolescent sequelae of grade school peer rejection and victimization

This study examined the early childhood precursors and adolescent outcomes associated with grade school peer rejection and victimization among children oversampled for aggressive-disruptive behaviors. A central goal was to better understand the common and unique developmental correlates associated with these two types of peer adversity. There were 754 participants (46% African American, 50% European American, 4% other; 58% male; average age=5.65 at kindergarten entry) followed into seventh grade. Six waves of data were included in structural models focused on three developmental periods. Parents and teachers rated aggressive behavior, emotion dysregulation, and internalizing problems in kindergarten and Grade 1 (Waves 1-2); peer sociometric nominations tracked "least liked" and victimization in Grades 2, 3, and 4 (Waves 3-5); and youth reported on social problems, depressed mood, school adjustment difficulties, and delinquent activities in early adolescence (Grade 7, Wave 6). Structural models revealed that early aggression and emotion dysregulation (but not internalizing behavior) made unique contributions to grade school peer rejection; only emotion dysregulation made unique contributions to grade school victimization. Early internalizing problems and grade school victimization uniquely predicted adolescent social problems and depressed mood. Early aggression and grade school peer rejection uniquely predicted adolescent school adjustment difficulties and delinquent activities. Aggression and emotion dysregulation at school entry increased risk for peer rejection and victimization, and these two types of peer adversity had distinct as well as shared risk and adjustment correlates. Results suggest that the emotional functioning and peer experiences of aggressive-disruptive children deserve further attention in developmental and clinical research.