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Social Development

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ISSN (Print) 0961-205X - ISSN (Online) 1467-9507
Published by John Wiley and Sons

[1587 journals]

The Interaction between Negative Emotionality and Effortful Control in Early Social‐emotional Development
- Authors: Lyndsey R. Moran; Liliana J. Lengua, Maureen Zalewski
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Interactions between reactive and regulatory dimensions of temperament may be particularly relevant to children's adjustment but are examined infrequently. This study investigated these interactions by examining effortful control as a moderator of the relations of fear and frustration reactivity to children's social competence, internalizing, and externalizing problems. Participants included 306 three‐year‐old children and their mothers. Children's effortful control was measured using observational measures, and reactivity was assessed with both observational and mother‐reported measures. Mothers reported on children's adjustment. Significant interactions indicated that children with higher mother‐reported fear or higher observed frustration and lower executive control showed higher externalizing problems whereas children with higher observed fear and higher delay ability demonstrated lower externalizing problems. These results highlight effortful control as a moderator of the relation between reactivity and adjustment, and may inform the development of interventions geared toward the management of specific negative affects.
  PubDate: 2013-04-04T22:11:13.557382-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12025
Heterogeneity in Parent‐reported Social Skill Development in Early Elementary School Children
- Authors: Andrea Lamont; M. Lee Van Horn
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Despite known risks associated with aberrant social skill development, there has been a relative dearth of literature on typical developmental changes in social skills over time. In this study, we examine systematic changes in social skills from kindergarten (typical age of 5–6 years) to third grade (typical age of 8–9 years), and focus on systematic heterogeneity across these developmental trajectories. Data came from the National Head Start—Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Project (N = 6964). Mixture models provide evidence for multiple classes of individuals representing heterogeneity in the development of social skills. Classes were defined as a majority class (whose trajectories remained relatively stable over time), an increasing class (whose trajectories increased at a faster rate than the majority class), and a decreasing class (whose trajectories decreased at a faster rate than the majority class). Developmental trends accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in social skill components. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
  PubDate: 2013-04-01T23:59:31.697386-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12023
Constructing Emotional and Relational Understanding: The Role of Mother–Child Reminiscing about Negatively Valenced Events
- Authors: Deborah Laible; Tia Panfile Murphy, Mairin Augustine
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Although there is some evidence from cross‐sectional studies that reminiscing is an important context in which children construct socioemotional understanding, longitudinal evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to examine longitudinally the links between the quality of reminiscing at 42 months and children's subsequent socioemotional development at 48 months. At 42 months, mothers and children reminisced about a past negatively‐valenced emotional event. These conversations were coded for maternal elaboration, the children's contribution and engagement, and the degree to which meaning was co‐constructed by the dyad. At 42 and 48 months, children took part in laboratory measures of socioemotional development. Whereas there were few links between concurrent reminiscing quality and sociomoral development, aspects of reminiscing quality at 42 months (including children's engagement and the dyad's co‐construction of meaning) were related to children's emotional understanding, empathy, representations of relationships, and moral‐self at 48 months. This study provides some of the first longitudinal evidence that reminiscing conversations are linked with children's subsequent sociomoral understanding.
  PubDate: 2013-04-01T23:59:24.262334-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12022
Experiencing Loneliness in Adolescence: A Matter of Individual Characteristics, Negative Peer Experiences, or Both?
- Authors: Janne Vanhalst; Koen Luyckx, Luc Goossens
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: The present study builds on the child‐by‐environment model and examines the joint contribution of intra‐individual characteristics (i.e., self‐esteem and shyness) and peer experiences (i.e., social acceptance, victimization, friendship quantity, and friendship quality) in the association with loneliness. A total of 884 adolescents (Mage = 15.80; 68 percent female) participated in this multi‐informant study. Results indicated that, in addition to self‐esteem and shyness, being poorly accepted by peers, being victimized, lacking friends, and experiencing poor‐quality friendships each contributed independently to the experience of loneliness. Further, friendship quantity and quality mediated the relation between the two intra‐individual characteristics and loneliness. Finally, a significant interaction was found between self‐esteem and social acceptance in predicting loneliness. The present study highlights the importance of investigating the joint effects of inter‐individual experiences and intra‐individual characteristics in examining loneliness. Suggestions to elaborate the child‐by‐environment model in loneliness research are discussed, and clinical implications are outlined.
