A relational framework for understanding bullying: Developmental antecedents and outcomes.

This article reviews current research on the relational processes involved in peer bullying, considering developmental antecedents and long-term consequences. The following themes are highlighted: (a) aggression can be both adaptive and maladaptive, and this distinction has implications for bullies' functioning within peer social ecologies; (b) developmental antecedents and long-term consequences of bullying have not been well-distinguished from the extant research on aggressive behavior; (c) bullying is aggression that operates within relationships of power and abuse. Power asymmetry and repetition elements of traditional bullying definitions have been hard to operationalize, but without these specifications and more dyadic measurement approaches there may be little rationale for a distinct literature on bullying--separate from aggression. Applications of a relational approach to bullying are provided using gender as an example. Implications for future research are drawn from the study of relationships and interpersonal theories of developmental psychopathology.

Why the bully/victim relationship is so pernicious: a gendered perspective on power and animosity among bullies and their victims.

The bully/victim relationship was studied in a sample of elementary school children (N = 1,289 in first, third, and fifth grades). Three questions were tested. Does bullying involve a power differential between bully and victim? Are bully/victim dyads participants in a relationship, whether mutual liking or disliking? Does the gender composition of the bully/victim dyad moderate power differential and relational context patterns? Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze predictors of the reputational strength of bully/victim ties. The findings revealed that the bully/victim dyads most frequently nominated by peers were characterized by asymmetries in social status, where bullies were increasingly more popular than their victims, and by asymmetries in aggression, where bullies were increasingly less aggressive than their victims. Bullies and victims were likely to select one another as among the children that they least like. Most effects with respect to aggression, popularity, and relationships were moderated by the gender composition of the bully/victim dyad. Implications for a developmental psychopathology perspective on peer bullying and victimization are highlighted.

The company they keep and avoid: social goal orientation as a predictor of children's ethnic segregation.

This study examined whether social goal orientation (i.e., demonstration-approach, demonstration-avoid, and social development goals) predicts changes in ethnic segregation among 4th and 5th grade African American and European American children (n = 713, ages 9-11 years) from fall to spring. Segregation measures were (a) same-ethnicity favoritism in friendships, (b) same-ethnicity favoritism in peer group affiliations, and (c) cross-ethnicity dislike. Social goal orientation was asymmetrically associated with ethnic segregation for the 2 groups. Among African Americans, aspiring to achieve high social status predicted increases in same-ethnicity favoritism and cross-ethnicity dislike. Among European Americans, aspiring to achieve high social status predicted decreases in same-ethnicity favoritism.

Social goals, social behavior, and social status in middle childhood.

This study examines motivational precursors of social status and the applicability of a dual-component model of social competence to middle childhood. Concurrent and longitudinal relationships between self-reported social goals (social development, demonstration-approach, demonstration-avoid goal orientations), teacher-rated prosocial and aggressive behavior, and peer nominations of social status (preference, popularity) were examined over the course of an academic year among 980 3rd- to 5th-grade children. Findings support dual-component expectations. Confirmatory factor analyses verified the expected 3-factor structure of social goals and 2-factor structure of social status. Structural equation modeling (SEM) found that (a) social development goals were associated with prosocial behavior and increased preference, and (b) demonstration-approach goals were associated with aggressive behavior and increased popularity. Demonstration-avoid goals were associated with a popularity decrease. SEMs were invariant across grade, gender, and ethnicity. Discussion concerns the potential risks of high social status, extensions to the dual-component model, and the generality of an achievement goal approach to child social development.

Children's cross-ethnic relationships in elementary schools: concurrent and prospective associations between ethnic segregation and social status.

This study examined whether ethnic segregation is concurrently (fall) and prospectively (fall to spring) associated with social status among 4th- and 5th-grade African American and European American children (n = 713, ages 9-11 years). Segregation measures were (a) same-ethnicity favoritism in peer affiliations and (b) cross-ethnicity dislike. Social status measures were same- and cross-ethnicity peer nominations of acceptance, rejection, and cool. Among African Americans, fall segregation predicted declines in cross-ethnicity (European American) acceptance and same-ethnicity rejection, and increases in same-ethnicity acceptance and perceived coolness. For European American children, fall segregation predicted declines in cross-ethnicity (African American) acceptance and increases in cross-ethnicity rejection. Results indicate that segregation induces asymmetric changes in social status for African American and European American children.

Relaciones de antipatía entre adolescentes. Explorando la prevalencia, diferencias de género y estabilidad en Estados Unidos y Chile / Antipathetic relationships among adolescents: Exploring prevalence, gender differences, and stability in the United States and Chile

El presente artículo aborda las relaciones de antipatía entre los adolescentes en dos contextos culturales diferentes: Chile y Estados Unidos. Las relaciones de antipatía han demostrado ser algo común entre los adolescentes, sin embargo, poco se sabe sobre los patrones de antipatía en esta población, y sus correlatos de desarrollo. Los dos estudios presenta-dos aquí analizan en dos muestras longitudinales de Chile y los EE.UU. la estabilidad y el cambio en las relaciones de antipatía, la prevalencia de los perfiles mixtos y antipatías entre personas del mismo sexo, y personas vinculadas a estos patrones relacionales en la adolescencia temprana. Los resultados muestran altas tasas de prevalencia de las relaciones de antipatía con igual participación de niños y niñas y similares tasas de parejas del mismo sexo y mixtas. Los adolescentes que participan en este tipo de interacciones mostraron un perfil de inadaptación caracterizado por ser agresivos y más bajo en el estatus social. Las antipatías fueron inestables como relaciones particulares (con el mismo compañero/a a lo largo del tiempo), a pesar de que los adolescentes que tenían entre sí relaciones de antipatía con los semejantes a la vez eran más propensos a mantener similares relaciones interpersonales en el tiempo. Se discuten las implicaciones para la investigación future (AU)

