Positive peer relations are critical for successful social development, with sociability, aggressive, and withdrawn behaviors making particularly fundamental contributions. Traditionally, these sets of behaviors have been considered using a variable-centered approach. The present research, with 3rd through 5th graders, used a person-centered approach to empirically discover behavior profiles from peer behavior nominations. Using Latent Profile Analysis, three profiles were identified: High Social (high sociability, low aggressive, low withdrawn behaviors), Low Engagement (low sociability, low aggressive, high withdrawn behaviors), and High Visibility (moderate sociability, high aggressive, and low withdrawn behaviors). Relating these profiles to a variety of peer social competence measures, the High Social children had the most positive evaluations, the Low Engagement children had the most negative evaluations, and interestingly, the High Visibility children had a mix of both positive and negative evaluations. Results underscore the complexity of the relation between behaviors and peer social competence and highlight the value of a person-centered approach relating behaviors to peer social competence.

Children may cope with cyber victimization in a variety of ways, including obtaining social support from friends. This research, with children in China (Grades 3-6, n = 462), examined associations among (a) willingness to tell a friend about being a cyber victim, (b) being a cyber victim, and (c) seven peer social competence variables: social self-competence, global self-competence, loneliness, peer optimism, number of mutual friends, peer liking nominations, and peer victimization nominations. All children enrolled in Grades 3-6 were invited to participate. Based on a multivariate analysis of variance, cyber victimization was associated with self-reported lower scores on global self-competence and peer optimism and with higher scores on loneliness; none of the peer-reported measures of social competence was significantly related. Using discriminant function analyses, social competence measures of peer optimism, self-competence (global and social), number of mutual friends, and classroom peer nominations for liked most significantly differentiated children willing to tell versus children not willing to tell a friend about being a cyber victim. Importantly, this differentiation was evident only for children who reported having been a cyber victim. These findings underscore the complex relation of factors associated with willingness to tell friends about being a cyber victim.

Behaviors and relationships exist within a variety of social contexts. More specifically for the current research, victimization and friendships occur in classrooms and, increasingly, in online virtual contexts. The current research examined how the number of classroom friends and number of cyber friends related to the extent of classroom victimization and extent of cyber victimization. Research has demonstrated the importance of face-to-face friendships in relation to being a victim; much less is known about the role of cyber friends in relation to being a cyber victim or how these relationships may play a role in cross-context victimization. Participants were 350 children from Grades 3 through 5 (188 girls and 162 boys). Children indicated classroom friends on a classroom roster, reported the number of their cyber friends, and indicated the extent of their cyber victimization. Peers nominated classmates for classroom victimization behaviors. A path analysis revealed that number of classroom friends was negatively associated with both extent of classroom victimization and extent of cyber victimization. Number of cyber friends was positively associated with extent of cyber victimization and was negatively related to extent of classroom victimization. Discussion of results includes the construction, use, and adaptation of social skills within and between social contexts.

Research consistently documents negative consequences for children who are cyber victims, underscoring the need to examine effective management. Disclosure to friends about cyber victimization is advocated; however, research is limited. The present research examined willingness to disclose to friends about being cyber victimized for fourth graders and evaluated the subsequent frequency of cyber victimization when in grade 5 (N = 207). Three groups in Grade 4 were identified: No Victimization, Victimization/No Tell, and Victimization/Tell. Children in the Victimization/Tell group reported a significantly lower frequency of cyber victimization a year later. The Victimization/No Tell group of children did not report a statistically reduced frequency of cyber victimization. The number of classroom mutual friends was ruled out as an explanation. This research supports the use of a strategy for children confiding with friends to reduce subsequent cyber victimization.

Researchers have focused on children's friendship relationships more than antipathy (disliking) relationships. The present one-year longitudinal research examined the relation of different forms of antipathy nominations (Mutual, Unilateral Given, Unilateral Received) to children's social competence (self-reports of loneliness and peer optimism, classroom peer nominations for sociability behaviors) for 121 third and fourth graders (fourth and fifth graders in Year 2). From path analyses, the pattern between forms of antipathy relationships to the measures of social competence was identical for concurrent findings at Time 1 and between forms of antipathy relationships and the measures of social competence one year later. Higher numbers of Mutual Antipathies and higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to greater loneliness and fewer peer nominations for sociability behaviors. In addition, higher numbers of Unilateral Received Antipathies were related to less peer optimism. Interestingly, numbers of Unilateral Given Antipathies were not significantly related to any of the social competence measures at Time 1 or one year later. These findings suggest that dislike relationships, whether mutual or unilateral received, may have important negative associations for children's concurrent and later social competence.