  PubDate: 2013-04-01T23:59:09.337115-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12019
Patterns of Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Young Adolescents in Singapore
- Authors: Joyce S. Pang; Rebecca P. Ang, Dennis M. Y. Kom, Ser Hong Tan, Aaron Q. M. Chiang
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: The authors investigated the patterns of reactive and proactive aggression exhibited by young male (N = 604) and female (N = 544) adolescents in Singapore. Self‐report measures of reactive and proactive aggression, behavioral and emotional adjustment, parenting styles, and delinquency were administered to students aged 13–14. Using cluster analysis, three distinct patterns of aggression emerged: a low aggressive group, a combined aggressive group with high reactive and proactive aggression, and a reactively aggressive group with low proactive and high reactive aggression. The two aggressive groups showed similar disturbances in adjustment and delinquency, but the combined group showed the greatest disruptions. Findings indicate cross‐cultural stability of patterns of aggression as well as the usefulness of the reactive/proactive distinction in early identification of individuals with adjustment problems.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T07:00:37.161699-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12024
Power in Sibling Conflict during Early and Middle Childhood
- Authors: Shireen Abuhatoum; Nina Howe
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Sources of power children use in sibling conflict during early and middle childhood were examined according to French and Raven's typology of power. Participants included 66 dyads with an older (M = 81.8 months, SD = 14.48 months) and younger (M = 56.2 months, SD = 13.03 months) sibling. Data based upon naturalistic observations were coded for conflict issues (object, procedure, and information), power types (coercive, information, and legitimate), power effectiveness (attempts and successes), and resolutions (win/lose and compromise). Siblings used coercive power in object issues and information power in procedural issues. Whereas younger siblings used legitimate power in procedural and object issues including win/lose and compromise outcomes, older siblings used coercive power in win/lose resolutions. Siblings did not differ in their effectiveness of power, but they were most effective when coercive power was employed. Findings are discussed in light of power theory and the development of conflict management skills.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T07:00:16.6819-05:00
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12021
Children Selectively Trust Individuals Who Have Imitated Them
- Authors: Harriet Over; Malinda Carpenter, Russell Spears, Merideth Gattis
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: We investigated the influence of being imitated on children's subsequent trust. Five‐ to six‐year‐olds interacted with one experimenter who mimicked their choices and another experimenter who made different choices. Children were then presented with two tests. In a preference test, the experimenters offered conflicting preferences for the contents of two opaque boxes, and children were asked to choose a box. In a factual claims test, the experimenters offered conflicting claims about the referent for a novel word, and children were asked to state which object the word referred to. Children were significantly more likely to endorse both the preferences and the factual claims of the experimenter who had mimicked them. These results demonstrate that imitation is a powerful means of social influence in development.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T06:59:53.744964-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12020
Nested or Networked? Future Directions for Ecological Systems Theory
- Authors: Jennifer Watling Neal; Zachary P. Neal
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (EST) is among the most widely adopted theoretical frameworks for studying individuals in ecological contexts. In its traditional formulation, different levels of ecological systems are viewed as nested within one another. In this article, we use Simmel's notion of intersecting social circles and Bronfenbrenner's earlier writing on social networks to develop an alternative ‘networked’ model that instead views ecological systems as an overlapping arrangement of structures, each directly or indirectly connected to the others by the direct and indirect social interactions of their participants. We redefine each of the systems discussed by EST—micro, meso, exo, macro, and chrono—based on patterns of social interaction, and then illustrate how this alternative model might be applied in the classic context of the developing child. We conclude by discussing future directions for how the networked model of EST can be applied as a conceptual framework, arguing that this approach offers developmental researchers with a more precise and flexible way to think about ecological contexts. We also offer some initial suggestions for moving a networked EST model from theory to method.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T06:59:49.991677-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12018
