Timothy A. Cavell

Further Support for the Developmental Significance of the Quality of the Teacher-Student Relationship.

Abstract Sociometric nominations and ratings assessed peers perceptions of supportive and conflicted teacher–student relationships, evaluations of childrens positive and negative attributes, and peer-rated liking. Participants were 993 third- and fourth-grade children. Girls obtained higher Teacher Support and lower Teacher Conflict scores compared with boys. The pattern of correlations between teacher–student relationship scores and other peer evaluations was comparable across genders. Both Teacher Support and Teacher Conflict made independent contributions to peer evaluations of childrens competencies and acceptance of children. Teacher Support contributes to the prediction of social preference scores beyond that predicted by peer nominations of aggression. Teacher ratings of aggression were available for a subsample of 71 behaviorally at-risk children. For this subsample, Teacher Support predicted social preference scores after controlling for both peer nominations of aggression and teacher ratings of aggression. Peers perceptions of Teacher Support may function as an “affective bias,” influencing both perceptions of child competencies and liking for the child. Implications of these findings for classroom-based interventions with peer-rejected children are discussed.

The Role of Relational Aggression in Identifying Aggressive Boys and Girls.

Abstract Peer perceptions of relational and overt aggression and peer evaluations of social competencies were obtained for 461 boys and 443 girls in second and third grades. In contrast to Crick and Grotpeter (1995) , boys obtained higher relational and overt aggression scores than girls, and the relation between both types of aggression and peer evaluations were similar for boys and girls. When controlling for levels of overt aggression, relational aggression made a statistically significant but small contribution to the prediction of both peer-evaluated competencies and teacher ratings of aggression in boys and girls. Analyses treating relational and overt aggression as categorical variables revealed gender differences in the prevalence and corresponding sociometric status of aggressive subtypes. When peer-rated relational aggression status is not considered, 60% of aggressive girls, compared to 7% of aggressive boys, are not identified as aggressive. High levels of overt aggression were more likely to result in peer rejection for girls than for boys. In a subsample of 112 children, peer-rated relational aggression contributed more to the discrimination of teacher-identified aggressive and nonaggressive girls, whereas peer-rated overt aggression contributed more to the discrimination of teacher-identified aggressive and nonaggressive boys.

A positive view of self: risk or protection for aggressive children?

Childrens ratings of competence and relationship quality were used to examine the association between idealized or inflated self-perceptions and level of aggression. Participants were 62 aggressive and 53 nonaggressive second and third graders. Ratings of competence were based on the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children; ratings of relationship quality were drawn from the Social Support Appraisals Scale and the Network of Relationships Inventory. External ratings of competence and relationship quality were obtained from mothers, teachers, and peers. Compared to children who were nonaggressive, aggressive children were more likely to rate personal competence and relationship quality in a perfect or idealized manner and to show less differentiation in their ratings of competence and relationship quality. Aggressive childrens self-rated competence and relationship quality were also inflated relative to the ratings made by others, whereas the self-ratings of nonaggressive children tended to be underestimates of their functioning. The tendency for aggressive children to idealize and to inflate ratings of competence and relationship quality was associated with higher levels of aggression. For aggressive children, a highly positive self-view is construed--not as a protective factor or measurement error--but as a defensive posture that places the child at added risk and that impedes the progress of psychosocial interventions.

Secondary Prevention as Context for Assessing Change Processes in Aggressive Children

Abstract Teacher-identified aggressive children N = 62 were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, both of which involved college student mentors. The experimental condition (PrimeTime) combined therapeutic mentoring, training in problem-solving skills, and consultation with parents and teachers. The comparison treatment (Standard Mentoring) relied solely on the skills of minimally trained, unsupervised mentors. Both interventions lasted 16 months. Our goal was to examine the efficacy of the PrimeTime intervention and the soundness of our model of change. Outcome assessments (at posttreatment and at one-year follow-up) were based on parent-, teacher-, and peer-reports of childrens aggression and others acceptance, as well as on childrens self-rated competence and acceptance by others. Outcome analyses revealed small gains for both treatments and provided only partial support for the efficacy of the PrimeTime intervention. Analyses of change processes supported our conceptual model but also identified iatrogenic effects that may have attenuated the therapeutic impact of PrimeTime. The discussion highlights the importance of testing both intervention efficacy and putative mechanisms of change when evaluating newly developed treatment models.

The self-systems of aggressive children: a cluster-analytic investigation.

