Marjolijn Vermande

Peer and self-reports of victimization and bullying: Their differential association with internalizing problems and social adjustment

Researchers typically employ either peer or self-reports to assess involvement in bullying. In this study, we examined the merits of each method for the identification of child characteristics related to victimization and bullying others. Accordingly, we investigated the difference between these two methods with regard to their relationship with social adjustment (i.e., perceived popularity, likeability, and self-perceived social acceptance) and internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, and self-worth) in 1192 Dutch school children, aged 9 to 12 years. Perceived popularity and likeability were more strongly correlated with peer reports than self-reports, for both victimization and for bullying others. Self-perceived social acceptance correlated equally strong with peer and self- reports of victimization. Furthermore, peer reports of bullying were also correlated with self-perceived social acceptance, whereas self-reports of bullying were not. All internalizing problems showed stronger relations with self-reports than peer reports; although only the relation between self-reported victimization and internalizing problems was of practical significance. Despite our findings indicating that using only one type of report could be efficient for examining the relation between bullying behaviors and separate child characteristics, both types of report are necessary for a complete understanding of the personal and social well-being of the children involved.

Sibling relationship patterns and their associations with child competence and problem behavior.

The present study is the first to examine patterns in sibling relationship quality and the associations of these patterns with internalizing and externalizing problem behavior, as well as self-perceived competence, in middle childhood. Self-report questionnaires (e.g., Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, Self-Perception Profile for Children, Youth Self Report) were administered among 1,670 Dutch children (Mage = 11.40 years, SD = .83) attending 51 different Dutch schools. Three sibling relationship clusters were found: a conflictual cluster (low on warmth, high on conflict), an affect-intense cluster (above average on warmth and conflict), and a harmonious cluster (high on warmth, low on conflict). Sister pairs were underrepresented in the conflictual cluster and overrepresented in the harmonious cluster. Children with conflictual sibling relationships reported significantly more internalizing and externalizing problems, and lower academic and social competence and global self-worth, than children with harmonious sibling relationships. Children with affect-intense sibling relationships reported less aggression and better social competence than children with conflictual sibling relationships. Our findings indicate that it is fruitful to combine indices of sibling warmth and conflict to examine sibling relationship types. Relationship types differed significantly concerning internalizing and externalizing problems, but also concerning self-perceived competence. These findings extend our knowledge about sibling relationship types and their impact on different aspects of child adjustment. Whereas harmonious sibling relationships are the most beneficial for adjustment, sibling conflict mainly has a negative effect on adjustment in combination with lack of sibling warmth. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Bryant's Empathy Index: A Closer Examination of its Internal Structure

The present study examined the internal structure of Bryants (1982) Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents, a 22-item questionnaire measure of dispositional affective empathy. Third graders (n = 817), fourth to sixth graders (n = 82), and eighth graders (n = 1,079) were studied. Factor analyses revealed that the empathy index is multidimensional, encompassing two subscales. The same two-factor solution emerged in all samples. The first factor, labeled empathic sadness, showed good reliability in the two larger samples. Sex differences were established in each sample, with girls reporting more empathic sadness than boys. The second factor, reflecting attitudes rather than feelings, showed weak reliability in all samples, and poor differentiation between the sexes in the two younger age samples. The findings seriously challenge the validity of the 22-item empathy index. Improvement of the scale as a measure of affective empathy is indicated.

Assessing Cross-Cultural Item Bias in Questionnaires Acculturation and the Measurement of Social Support and Family Cohesion for Adolescents

A method is presented for evaluating the presence and size of cross-cultural item biases. The examined items concern parental support and family cohesion in a Likert-type questionnaire for adolescents in The Netherlands. Each evaluated item has two versions, a collectivist and an individualistic one, that measure the same theoretical construct. The standardized difference between the score means of the item versions, called the Δe score, gives an indication of the cultural bias of the item. As expected, most items were found to yield a higher Δe when respondents scored low on an individualistic scale for acculturation or originated from countries that are (more) collectivist. This procedure is recommended for use in testing items in pilot studies.

Competence, Problem Behavior, and the Effects of Having No Friends, Aggressive Friends, or Nonaggressive Friends: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

This study examined the longitudinal relations between competence (academic achievement and social preference) and problem behavior (loneliness and aggression) in 741 elementary school boys and girls in the Netherlands (Grades 1-5). Also, we examined the moderation effects of having no friends, aggressive friends, or nonaggressive friends on the associations between competence and problem behavior. Results revealed that competence was related to later problem behavior. Academic competence was related to lower levels of later loneliness, whereas social preference was related to both lower levels of loneliness and aggression over time. Vice versa, loneliness was not related to subsequent competence, whereas aggression was associated with later lower levels of social preference. Although group differences appeared on mean levels of competence and problem behavior, with children without friends being especially vulnerable to maladjustment, we found no moderation effects of friendship for associations between competence and problem behavior.