What Works for Whom, How and under What Circumstances? Testing Moderated Mediation of Intervention Effects on Externalizing Behavior in Children
- Authors: Sabine Stoltz; Maja Deković, Monique Londen, Bram Orobio de Castro, Peter Prinzie
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: In this study, we investigate whether changes in child social cognitive functioning and parenting are the mechanisms through which an individually delivered real‐world child intervention, Stay Cool Kids, aimed at preventing externalizing problem behavior in high‐risk elementary school children, induces changes in child behavior. Moreover, we tested whether mediation was moderated by child characteristics (gender and personality). The sample consisted of 264 fourth‐grade children displaying externalizing behavior (TRF t‐score > 60). Forty‐eight schools were randomly assigned to the intervention or no‐intervention control condition. The results of mediation analyses provided evidence for child positive self‐perception and maternal involvement as working mechanisms of the intervention. Child personality factor extraversion moderated the mediating effect of involvement whereas no moderated mediation was found for gender. Working mechanisms of the intervention differ for children with different personality characteristiscs.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T06:59:41.398834-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12017
Contingencies in Mother–Child Teaching Interactions and Behavioral Regulation and Dysregulation in Early Childhood
- Authors: Erika S. Lunkenheimer; Christine J. Kemp, Erin C. Albrecht
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Predictable patterns in early parent–child interactions may help lay the foundation for how children learn to self‐regulate. The present study examined contingencies between maternal teaching and directives and child compliance in mother–child problem‐solving interactions at age 3.5 and whether they predicted children's behavioral regulation and dysregulation (inhibitory control and externalizing behaviors) as rated by mothers, fathers, and teachers at a four‐month follow‐up (N = 100). The predictive utility of mother‐ and child‐initiated contingencies was also compared with that of frequencies of individual mother and child behaviors. Structural equation models revealed that a higher probability that maternal directives were followed by child compliance predicted better child behavioral regulation, whereas the reverse pattern and the overall frequency of maternal directives did not. For teaching, stronger mother‐ and child‐initiated contingencies and the overall frequency of maternal teaching all showed evidence for predicting better behavioral regulation. Findings depended on which caregiver was rating child outcomes. We conclude that dyadic measures are useful for understanding how parent–child interactions impact children's burgeoning regulatory abilities in early childhood.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T06:59:37.398162-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12016
Mother–Adolescent Conflict: Stability, Change, and Relations with Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems
- Authors: Claire Hofer; Nancy Eisenberg, Tracy L. Spinrad, Amanda S. Morris, Elizabeth Gershoff, Carlos Valiente, Anne Kupfer, Natalie D. Eggum
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Stability and change in mother–adolescent conflict reactions (CRs) and the prediction of CRs from adolescents' earlier behavior problems (and vice versa) were examined with 131 mothers and their adolescents (63 boys). Dyads engaged in a 6‐min conflict discussion twice, 2 years apart [M age was 13 at Time 1 (T1)]. Non‐verbal expressive and verbal CRs during the conflict discussion were coded. Mothers, fathers, and teachers reported on adolescents' problem behaviors. There was inter‐individual (rank‐order) stability for adolescents' CRs whereas mothers' reactions were less stable. Mean levels of mothers' negativity, anger, and positive reactions and adolescents' negativity declined with time. Mothers’ CRs, more often than adolescents’ CRs, predicted and were predicted by adolescents’ problem behaviors in zero‐order correlations. In structural equation models with the stability of the constructs accounted for, adolescents' externalizing problems at T1 predicted higher maternal anger at Time 2 (T2). Mothers' anger and positive CRs at T1 predicted fewer T2 adolescents' internalizing problems. Stability and change in CRs are discussed.
