Theory of Mind and physical bullying in preschool children: the role of peer rejection and gender differences.

BACKGROUND: Preschool represents the budding and initial stage of bullying behavior, where perpetration of physical bullying predominates as the primary form of bullying. An in-depth understanding of the factors linked to preschool physical bullying behavior is crucial for enabling early prevention and intervention strategies. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Theory of Mind and physical bullying behavior in 4-6 years old children in kindergarten and the mediating role of peer rejection and gender in this relationship. METHODS: Data on perpetration of physical bullying and peer rejection were obtained from 310 preschool children (age range = 52-79 months, M = 66.85, SD = 7.04) by the peer nomination method, and their Theory of Mind was measured by the Theory of Mind Development Scale. RESULTS: The results showed that Theory of Mind negatively predicted perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children and that Theory of Mind was related to perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children only through peer rejection. Boys were also found to have a stronger association between peer rejection and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children than girls. CONCLUSION: Peer rejection may play a mediating role between Theory of Mind and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children. In addition, the relationship between peer rejection and perpetration of physical bullying appears to be stronger for boys than for girls. This contributes to our understanding of the relationship between Theory of Mind and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children and has implications for how bullying prevention and intervention can be tailored to the gender of young children.

Theory of Mind and physical bullying in preschool children: the role of peer rejection and gender differences

Abstract Background Preschool represents the budding and initial stage of bullying behavior, where perpetration of physical bullying predominates as the primary form of bullying. An in-depth understanding of the factors linked to preschool physical bullying behavior is crucial for enabling early prevention and intervention strategies. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Theory of Mind and physical bullying behavior in 4-6 years old children in kindergarten and the mediating role of peer rejection and gender in this relationship. Methods Data on perpetration of physical bullying and peer rejection were obtained from 310 preschool children (age range = 52-79 months, M = 66.85, SD = 7.04) by the peer nomination method, and their Theory of Mind was measured by the Theory of Mind Development Scale. Results The results showed that Theory of Mind negatively predicted perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children and that Theory of Mind was related to perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children only through peer rejection. Boys were also found to have a stronger association between peer rejection and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children than girls. Conclusion Peer rejection may play a mediating role between Theory of Mind and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children. In addition, the relationship between peer rejection and perpetration of physical bullying appears to be stronger for boys than for girls. This contributes to our understanding of the relationship between Theory of Mind and perpetration of physical bullying in preschool children and has implications for how bullying prevention and intervention can be tailored to the gender of young children.

Bidirectional Associations of Prosocial Behavior with Peer Acceptance and Rejection in Adolescence.

As most studies on the link between peer status and prosocial behavior are cross-sectional, conducted with children, and operationalize status as the difference between acceptance and rejection, it remains unclear whether peer acceptance and rejection are consequences or prerequisites of prosocial behavior in adolescence. To fill this gap, this study examines the bidirectional associations of prosocial behavior with peer acceptance and peer rejection with data collected at 3 time points, 6 months apart, in a sample of 660 early Chilean adolescents (M = 12.94, SD = 0.62; 55.1% boys). Cross-lagged panel analyses showed that prosocial behavior positively predicted future peer acceptance, whereas peer acceptance had no significant effect on future prosocial behavior. The association between rejection and prosocial behavior was negative and bidirectional between Time 1 and Time 2. When a new academic year began, between Time 2 and Time 3, prosocial behavior negatively predicted rejection, whereas rejection in the previous grade level was positively associated with prosocial behavior at the beginning of the next grade. Multi-group panel analyses did not detect significant differences between boys and girls in the cross-lagged associations of prosociality with peer acceptance and peer rejection. The results suggest that acting prosocially can make adolescents better liked by their peers and highlight the possible importance of the transition to a new academic year for the prosocial behavior of previously rejected students. Implications for future research on peer relations are discussed.

