Peer Groups: Structure

• Typically range in size from 3 to >10 children (average = 5-6)

• Mostly composed of same-sex peers

• During childhood, peer groups tend to be smaller (“cliques”); during adolescence, peer groups become larger (“crowds”)

Peer Groups: Functions

• Children learn a variety of skills necessary for group functioning– Exs: engagement in cooperative activity with

collective goals; nature of social structures/hierarchies; skills associated with leading/following; control of hostile impulses toward other members

• Peer groups may also serve as a major source of social support

Peer Acceptance and Rejection

• Popularity: Experience of being liked and accepted by the peer group

Assessment of Peer Acceptance

• Sociometric nominations

– Used within a classroom

– Children are typically asked to name 3-5 peers they like most and like least

– Children are categorized into status groups based on the number of positive and negative nominations they receive from peers

Peer Acceptance Categories:

• Popular: Many positive nominations, few negative

• Rejected: Many negative nominations, few positive

• Controversial: Many positive and negative nominations

• Neglected: Few positive or negative nominations

• Average: All others

Correlates of Peer Acceptance

• Popular:

– Generally viewed as cooperative, friendly, sociable, and sensitive

– Less likely to draw unwarranted attention to themselves when entering ongoing playgroups (e.g., do not talk exclusively about themselves; do not disrupt ongoing group activities)

– Speak clearly and respond contingently to social overtures from others

– Endorse negotiation and compromise as effective strategies for obtaining their goals and maintaining positive relationships with peers

• Controversial:

– Show a combination of positive and negative social behaviors

– Some data indicate these children are likely to be perceived as popular

• Neglected:

– Interact with peers less frequently than “average” children

– Less sociable, aggressive, and disruptive than other children

– No consistent evidence that neglected children are socially anxious or more withdrawn than “average” children

• Rejected:

– Most consistently associated with aggression

• But aggression seems to become less strongly associated with rejection with age, especially among boys

– Aggressive children only comprise 40-50% of the rejected group

– Tend to endorse aggression as an effective means of meeting social goals; seem to lack understanding that their behaviors lead others to dislike them

– Socially anxious, timid, and withdrawn children are also more likely to be rejected

• Association with rejection becomes stronger in late childhood and early adolescence

– 10-20% of the rejected group

– Tend to be behaviorally submissive; indicate negative thoughts/feelings about themselves and their social relationships; indicate feelings of isolation and loneliness

Peer Rejection and Later Adjustment

• Peer rejection in childhood predicts externalizing problems in adolescence– Exs: delinquency, conduct disorder, attention problems,

substance abuse

• Some evidence indicates that early peer rejection uniquely predicts later externalizing problems even when previous externalizing behavior is controlled

• Similarly, some evidence indicates that peer rejection predicts subsequent increases in aggression over time, controlling for initial levels of aggression

Peer Rejection and Later Adjustment (con’t)

• Social withdrawal is associated with later internalizing problems– Exs: low self-esteem, anxiety problems,

depressive symptoms, loneliness

• Some evidence indicates that peer rejection predicts increases in internalizing problems over time