  PubDate: 2013-03-11T06:59:33.080357-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12012
Relations between Temperament and Anger Regulation over Early Childhood
- Authors: Patricia Z. Tan; Laura Marie Armstrong, Pamela M. Cole
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Theory suggests temperamental reactivity [negative affectivity (NA)] and regulation [effortful control (EC)] predict variation in the development of emotion regulation (ER). However, few studies report such relations, particularly studies utilizing observational measures of children's ER behaviors in longitudinal designs. Using multilevel modeling, the present study tested whether (1) between‐person differences in mean levels of mother‐reported child NA and EC (aggregated across age) and (2) within‐person changes in NA and EC from the ages of 18 to 42 months predicted subsequent improvements in laboratory‐based observations of children's anger regulation from the ages of 24 to 48 months. As expected, mean level of EC (aggregated across age) predicted longer latency to anger; however, no other temperament variables predicted anger expression. Mean level of EC also predicted the latency to a child's use of one regulatory strategy, distraction. Finally, decreases in NA were associated with age‐related changes in how long children used distractions and how quickly they bid calmly to their mother. Implications for relations between temperament and anger regulation are discussed in terms of both conceptual and methodological issues.
  PubDate: 2012-12-19T21:43:27.350021-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00674.x
Parent Characteristics and Early Coparenting Behavior at the Transition to Parenthood
- Authors: Sarah J. Schoppe‐Sullivan; Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: This study examined parent characteristics as correlates of coparenting behavior in 57 primiparous couples. Parents' negative emotionality and perceptions of maternal acceptance in childhood, mothers' beliefs about fathers' roles, and observed marital behavior and family socioeconomic status were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy, and coparenting behavior was observed at 3.5 months postpartum. Couples who exhibited high‐quality marital interaction showed higher supportive coparenting behavior, but couples who showed lower quality marital interaction demonstrated higher supportive coparenting behavior when mothers held more progressive beliefs about fathers' roles. Couples showed more undermining coparenting behavior when family socioeconomic status was lower and when fathers were higher on negative emotionality. Greater perceived maternal acceptance in childhood was only associated with lower levels of undermining behavior when prenatal marital interaction was high in quality. Thus, the characteristics of both parents, especially in combination with preexisting marital behavior, are important determinants of coparenting behavior.
  PubDate: 2012-12-19T21:43:15.851129-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12014
Mother–Child Reminiscing About Peer Experiences and Children's Peer‐related Self‐views and Social Competence
- Authors: Qingfang Song; Qi Wang
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: This study examined mother–child reminiscing about children's experiences with peers and its relation to children's peer‐related self‐views and social competence. Sixty‐three mothers and their preschool‐aged children discussed at home two specific past events involving the child and his or her peers, one event being positive and one negative. The children's self‐views in peer relationships were assessed at school during individual interviews, and their social competence was rated by mothers. Both maternal and child participation in the reminiscing, in terms of reminiscing style and content, were uniquely associated with children's peer‐related self‐views and social competence. The results suggest the important role of family narrative practices in children's social development.
  PubDate: 2012-12-19T21:42:56.991521-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12013
Interpersonal Trust Consistency and the Quality of Peer Relationships During Childhood
- Authors: Ken J. Rotenberg; Michael Boulton
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Five hundred five children (267 female) enrolled in school years 5 and 6 in the UK (M = 9 years and 9 months) completed measures of trust beliefs in peers, best friendships, ascriptions of trustworthiness, and trustworthiness toward peers. Children's social disengagement, peer preference, and peer victimization were assessed by sociometric ratings. It was found that, relative to children with consistent trust beliefs and trustworthiness, and those with inconsistent low trust beliefs and high trustworthiness, children with high trust beliefs in peers and low trustworthiness toward peers showed (1) low reciprocity of trustworthiness as assessed by disparity in ascribed trustworthiness between best friends, (2) low quality of peer relationships in the form of low peer preference and high peer victimization, and (3) high social disengagement. The findings supported the basis, domain, and target interpersonal trust framework (Rotenberg) as an account of the relation between children's interpersonal trust consistency and quality of peer relationships.