The present study approaches antipathetic relationships among adolescents in two distinct cultural contexts: Chile and United States. An-tipathetic relationships have been shown to be common among adolescents; however, little is known about patterns of antipathy in this population, and its developmental correlates. The two studies presented here analyze in longitudinal Chilean and US samples stability and change in antipathetic relationships, prevalence of mixed- and samegender antipathies, and individual profiles associated to these relational patterns in early adolescence. Results show high prevalence rates of antipathetic relationships with equal participation of boys and girls and similar rates of mixed and samegender dyads. Adolescents who participate in this type of interactions showed a maladaptive profile characterized by being aggressive and lower on social status. Antipathies were unstable as particular relationships (with the same peer over time), even though adolescents who held mutually dislike relations with peers at time 1 were more likely to hold similar interpersonal relations over time per se. Implications for further research are discussed (AU)

The social status of aggressive students across contexts: the role of classroom status hierarchy, academic achievement, and grade.

This study tested the effects of 5 classroom contextual features on the social status (perceived popularity and social preference) that peers accord to aggressive students in late elementary school, including classroom peer status hierarchy (whether within-classroom differences in popularity are large or small), classroom academic level, and grade level as the main predictors of interest as well as classroom aggression and ethnic composition as controls. Multilevel analyses were conducted on an ethnically diverse sample of 968 fourth- and fifth-graders from 46 classrooms in 9 schools. Associations between aggression and status varied greatly from one classroom to another. Aggressive students were more popular and better liked in classrooms with higher levels of peer status hierarchy. Aggressive students had higher social status in Grade 5 than in Grade 4 and lower social preference in classrooms of higher academic level. Classroom aggression and ethnic composition did not moderate aggression-status associations. Limitations and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

African American and European American children in diverse elementary classrooms: social integration, social status, and social behavior.

With a sample of African American and European American 3rd- and 4th-grade children (N = 486, ages 8-11 years), this study examined classroom ethnic composition, peer social status (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity as nominated by same- and cross-ethnicity peers), and patterns of ethnic segregation (i.e., friendship, peer group, and cross-ethnicity dislike). African American--but not European American--children had more segregated relationships and were more disliked by cross-ethnicity peers when they had fewer same-ethnicity classmates. African American children's segregation was positively associated with same-ethnicity social preference and perceived popularity and with cross-ethnicity perceived popularity. European American children's segregation was positively associated with same-ethnicity social preference but negatively associated with cross-ethnicity social preference and perceived popularity.

Antecedents and correlates of the popular-aggressive phenomenon in elementary school.

This study identified correlates and developmental antecedents that distinguish popular-aggressive elementary school children from other youth. Drawing on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1022), popular-aggressive children were identified through teacher ratings over Grades 3-6. Potential correlates included social competence as rated by observers, mothers, and teachers. Potential developmental antecedents included cognitive functioning, maternal sensitivity, and participation in child care through age 4.5. Multinomial regressions allowed for the determination of group differences net of covariates such as gender, ethnicity, maternal education, and income-to-needs. Results showed that popular-aggressive elementary school children were distinguished from other youth as having had an extensive child-care history. Discussion focuses on developmental associations between child-care quantity and aggression.

Social status and aggressive and disruptive behavior in girls: individual, group, and classroom influences.

Recent studies have found distinct subtypes of aggressive youth, marked by either high social status or social marginalization, and that various measures of status differentially associate with aggression. The majority of these studies, however, focused on boys, adolescents, and/or relational aggression in girls. The current research examined how the kind of status measured and the social ecology affect the association between overt aggression and social status in a sample of 187 3rd grade girls. Cluster analysis uncovered aggressive-popular, aggressive-unpopular, and prosocial-popular configurations. Although likeability was related solely to prosocial behavior, other measures of status co-occurred with both prosocial and aggressive behavior. Peer-group behavior complemented that of individuals, though peer-group and classroom acceptance of aggression were not related to cluster prevalence.

Peer groups, popularity, and social preference: trajectories of social functioning among students with and without learning disabilities.

The extant literature on the social functioning of students with learning disabilities (LD) has indicated that whereas a majority belong to peer groups, a higher proportion are isolated and most have lower social status among peers in general than their typically achieving classmates. Although some work has examined these issues over short-term longitudinal studies, none to date have examined them over extensive time periods. Toward this end, the current study examined a sample of 1,361 students (678 girls and 683 boys; 55 with LD) using multiple measures of peer social functioning assessed each semester from spring of third grade through fall of sixth grade. The results indicated that whereas students with LD were similar to their typically achieving peers in terms of group functioning and characteristics, they were viewed as lower in social standing among their classmates as a whole. These effects were maintained over time, indicating that long-term inclusion may not substantially affect peer social functioning among students with LD.