As computer access and use continue to expand for increasingly younger children, online social settings will continue to provide a prominent platform for children to experience victimization. Of particular interest to the present research was children's (222 children, boys = 105; girls = 117) willingness to tell a friend and willingness to tell a parent about experiences of cyber victimization (Grades 3 and 4). This self-disclosure was then examined in relation to cyber victimization a year later (Grades 4 and 5), controlling for initial levels of cyber victimization at Time 1 and cyber usage at Time 1 and Time 2. For boys, willingness to tell a friend at Time 1 about cyber victimization was associated with less cyber victimization at Time 2 than not being willing to tell a friend. For girls, willingness to tell a parent at Time 1 about cyber victimization was associated with less cyber victimization at Time 2 than not being willing to tell a parent. These findings underscore the possible importance of willingness to self-disclose as a coping strategy to reduce future incidences of cyber victimization and highlight the complexity of this strategy in terms of gender and nature of social support.

Friendships are special, close, voluntary, dyadic relationships with a long history of research in psychology and education. The formation, maintenance, and termination of friendships affect children and their social world. Furthermore, teachers influence children’s friendships, whether deliberately or not. Simply put, friendships and the nature and flow of friendships are important to the functioning of teachers, students, and classrooms. In this chapter we discuss the implications and responses teachers may consider when a friendship relationship that existed is now in difficulty of dissolution and is creating negative consequences for the dyad and the classroom. The discussion is organized around Robert Hinde’s (1992) Hierarchy of Social Complexity. We consider how teachers can use this framework for observing, assessing, and intervening. Next, we provide evidence of the importance of the consideration of children’s friendship relationships for teachers, classrooms, and schools. Finally, we broadly consider gaps in our knowledge and future directions for researchers.

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to (a) validate the factor structure for a measure of peer conflict in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D); (b) determine empirical patterns of peer conflict in terms of context (friend vs. nonfriend) and content (diabetes-specific vs. general) within a broader context of socio-demographic factors; and (c) examine how these patterns and socio-demographic factors relate to adolescents' T1D adherence, quality of life, and glycemic control (HbA1c).METHODSYouth with T1D (N = 178), ages 12-18, reported demographic variables, illness duration, adherence, quality of life, and peer conflict. HbA1c was extracted from medical records. Confirmatory factor analysis validated a factor structure for the Diabetes Peer Conflict Scale (DPCS) and latent profile analysis (LPA) determined profiles of peer conflict.RESULTSA four-factor structure emerged for the DPCS: general friend conflict, general nonfriend conflict, T1D friend conflict, and T1D nonfriend conflict. Using these factors as indicators in LPA, four profiles were confirmed: (a) Low Overall Conflict (LOC) and (b) Moderate Overall Conflict (MOC), (c) a Nonfriend Conflict (NFC), and (d) a Friend Conflict (FC) profile. Differences were not identified between diabetes specific versus general conflict. Socio-demographic variables did not predict class membership. The LOC profile reported the highest quality of life and best glycemic control, whereas the FC profile reported the lowest adherence behaviors. Conclusions: Peer conflict uniquely contributes to diabetes adaptation above and beyond socio-demographic and illness factors.

Children’s peer optimism has been shown to be associated with a variety of positive social outcomes, but little is known about changes in peer optimism over time and if these changes relate to peer social competence. Based on a sample of 114 children (children in grades 3 and 4 reassessed in grades 4 and 5) (girls = 62; boys = 52), Growth Mixture Modeling identified two profiles of children based on reported peer optimism: a group with a relatively low level of optimism that remained low ( n = 45; Low/Stable); and a group with high optimism that increased over time ( n = 69; High/Increasing). Comparing the social competence of children in the two profiles, children in the High/Increasing group reported greater self-social competence; were more liked and more popular by peers; and engaged in less relational aggression and withdrawal. Children in the Low/Stable group increased in overt aggression, and girls reported greater loneliness. In sum, this person-centered research empirically identified two groups of children who differed in their peer optimism from one school year to the next (low and stayed low vs high and got higher). Furthermore, group membership predicted changes in peer social functioning.