Rejeição entre pares - diálogo com o filme The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Peer rejection - dialogue with the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Rechazo entre iguales - diálogo con la película The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A rejeição entre pares é uma categoria sociométrica que revela baixa preferência no grupo de colegas. A ela pertencem crianças que recebem muitas nomeações negativas e poucas nomeações positivas de seus pares, quando comparadas com a média do grupo. Apesar de ser um problema corrente na infância e relativamente estável, com o tempo, além de se relacionar com delinquência juvenil, abuso de substâncias, evasão escolar e depressão, é um tema pouco investigado e abordado no Brasil. Neste contexto, este artigo teve por objetivo salientar características importantes sobre a rejeição entre pares relatadas na literatura, relacionando este status sociométrico com a amizade estabelecida com colegas, os comportamentos agressivos que podem ser apresentados pela criança rejeitada, suas habilidades sociais e o papel do professor neste contexto. Como forma de dialogar com os aspectos descritos e exemplificá-los, utilizou-se o filme The perks of being a wallflower, por aproximar a questão às interações cotidianas de maneira dinâmica e interativa. Espera-se que o uso do filme como recurso motivacional e didático, aumente a visibilidade do tema no meio acadêmico e entre as pessoas que se constituem como figuras responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento saudável da criança, inclusive no que diz respeito à rejeição pelos pares.

Peer rejection is a sociometric category that reveals a low preference among the peer group. To this category belong children that receive a lot of negative nominations and a few positive ones from their peers, when compared with the group average. Besides being a common problem at childhood and relatively stable over time, and also being related to juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, scholar evasion and depression, it is a theme not very studied in Brazil. This article´s objective was to underline some rejection's important characteristics described at PSI the literature, relating this sociometric status with peer friendship, social abilities and teacher's role in this context. The movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower was used to exemplify and dialogue with the described aspects. Using the movie as a motivational and didactic resource, the objective was to enhance the visibility of this subject both in the academic field and in the group of people responsible for child development.

El rechazo entre iguales es una categoría sociometrica que revela baja preferencia en el grupo de colegas. A ella pertenecen niños que reciben muchas nominaciones negativas y pocas nominaciones positivas de sus iguales, cuando en comparación con la media del grupo. A pesar de ser un problema corriente en la infancia y relativamente estable con el tiempo, además de relacionarse con delincuencia juvenil, abuso de sustancias, evasión escolar y depresión, es un tema poco estudiado en Brasil. Este artículo tuvo por objetivo destacar características importantes del rechazo entre iguales descritas en la literatura PSI, relacionando este status sociométrico con la amistad establecida con colegas, las conductas agresivas que el niño rechazado puede presentar, sus habilidades sociales y el papel del maestro en este contexto. Como forma dialogar con los aspectos descritos y ejemplificarlos, fue utilizada la película The perks of being a wallflower, por acercar la cuestión a las interacciones cuotidianas de manera dinámica y divertida. Esperase que la utilización de la película como recurso motivacional y didáctico aumente la visibilidad del tema en el medio académico y entre las personas responsables por el desarrollo saludable del niño.

Rejeição entre pares - diálogo com o filme The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Peer rejection - dialogue with the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Rechazo entre iguales - diálogo con la película The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A rejeição entre pares é uma categoria sociométrica que revela baixa preferência no grupo de colegas. A ela pertencem crianças que recebem muitas nomeações negativas e poucas nomeações positivas de seus pares, quando comparadas com a média do grupo. Apesar de ser um problema corrente na infância e relativamente estável, com o tempo, além de se relacionar com delinquência juvenil, abuso de substâncias, evasão escolar e depressão, é um tema pouco investigado e abordado no Brasil. Neste contexto, este artigo teve por objetivo salientar características importantes sobre a rejeição entre pares relatadas na literatura, relacionando este status sociométrico com a amizade estabelecida com colegas, os comportamentos agressivos que podem ser apresentados pela criança rejeitada, suas habilidades sociais e o papel do professor neste contexto. Como forma de dialogar com os aspectos descritos e exemplificá-los, utilizou-se o filme The perks of being a wallflower, por aproximar a questão às interações cotidianas de maneira dinâmica e interativa. Espera-se que o uso do filme como recurso motivacional e didático, aumente a visibilidade do tema no meio acadêmico e entre as pessoas que se constituem como figuras responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento saudável da criança, inclusive no que diz respeito à rejeição pelos pares. (AU)

