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 children's 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. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pitfalls of the peer world: how children cope with common rejection experiences.

This study examines the reliability and validity of a newly developed self-report measure designed to assess children's coping strategies in response to everyday rejection experiences. The Survey for Coping with Rejection Experiences (SCORE) was administered to 225 children and factor analysis of responses resulted in the conceptually meaningful subscales of active, aggressive, denial, and ruminative coping. A subset of 95 children also completed a battery of self- (depression, social anxiety), parent- (internalizing and externalizing problems), and peer- (social preference, aggression, withdrawal) ratings of socioemotional adjustment. Children's coping strategies were meaningfully associated with adjustment measures, although these associations differed for boys and girls in several instances. Importantly, both aggressive and ruminative coping strategies were positively associated with internalizing problems even after controlling for the effect of children's actual sociometric status. In addition, denial coping emerged as a significant moderator of the relation between status and adjustment.

Peer rejection, social behavior, and psychological adjustment in children with juvenile rheumatic disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations among disease status, social competence, and depressive symptoms in children with juvenile rheumatic disease (JRD) and to test the hypothesis that individual differences in children's social competence account for a significant proportion of variance in depressive symptoms after controlling for disease status variables. METHOD: Thirty-six children with JRD completed standardized instruments to assess pain, health status, and depressive symptoms. The rheumatologist completed a disease severity measure, and teachers provided ratings of peer rejection and social behavior. RESULTS: Pain, peer rejection, and problematic social behavior were all positively associated with depressive symptoms. Social variables remained significantly associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for level of pain. In addition, peer rejection moderated the association between pain and depressive symptoms, such that children with high levels of pain and high levels of peer rejection reported the highest frequency of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers should assess the social functioning of children with JRD in order to identify socially vulnerable children who may be at increased risk for internalizing problems.

Defense mechanisms and psychological adjustment in childhood.

The association between maturity of defense use and psychological functioning was assessed in a group of 95 elementary school children. Defense mechanisms were measured using a valid and reliable storytelling task, and psychological adjustment was assessed through a combination of parent and self-report questionnaires. Correlational analyses indicated that children who relied on the developmentally immature defense of denial reported higher levels of self-rated social anxiety and depression and received higher ratings of parent-reported internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. However, children who made use of the developmentally mature defense of identification exhibited higher scores on perceived competence in social, academic, conduct, athletic, and global domains. Significantly, there was no relationship between children's use of denial and their level of perceived competence or between children's use of identification and their degree of maladjustment.

Girls' use of defense mechanisms following peer rejection.

This study explores the relation between girls' social adjustment and their use of defense mechanisms. We recruited girls representing four sociometric status classifications (rejected, neglected, average, and popular), and assessed their use of defense mechanisms both before and after encountering a peer rejection experience in the laboratory. We hypothesized that increasing degrees of social maladjustment would be associated with higher levels of defense use, particularly after encountering a rejection experience. Our results supported these hypotheses. There was a significant negative relationship between social adjustment and defense use, both prior to and immediately following the rejection experience. Categorical analyses revealed that rejected and neglected girls used more defenses following the rejection experience than did popular and average girls.