During middle childhood, Chinese boys are particularly at risk to develop both externalizing (e.g., overt aggression) and internalizing behavioral problems (e.g., social withdrawal). A possible contributor to these problems is that boys cannot regulate their anger very well. Inability to manage anger may cause a particular social challenge for Chinese boys. Open expression of anger may be prohibited by prevailing Chinese cultural norms, because it emphasizes individuality over harmony. But anger is a socially disengaging emotion which works against social harmony. This situation requires Chinese boys to manage and express anger appropriately in social interactions. Based on the hierarchical model of social relationships and the three trends of human interactions, this study examined three pathways—aggression, social withdrawal, and sociability-leadership—that lead from Chinese boys’ anger dysregulation to their lower social status among peers at school. Participants of this study were 267 boys in Grades 3-6 from an elementary school in urban China. A self-report questionnaire of anger dysregulation was used to evaluate how often Chinese boys express their anger in dysregulated ways (e.g., attacking things or people). Peer nominations were used to measure children’s overt aggression (moving against peers), social withdrawal (moving away from peers), and sociability-leadership (moving toward peers). Social status was assessed by a sociometric measure which evaluates the degree to which children were liked by their classmates. Results showed that boys’ anger dysregulation was negatively associated with their social status. Moreover, aggression, social withdrawal, and social skills fully mediated this association. This study enriches our understanding of the mechanisms linking anger dysregulation to lower social status and provides practical implications to help Chinese boys improve social and emotional functioning in middle childhood.

The authors examined associations between different forms of children's friendship nomination reciprocity (mutual, unilateral given, unilateral received) and other measures of children's peer social competence (liking, loneliness, overt aggression, perceived popularity) for 501 Chinese third- to sixth-grade students. Using a multigroup path analysis (with gender as group), for both boys and girls, all three forms of friendship nominations were negatively related to self-reported loneliness. Mutual friendship nominations and unilateral received friendship nominations were positively related to peer nominations for liking and to peer nominations of perceived popularity. The path between unilateral received friendship nominations and perceived popularity was higher for boys than for girls. Also, for boys only, mutual friendship nominations and unilateral received friendship nominations were each negatively related to peer nominations of overt aggression. These patterns are somewhat different from research examining the association of forms of friendships to peer social competence for children in Western cultures. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of the relation of different forms of friendship nominations to children's peer social competence as well as the broad association of culture for these relations.

Previous research indicates that the behavioral profile of high-status children is not monolithic but varied. This study contributes to the existing research on high-status children by showing that they are also an emotionally diverse group in terms of their anticipated shame and guilt experiences. Children ( N = 163, aged 8–12 years) nominated classmates who were perceived as popular, socially preferred, respected, and overtly aggressive. Regarding anticipated shame and guilt experiences, children also related how much they would experience shame and guilt and display correlated behaviors after reading stories which varied the transgression type (intentional harm, unintentional harm, and incompetent behavior) and the transgression frequency (many times vs. once). We found that children who were perceived by other children to be both highly popular and high in another area of social status related to a communal goal orientation (social preference, respect, and nonaggression) anticipated significantly more shame and guilt feelings than children who were perceived to be only highly popular and children who were low in social status. Moreover, these children also anticipated using significantly more appeasement than apologetic strategies when they imagined acting incompetently many times; a pattern not in evidence with other children. These findings suggest that children who are viewed as both popular and communal are more sensitive to the ways transgressions could influence what they would feel and what they would do, compared to children who are viewed as popular but not communal and children who are neither popular nor communal.

Engaging in cyber aggression has been shown to be associated with negative psychosocial adjustment for both the victim and the aggressor for U.S. samples. Of particular interest to the present research was how engaging in cyber aggression related to classroom peer social competence for children in China. Participants were 494 students (Boys = 278; Girls = 216), Grades 3-6, attending an elementary school in Wuhan, China. A path analysis was performed using peer nominations for classroom aggression (overt and relational) and self-reports of cyber aggression to predict: intra-individual social competence (global self-worth, loneliness, peer optimism); relationships (number of classroom mutual friends); and group level social competence (peer nominations for sociability behaviors and for popularity). Consistent with previous research on children, extent of engaging in cyber aggression was associated with negative intra-individual and relationship classroom social competence measures. Unlike other studies, extent of cyber aggression was not associated with group level evaluations. Overt aggression was found to relate to classroom social competence in a similar fashion as reported for U.S. children; relational aggression showed a different pattern. The findings highlight the importance of examining the unique associations of types and forms of aggression to social competence, particularly in relation to culture.

ObjectiveExamine unique forms of peer relations (i.e., peer group vs. friendships) in relation to patterns of youth's resilience and challenge-related growth in the context of cancer.MethodsIn all, 279 youth (cancer, n = 156; control, n = 123) completed measures of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and perceived positive changes. Youth also reported on their peer relations. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to examine patterns of youth's adjustment. Peer relations were examined as predictors of youth's adjustment.ResultsLPA revealed three profiles (42.1% resilient high growth, 21.4% resilient low growth, and 36.5% mild distress with growth). Youth's peer relations, demographic factors, and disease-related factors predicted assignment to profiles. Differences in adjustment emerged depending on youth's connection with their peers versus their friends.SummaryPeer relations serve an important role in youth's adjustment to stressful life events. Assessment of peer and friend support may provide a more nuanced understanding of adjustment processes.