  PubDate: 2012-11-08T22:20:43.086897-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12005
Contingencies of Self‐worth in Early Adolescence: The Antecedent Role of Perceived Parenting
- Authors: Sofie Wouters; Sarah Doumen, Veerle Germeijs, Hilde Colpin, Karine Verschueren
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Contingent self‐esteem (i.e., the degree to which one's self‐esteem is dependent on meeting particular conditions) has been shown to predict a wide range of psychosocial and academic problems. This study extends previous research on contingent self‐esteem by examining the predictive role of perceived parenting dimensions in a sample of early adolescents (N = 240; age range 11–15 years). Additionally, the effect of perceived parenting on contingent self‐esteem is compared with its effect on global self‐esteem. Our main findings showed that both responsiveness and psychological control were unique predictors of global self‐esteem whereas only psychological control uniquely predicted contingent self‐esteem. Although the effect of responsiveness on global self‐esteem was increased when combined with high levels of behavioral control, this effect did not depend on the level of psychological control. The effect of psychological control on contingent self‐esteem, however, generally increased when combined with high levels of responsiveness.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:51:14.547303-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12010
European‐American and African‐American Mothers' Emotion Socialization Practices Relate Differently to Their Children's Academic and Social‐emotional Competence
- Authors: Jackie A. Nelson; Esther M. Leerkes, Nicole B. Perry, Marion O'Brien, Susan D. Calkins, Stuart Marcovitch
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: The current study examines whether the relation between mothers' responses to their children's negative emotions and teachers' reports of children's academic performance and social‐emotional competence are similar or different for European‐American and African‐American families. Two hundred mothers (137 European‐American, 63 African‐American) reported on their responses to their five‐year‐old children's negative emotions and 150 kindergarten teachers reported on these children's current academic standing and skillfulness with peers. Problem‐focused responses to children's negative emotions, which have traditionally been considered a supportive response, were positively associated with children's school competence for European‐American children, but expressive encouragement, another response considered supportive, was negatively associated with children's competence for African‐American children. The findings highlight the need to examine parental socialization practices from a culturally specific lens.
  PubDate: 2012-10-12T06:04:24.38258-05:0
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00673.x
Peer Acceptance and Friendships of Students with Disabilities in General Education: The Role of Child, Peer, and Classroom Variables
- Authors: Anke Boer; Sip Jan Pijl, Wendy Post, Alexander Minnaert
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: To understand the difficulties students with disabilities experience in their social participation in general education, this study examined which child, peer, and class variables relate to peer acceptance and friendships. In a cross‐sectional study, sociometric data were gathered for students without disabilities (N = 985) and students with disabilities (N = 65), together with personal related variables of students with disabilities, attitudes of peers towards students with disabilities, and classroom information. Using separate social networks for both boys and girls, the findings of the logistic multilevel regression analyses showed different outcomes for peer acceptance of boys and girls with disabilities. The implications of the findings are discussed in the light of possible interventions to improve peer acceptance and friendships of students with disabilities in general primary education.
  PubDate: 2012-10-12T06:03:36.54086-05:0
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00670.x
The Role of Social Identity Complexity in Inter‐group Attitudes Among Young Adolescents
- Authors: Casey A. Knifsend; Jaana Juvonen
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: To supplement research on adolescent social identities, the current study examined how social identity complexity relates to ethnic inter‐group attitudes in a young adolescent sample (N = 97; age range = 12–14 years). Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap of groups with which youth align themselves. Descriptive analyses revealed that the most prevalent social groups were based on out‐of‐school sports and in‐school extracurricular activities. On average, participants reported a moderate degree of overlap among their social in‐groups. Results of regression analyses showed that high social identity complexity relates to positive inter‐group attitudes, both cross‐sectionally in seventh grade and longitudinally across eighth grade. These findings suggest that high social identity complexity may have implications for the ways in which school‐based activity groups are structured to promote inter‐group attitudes.
