Tessa A. M. Lansu

Peer Status in Emerging Adulthood: Associations of Popularity and Preference With Social Roles and Behavior

Although peer status has been studied extensively in childhood and adolescence, little is known about social status in peer groups of emerging adults. The current study filled this gap by testing whether preference and popularity are distinct dimensions of peer status and uniquely associated with social behavior in emerging adulthood. Participants were 235 18- to 25-year-old emerging adults in a professional college who completed a sociometric instrument. Popularity and preference were moderately correlated. Both types of status were positively related to prosocial leadership and negatively to social exclusion. Popularity was positively related to dominant leadership and relational aggression, whereas preference was negatively related to relational aggression. The results were compared with findings in adolescence and their generalizability to emerging adults in other social contexts was discussed.

Participant roles of bullying in adolescence: Status characteristics, social behavior, and assignment criteria

This study had three goals. First, we examined the prevalence of the participant roles of bullying in middle adolescence and possible gender differences therein. Second, we examined the behavioral and status characteristics associated with the participant roles in middle adolescence. Third, we compared two sets of criteria for assigning students to the participant roles of bullying. Participants were 1,638 adolescents (50.9% boys, M(age)  = 16.38 years, SD =.80) who completed the shortened participant role questionnaire and peer nominations for peer status and behavioral characteristics. Adolescents were assigned to the participant roles according to the relative criteria of Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Österman, and Kaukiainen (1996). Next, the students in each role were divided in two subgroups based on an additional absolute criterion: the Relative Only Criterion subgroup (nominated by less than 10% of their classmates) and the Absolute & Relative Criterion subgroup (nominated by at least 10% of their classmates). Adolescents who bullied or reinforced or assisted bullies were highly popular and disliked and scored high on peer-valued characteristics. Adolescents who were victimized held the weakest social position in the peer group. Adolescents who defended victims were liked and prosocial, but average in popularity and peer-valued characteristics. Outsiders held a socially weak position in the peer group, but were less disliked, less aggressive, and more prosocial than victims. The behavior and status profiles of adolescents in the participant roles were more extreme for the Absolute & Relative Criterion subgroup than for the Relative Only Criterion subgroup.

Stability, Correlates, and Time-Covarying Associations of Peer Victimization From Grade 4 to 12

The purpose of the study was to examine stability, correlates, and time-covarying associations of peer victimization. The total sample size was 1,206 adolescents (Mage at initial time point = 9.74 years, SD = .60; 59.5% White, 21.6% African American, 12.9% Hispanic American, 6% Other/Unknown) followed across 9 yearly waves of data collection from elementary school through middle and high school (Grades 4–12). In each year, peer victimization was assessed with peer nominations; externalizing behavior, peer sociability, and school competence were assessed with teacher ratings; and internalizing behavior was assessed with self-reports. High stability of peer victimization was found across the 9 years of the study. Victimization correlated positively with externalizing and internalizing behaviors and negatively with peer sociability and school competence in the elementary school years, whereas only the association with peer sociability remained significant throughout the middle and high school years. Growth curve modeling showed that victimization, as a time-varying predictor across Grades 4 to 12, significantly predicted the level of each outcome measure at the end of the trajectory, and the rate of change leading up to this end point. Gender differences were found for each of the main results. The results of the current study highlight the importance of developing a long-term dynamic view and understanding of the emergence of peer victimization and its related consequences across childhood and adolescence. Although peer victimization is strongly linked to a variety of adjustment problems in elementary school, these associations seem to become weaker in middle and high school.