The importance of peer adjustment in middle childhood coincides with developing social cognitive and discursive skills that include the ability to make personal narrative accounts. Authoring personal stories promotes attention to the sequence of events, the causal connections between events, the moral significance of what has happened, and the motives that drive human action: these skills may be critical for the establishment and maintenance of satisfying peer relationships during elementary school. This study extended previous research by considering whether narrative skills in written stories about peer interactions predicted peer adjustment. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, 92 children wrote narratives about peer experiences and completed surveys on measures of peer adjustment for two school years. Cross-lagged panel models indicated that chronological and thematic coherence and reports of moral concerns in narratives in the first year of the study contributed to lower peer disliking in the subsequent academic year. Reports of motives in Year 1 narratives contributed to lower levels of loneliness and peer victimization in Year 2. Writing personal narratives that are coherent and attentive to moral concerns and motives may be especially beneficial for children who have difficulty connecting with peers. We discuss implications for classroom practices.

This study examined whether children’s perceptions of maternal nonsupportive reactions to sadness (active discouragement and non-response) influenced children’s loneliness and classroom popularity indirectly through their effects on children’s sadness inhibition and self-perception of social competence. Participants were children in grades 3–6 from a university affiliated public elementary school (N = 175; 53 % females; 37 % racial/ethnic minority). Children reported on the frequency of their mother’s active discouragement and non-response of their sadness, as well their own sadness inhibition, self-perceived social competence, and loneliness. Classroom peers reported on children’s popularity. Results indicated that perceived maternal non-response to sadness was indirectly related to classroom popularity and loneliness through the effect on children’s self-perception of social competence. In contrast, perceived maternal active discouragement of sadness was indirectly related to children’s classroom popularity through the effect on children’s sadness inhibition. These results support the consideration of active discouragement and non-response as distinct constructs and indicate the likelihood of different pathways of influence in predicting emotional and social outcomes such as loneliness and classroom popularity.

Little is known about factors that influence children's attitudes toward aggression, despite evidence that these attitudes are influential in promoting violent behaviors. The purpose of the present research was to examine the relation of self, peer, and parent social factors to school-age children's maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. Specifically, symptoms of depression, peer overt aggression behaviors, and perceptions of maternal and peer responses to anger were evaluated as important factors associated with the use of aggression. These factors were examined separately for boys and girls, as research has consistently documented gender differences in the form and use of aggression. Hierarchical regression models were computed separately for boys and girls in grades three through five (N = 167), with child-reported depression, peer-nominated overt aggression, and child-reported maternal and best friend responses to anger examined as predictors of maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. For girls, depressive symptoms positively predicted maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. For boys, the extent of peer-reported overt aggression (positively) and child-reported supportive maternal responses to the child's anger (negatively) predicted maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. The value of examining social factors that relate to attitudes toward aggression is discussed as well as consideration of gender differences in these relations. In addition, discussion includes how these results highlight important targets for interventions that may be especially relevant for school-age girls and boys.

Parent emotion coaching (i.e., child-reported parental responses to sadness and anger) was examined as a moderator of peer relations in the classroom (i.e., peer-rated sociability, number of mutual friends, and respect nominations) and self-perceptions of social competence (i.e., loneliness and optimism). Participants were 129 (44% boys; 66% Caucasian) fourth through sixth graders. If parents were perceived as low in emotion coaching, low sociability and low peer respect were associated with greater loneliness; low peer respect was also associated with low peer optimism when combined with low emotion coaching. Importantly, with high parent emotion coaching, there was no significant association between problematic peer relations and negative self-perceptions of social competence. Parent emotion coaching may buffer the effects of poor peer relations.

This article summarizes current theory and research related to apologies in close relationships. Eight studies examined predictors of the occurrence and effectiveness of apologies, and 7 studies investigated outcomes associated with apologies. Two studies investigated predictors and associated outcomes of apologies. Findings indicated that characteristics of the victim (e. g., willingness to empathize), characteristics of the transgressor (e. g., gender, personality), and specific contextual factors (e. g., relational closeness) influence the occurrence and effectiveness of an apology. Several factors, including the transgressor's ability to adopt a self-focus or self-other focus when apologizing, were associated with positive relationship outcomes. The review highlights a lack of consensus in apology conceptualization and the need for additional research on the role of apologies in maintaining close relationships.