Peer rejection is a sociometric category that reveals a low preference among the peer group. To this category belong children that receive a lot of negative nominations and a few positive ones from their peers, when compared with the group average. Besides being a common problem at childhood and relatively stable over time, and also being related to juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, scholar evasion and depression, it is a theme not very studied in Brazil. This article´s objective was to underline some rejection's important characteristics described at PSI the literature, relating this sociometric status with peer friendship, social abilities and teacher's role in this context. The movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower was used to exemplify and dialogue with the described aspects. Using the movie as a motivational and didactic resource, the objective was to enhance the visibility of this subject both in the academic field and in the group of people responsible for child development. (AU)

El rechazo entre iguales es una categoría sociometrica que revela baja preferencia en el grupo de colegas. A ella pertenecen niños que reciben muchas nominaciones negativas y pocas nominaciones positivas de sus iguales, cuando en comparación con la media del grupo. A pesar de ser un problema corriente en la infancia y relativamente estable con el tiempo, además de relacionarse con delincuencia juvenil, abuso de sustancias, evasión escolar y depresión, es un tema poco estudiado en Brasil. Este artículo tuvo por objetivo destacar características importantes del rechazo entre iguales descritas en la literatura PSI, relacionando este status sociométrico con la amistad establecida con colegas, las conductas agresivas que el niño rechazado puede presentar, sus habilidades sociales y el papel del maestro en este contexto. Como forma dialogar con los aspectos descritos y ejemplificarlos, fue utilizada la película The perks of being a wallflower, por acercar la cuestión a las interacciones cuotidianas de manera dinámica y divertida. Esperase que la utilización de la película como recurso motivacional y didáctico aumente la visibilidad del tema en el medio académico y entre las personas responsables por el desarrollo saludable del niño. (AU)

Violencia escolar en adolescentes rechazados y aceptados: un análisis de sus relaciones con variables familiares y escolares / School - based violence on peer - rejected and peer-accepted adolecents: an analysis of its relationships with family and school variable / Violência escolar em adolescentes rejeitados e aceitos: uma análise de suas relações com variáveis e escolares

La investigación sobre la violencia escolar y la aceptación (o rechazo) de los adolescentes por su grupo de iguales resulta, todavía poco concluyente. No obstante, se ha observado que los adolescentes violentos y los rechazados informan de problemas en sus relaciones familiares y en la escuela. Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar la relación entre variables familiares, variables escolares y la violencia escolar, en adolescentes rechazados y populares. Participaron 1068 adolescentes de entre 11 y 16 años. Se han calculado modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados muestran que las variables familiares se relacionan de modo diferente con la violencia escolar en rechazados y aceptados: la autoestima familiar ejerce un efecto directo en la violencia escolar en el grupo de rechazados y un efecto indirecto en adolescentes aceptados, mientras que el apoyo del padre se relaciona con la autoestima escolar en el grupo de aceptados pero no en el de rechazados.

Research on school violence and peer acceptance (or rejection) is still inconclusive. However, it has been observed violent and rejected adolescents report problems in their family relationships and school. The present study aims to analyse the relationship between particular family variables, school variables, and school based violence, on the basis of rejected and popular adolescents. Participants were 1068 aged from 11 to 16 years old. Statistical analyses were carried out using structural equation modelling. Results showed family variables are differently related to school-based violence: family self-esteem exerts a direct effect on school-based violence among rejected, and an indirect effect on accepted adolescents, whereas father support are related to school self-esteem among accepted.

A pesquisa sobre violência escolar e a aceitação (ou rejeição) dos adolescentes pelo seu grupo de pares ainda é pouco conclusiva. Entretanto, tem sido observado que os adolescentes violentos e os rejeitados apresentam problemas nas relações familiares e na escola. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar a relação entre variáveis familiares, variáveis escolares e a violência escolar em adolescentes rejeitados e adolescentes populares. Participaram 1068 adolescentes entre 11 e 16 anos. Foram calculados modelos de equações estruturais. Os resultados mostram que as variáveis familiares se relacionam de modo diferente com a violência escolar em adolescentes rejeitados e aceitos: a autoestima familiar exerce um efeito direto na violência escolar no grupo de rejeitados e um efeito indireto em adolescentes aceitos, entretanto, o apoio do pais se relaciona com a autoestima escolar no grupo de aceitos, porém, não no grupo de rejeitados.