Some Developmental Implications of Structural Aspects of Preschoolers' Relations with Classmates

Abstract To gain insight into childrens peer relations and their developmental significance, it is important to know not only how many relations children have but also to consider the structure of these relations. To demonstrate this, we used a multiple-study design in which we applied social network analyses to sociometric ratings and nominations from 1,082 4- to 5-year-old children in 83 school classes. Results showed that isolation in the classroom was more strongly associated with the choices that were given than those that were received. Gender plus the negative behavioral characteristics, aggressiveness and rejection, were the most important cues for social clustering. The structure of positive choices reflected the formation of friendship networks, whereas negative choices tended to be given directly to individual “problem” children. Finally, structure indices tapped aspects of childrens relations that were not reflected in the traditional two-dimensional classification system and provided additional explanatory power for predicting developmental outcomes.

Classroom Roles and School Adjustment

The peer group is an important developmental context for children. In this paper we present a method to operationalize a childs integration into the classroom by their informal social classroom roles, which we obtained using a blockmodel analysis based on role equivalence. This method differs in several respects from the common socio-metric status approach. Analysis of multiplex social relationships of 1,241 first-grade children in 71 classrooms showed nine empirical classroom roles. The roles were not associated with physical attractiveness not with ethnic ancestry, were associated only weakly with age, sex, and intelligence, and were associated strongly with school adjustment. Classroom roles and sociometric status were clearly associated, but measured different aspects of a childs integration into the classroom. For all school problems except academic performance, classroom roles explained a much larger proportion of the variance than did sociometric status.

A Review of Cross-Cultural Studies of Observed Peer Interaction

In the Western peer interaction literature, childrens observable social functioning is often causally related to peer acceptance and psychosocial well-being. In the present review, cross-cultural empirical support for such a relationship was investigated. By means of a PsycLIT search, cross-cultural studies of peer interaction-published in article-format-were collected that used observational methods and focused on interaction between children up to 12 years of age. The 18 studies that met these criteria could be categorized as focusing on social motives, on characteristics of social interaction, or on sex-specific behaviors. A diversity of theoretical orientations was encountered and discussed. It was concluded that in the studies reviewed here the focus was not on the analysis of observational findings in relation to peer acceptance and the quality of childrens psychosocial functioning. Clearly, such cross-cultural research is badly needed.

Social capital in the classroom: a study of in-class social capital and school adjustment

Social capital is generally considered beneficial for students’ school adjustment. This paper argues that social relationships among pupils generate social capital at both the individual and the class levels, and that each has its unique effect on pupils’ performance and well-being. The sample in this study consists of 1036 children in 60 first-grade classes in 46 Dutch elementary schools. Multilevel regression results show that a substantial proportion of the variance in school adjustment can be attributed to the class level and that both individual-level and classroom-level social capital have substantial effects on school adjustment. At the individual level, the size of one’s network is more important than its structure. At the collective level, social capital also has a ‘dark side’ because it can have negative effects on adjustment, lowering the academic performance in a class.

Role of depressive symptoms in early adolescents' online emotional responding to a peer evaluation challenge.

Background: Problems regulating emotions effectively (emotion dysregulation) are implicated in many psychological problems. Depression in particular has been increasingly conceptualized as a disorder of emotion regulation. Methods: This study examines the linkage between childrens depressive symptoms and the activation and regulation of positive and negative affect in response to an manipulated peer evaluation outcome. Participants (N=142) aged 10–13 played a computer contest (“Survivor”) and were randomized to either a negative (i.e., receiving the lowest “likeability” score from a group of peer judges), a positive (i.e., highest score), or a neutral peer evaluation outcome. Positive and negative affect were assessed at baseline, immediately post‐feedback, and after a 5 min post‐feedback waiting period. Results: No linkage was observed between depressive symptoms and emotional activation in response to either success or failure feedback. Consistent with expectations, we observed a negative linkage between depressive symptoms and childrens up‐regulation of positive affect subsequent to receiving negative peer feedback. No such linkage was observed for the maintenance of mood improvement over time. Conclusions: Results suggest that depressive symptoms in children are not linked with deficits or excesses in the overall magnitude of emotional reactivity. However, it appears that elevated depressive symptoms interfere with the ability to swiftly transition out of negative affective states. Depression and Anxiety, 2009.