The purpose of the present study was to identify clinically relevant subtypes of aggressive children based on measures of childrens self-systems and significant others perceptions of relationship quality. In a sample of aggressive second- and third-graders, a cluster analysis of these childrens perceptions of support and significant others (mother, teacher, and peers) perceptions of relationship quality revealed one subgroup in which self- and other-ratings were both below the group mean (concordant-negative), one in which both were above the sample mean (concordant-positive), and one in which they were discrepant (high child-report and low other-report). All three clusters were rated as more aggressive than controls. However, children in the discrepant group were rated as considerably more aggressive and delinquent than those in the two concordant clusters, who did not differ from each other on measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results are discussed from an attachment perspective and in terms of the clinical significance of this self-other discrepancy.

Social Cognitive Differences Between Aggressive–Rejected and Aggressive–Nonrejected Children☆

Abstract This study investigated differences in social cognitive processing between two subtypes of aggressive children: those rejected by their peers and those not rejected. Children in Grades 2–4 classified as aggressive–rejected (AR; n = 34), aggressive–nonrejected (AN; n = 55), or nonaggressive–nonrejected (NN; n = 64) on the basis of teacher ratings of aggression were administered the Social Cognitive Assessment Profile (SCAP). Descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA; aggressive vs. nonaggressive) replicated the previous finding that aggressive children have a broad range of social cognitive deficits and distortions and provided additional evidence of the criterion validity of SCAP scores. Three-group DDA (AR, AN, NN) indicated that AN children were more likely than AR children to believe that aggression leads to positive outcomes, and were more confident in their ability to use aggression toward a peer. The pattern of social cognitive differences between AR and AN children was similar to that typically found between proactively and reactively aggressive children. Aggressive children who are not also peer-rejected appear to have a distinct pattern of social cognitive biases that reflect antisocial beliefs likely to support the use of aggression to obtain desired goals. Effective interventions for these children may need to target underlying motivations as well as on-line processing skills.

The Natural Mentors of Adolescent Children of Alcoholics (COAs): Implications for Preventive Practices.

Late adolescent children of alcoholics (COAs) were interviewed about their relationship with a natural mentor. Comparisons in social and emotional functioning were made to a matched sample of COAs who did not have a natural mentor. Results showed that a typical mentor was a same-sex relative who had been responsible for initiating the mentor-like relationship. Mentors familiarity with adolescents parents predicted the quality of the mentoring relationships. Differences in the reported adjustment of COAs with and without natural mentors are considered in light of prevention programming and its evaluation.

Perceptions of attachment and the adjustment of adolescents with alcoholic fathers

Late adolescents (mean age = 18.5 yrs) from father-alcoholic and nonalcoholic families rated attachment to parents and level of adjustment in 3 domains: alcohol involvement, psychiatric symptomatology, and interpersonal problems.

A Positive View of Peer Acceptance in Aggressive Youth Risk for Future Peer Acceptance

Abstract This study examines the relations between aggressive childrens perceived levels of peer acceptance at Time 1 and actual levels of social preference and aggression 30 months later. Participants were 49 children nominated for one of two interventions by teachers for their aggressive behaviors in second or third grade at Time 1. This study used longitudinal data to determine whether a positive view of perceived peer acceptance is a risk factor for continued aggression and social rejection for aggressive children. Social preference scores were derived from sociometric assessment procedures at Time 1 and Time 2. Peer and teacher ratings of aggression were also obtained at Time 1 and Time 2. After controlling for baseline (Time 1) levels of aggression, perceived peer acceptance at Time 1 did not predict aggression at Time 2. However, children who reported higher levels of perceived peer acceptance at Time 1 received lower actual social preference scores at Time 2, after controlling for Time 1 levels of social preference. Implications of these findings for future research and for intervening with aggressive children are discussed.

Predicting differential reactions to males' versus females' assertions, empathic-assertions, and nonassertions

This study hypothesized that the discrepant findings of past research examining differential reactions to males versus females assertions were due in part to an uncontrolled variable, subjects attitudes towards females roles in society (as assessed by the Attitude Towards Women Scale, ATW, Spence & Helmreich, 1972a ). After viewing standardized videotapes of male and female models portraying assertive, empathic-assertive, or nonassertive refusal behavior, college students evaluated the models on multiple indices of likability, competence, and desirability. As hypothesized, conservative, low-ATW participants devalued females assertions and empathic-assertions. More liberal, high-ATW participants males assertions and empathic-assertions. More liberal, high-ATW participants were not significantly affected by the gender of the assertive person. Implications for skills training and cognitive restructuring procedures are discussed.