  PubDate: 2012-09-26T04:55:18.165616-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00672.x
Going It Alone: Comparing Subtypes of Withdrawal on Indices of Adjustment and Maladjustment in Emerging Adulthood
- Authors: Larry J. Nelson
  Pages: n/a - n/a
  Abstract: Scholars have distinguished conceptually between multiple forms of social withdrawal among children and adolescents, but this distinction has yet to be investigated fully during emerging adulthood. Therefore, the overarching goal of this study was to employ a person‐oriented approach to examine differences between subtypes of withdrawal on indicators of internalizing issues and relationships in emerging adulthood. The sample for the current study (Mage = 19.60, SD = 1.85, range = 18–29) consisted of 791 undergraduate students (548 women, 243 men). Results revealed that three distinct forms of social withdrawal (shyness, avoidance, unsociable) can be identified in emerging adulthood, with each one uniquely related to indices of maladjustment in regard to internalizing problems and relationship difficulties. In general, both shy and avoidant individuals reported more problems of an internalizing nature and in their relationships. Far fewer problems appear to exist for unsociable individuals.
  PubDate: 2012-09-26T04:26:33.970242-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00671.x
Manufacturing Phenomena or Preserving Phenomena' Core Issues in the Identification of Peer Social Groups With Social Cognitive Mapping Procedures
- Authors: Thomas W. Farmer; Hongling Xie
  Pages: no - no
  PubDate: 2012-09-26T04:12:17.677769-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00669.x
Opening the Black Box of Social Cognitive Mapping
- Authors: Zachary P. Neal; Jennifer Watling Neal
  Pages: no - no
  PubDate: 2012-09-26T04:12:12.821954-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00668.x
Stability of Maternal Autonomy Support between Infancy and Preschool Age
- Authors: Célia Matte‐Gagné; Annie Bernier, Christine Gagné
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: The goals of this article were to examine (1) the relative and absolute stability of maternal autonomy support between infancy and preschool age, and (2) the moderating role of child gender, maternal attachment state of mind, and stressful life events. Sixty‐nine mother–child dyads participated in five visits when the child was 8, 15, and 18 months, as well as 2 and 3 years. The results suggested that maternal autonomy support is stable in relative terms, but that its mean level decreases over time. Moreover, there was significant relative stability only for mothers of girls, mothers who showed greater coherence of mind with respect to attachment, and mothers who experienced fewer stressful life events. These results speak to the relevance of investigating parent, child, and contextual factors when examining the conditions that promote or hinder stability in parenting behaviors.
  PubDate: 2012-09-26T04:09:36.750433-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00667.x
Mothers' Socialization of Children's Emotion in India and the USA: A Cross‐ and Within‐culture Comparison
- Authors: Vaishali V. Raval; Pratiksha H. Raval, Jennifer M. Salvina, Stephanie L. Wilson, Sharon Writer
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: Parent responses to children's emotions vary within and across cultures. The present study compared mothers' reports of their emotional and behavioral responses in hypothetical situations depicting their children experiencing anger, sadness, or physical pain in two communities in India (traditional old city, N = 60; suburban middle class, N = 60), with a suburban middle‐class group in the USA (N = 60). Results showed that mothers in both groups in India reported more explanation‐oriented problem‐focused responses to their children's emotions than US mothers. US mothers reported the most solution‐oriented problem‐focused responses, followed by suburban Indian mothers, followed by old‐city mothers. US mothers reported behaviorally‐oriented punitive responses (i.e., time out, removal of privileges) towards child anger more than the other groups. Suburban Indian mothers reported briefly not talking to the child in response to child anger more than the other groups whereas old‐city Indian mothers reported scolding/spanking more than the other groups.