Aggression, hostile attributions, status, and gender: A continued quest

This study had two goals. The first goal was to examine the association between two indicators of negative bias in children and their associations with childrens aggression. The second goal was to examine a possible dual role of social status, operationalized as popularity, as a concurrent correlate of negative bias and as a moderator of the effect of negative bias on childrens aggression. The roles of gender and type of aggression were also examined. Participants were 366 fifth- and sixth-grade children (49% girls; M age = 11.07 years, SD = 0.85 year) who completed peer- and self-report measures in their classrooms. The results showed that the two indicators of negative bias were associated with each other and with childrens aggression. Popularity was weakly associated with negative bias. However, popularity did moderate the association of hostile attributions with aggression. The associations of both measures of negative bias with aggression also varied by gender, with stronger associations for boys than for girls. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Unanimous versus partial rejection: How the number of excluders influences the impact of ostracism in children

Previous research has shown that ostracism-the experience of being ignored and excluded-has negative effects on all of us, young and old. Using a Cyberball paradigm, the present research replicates the effects of ostracism on the moods (anger, anxiety, happiness, and anger) and fundamental needs (belongingness, control, meaningful existence, and self-esteem) of children (Study 1) and then extends the literature by examining the role of the number of ostracizers and inclusive members in this process by randomly assigning children to conditions varying in degree of ostracism (Study 2). Results of both studies showed that experiencing ostracism strongly and negatively affected all moods and fundamental needs-with the exception of anxiety. Study 2 in addition showed that the ratio of excluders to inclusive group members had different effects across outcomes. In all cases, complete ostracism produced the worst outcomes, suggesting that the presence of even a single ally reduces childrens distress. For sadness, unanimous ostracism seemed particularly toxic. In some cases, facing two ostracizers produced significantly worse outcomes than only one, suggesting that consensual rejection might drive the negative effects on happiness, and sense of belonging, control, and meaningful existence. For self-esteem, only one ostracizer (in the presence of two inclusive members) was sufficient to induce a negative effect. Aggr. Behav. 43:190-203, 2017.

Children's helping behavior in an ethnic intergroup context: Evidence for outgroup helping

Two studies examined when and why children (10–13 years) help ethnic in-group and out-group peers. In Study 1 (n = 163) children could help an out-group or in-group peer with a word-guessing game by entering codes into a computer. While children evaluated the out-group more negatively than the in-group, they helped out-group peers more than in-group peers. Study 2 (n = 117) conceptually replicated the findings of Study 1. Additionally the results suggest that when children endorsed the stereotype that the out-group is “less smart,” this increased their intention to help out-group peers and it decreased their intention to enter codes for in-group peers. The results suggest that the specific content of a negative stereotype can guide helping responses toward out-group and in-group members.

Popularity and social status

Adolescents are highly concerned with their social status in the peer group. Social status can be defined in terms of popularity or in terms of likeability. Popularity and likeability are distinct forms of social status. They are moderately related and differ in how much they change over time. Popularity and likeability are also correlated with different traits and behaviors. The profile of likeability is primarily prosocial; the profile of popularity is a mixture of prosocial and manipulative behaviors and is associated with prestige and peer influence. In terms of outcomes, likeability is associated with positive outcomes such as high school achievement, whereas popularity is associated with health risk behaviors such as drinking and smoking.

How children's victimization relates to distorted versus sensitive social cognition: Perception, mood, and need fulfillment in response to Cyberball inclusion and exclusion

This study examined whether victimization is associated with negatively distorted social cognition (bias), or with a specific increased sensitivity to social negative cues, by assessing the perception of social exclusion and the consequences for psychological well-being (moods and fundamental needs). Both self-reported and peer-reported victimization of 564 participants (Mage=9.9years, SD=1.04; 49.1% girls) were measured, and social exclusion was manipulated through inclusion versus exclusion in a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball). Childrens perceptions and psychological well-being were in general more negative after exclusion than after inclusion. Moreover, self-reported-but not peer-reported-victimization was associated with the perception of being excluded more and receiving the ball less, as well as more negative moods and less fulfillment of fundamental needs, regardless of being excluded or included during the Cyberball game. In contrast, peer-reported victimization was associated with more negative mood and lower need fulfillment in the exclusion condition only. Together, these results suggest that children who themselves indicate being victimized have negatively distorted social cognition, whereas children who are being victimized according to their peers experience increased sensitivity to negative social situations. The results stress the importance of distinguishing between self-reported and peer-reported victimization and have implications for interventions aimed at victimized childrens social cognition.