  PubDate: 2012-09-20T06:31:34.989347-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00666.x
The Effects of Participation Rate on the Internal Reliability of Peer Nomination Measures
- Authors: Peter E. L. Marks; Ben Babcock, Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Nicki R. Crick
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: Although low participation rates have historically been considered problematic in peer nomination research, some researchers have recently argued that small proportions of participants can, in fact, provide adequate sociometric data. The current study used a classical measurement perspective to investigate the internal reliability (Cronbach's α) of peer nomination measures of acceptance, popularity, friendship, prosocial behavior, and overt aggression. Data from 642 participants attending 10 schools were resampled at different participation rates ranging from 5 percent to 100 percent of the original samples. Results indicated that (1) the association between participation rate and Cronbach's α was curvilinear across schools and variables; (2) collecting more data for a given variable (by using unlimited vs. limited nominations, or two vs. one items) was significantly related to higher internal reliability; and (3) certain variables (overt aggression, popularity) were more reliable than others (acceptance, friendship). Implications for future research were discussed.
  PubDate: 2012-07-10T03:13:56.778425-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00661.x
Quality of Parent–Child Relations in Adolescence and Later Adult Parenting Outcomes
- Authors: Myron D. Friesen; Lianne J. Woodward, L. John Horwood, David M. Fergusson
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: Data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 30‐year prospective longitudinal study, were used to examine the associations between the quality of parent–child relations in adolescence and adult parenting behaviour 15 years later. At ages 14 and 15 years, cohort members were interviewed about the quality of their relationship with their parents. At age 30, those who had become parents underwent a parenting assessment using self‐report and observational ratings of positive (warmth, sensitivity) and negative parenting (overreactive, inconsistency, and physical punishment/abuse). Results showed that adolescents who reported higher quality parent–child relationships were later characterized by higher levels of parental warmth, sensitivity, and effective child management, and lower levels of overreactive parenting. These associations remained after extensive covariate adjustment. Study findings highlight the importance of close parent–child relations during adolescence in preparing an individual for the challenges of caring for and parenting their own children when they themselves become parents.
  PubDate: 2012-04-25T05:20:15.728841-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00657.x
Gender‐specific or Common Classroom Norms' Examining the Contextual Moderators of the Risk for Victimization
- Authors: Jenny Isaacs; Marinus Voeten, Christina Salmivalli
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: We tested whether gender‐specific vs. common classroom norms were more powerful moderators of the association between a risk factor (rejection) and peer victimization among girls and boys. The participants were 1220 elementary schoolchildren from grades 4–6 (with 10–13 years of age). We compared different multilevel models including combined vs. separate regressions for boys and girls, as well as the effects of norms of the whole class, same‐sex classmates, and cross‐sex classmates. Among girls, the association between rejection and victimization was strongest in classes where bullying behavior was common, and anti‐bullying attitudes were rare among girls. Among boys, the strength of the slope of victimization on rejection could not be explained by either common or gender‐specific classroom norms, but boys' level of bullying behavior was related to overall classroom level of victimization. The findings suggest that contextual factors may contribute to victimization especially among high‐risk girls. The importance of exploring multiple levels of influence on children's social development is discussed.
  PubDate: 2012-03-21T23:35:19.365251-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00655.x
The Multiple Meanings of Peer Groups in Social Cognitive Mapping
- Authors: Jennifer Watling Neal; Zachary P. Neal
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: Social cognitive mapping (SCM) is a common approach to identifying peer groups in developmental research. However, this approach involves three stages that each implies a unique conception of peer group. This article aims to bring conceptual clarity to the identification of peer groups using SCM by demonstrating how the meaning of peer groups differs at each stage of SCM. First, in the data collecting stage, interaction groups identify sets of children that hang out together. Second, in the data aggregating stage, co‐membership groups identify sets of children who are members of many of the same interaction groups. Third, in the data analyzing stage, similarity groups identify sets of children with similar patterns of relationships with their peers. After reviewing these three conceptions of peer groups, we briefly discuss some potential problems with using SCM as a tool to measure children's social networks and peer groups. Finally, we conclude by arguing that despite these issues, SCM remains a valuable methodology, and indeed one with untapped potential. Thus, we offer suggestions for the appropriate application of these theoretically and empirically distinct conceptions of peer group, noting that developmental researchers using SCM must identify which conception of peer group is used and justify why this conception is the appropriate one.
  PubDate: 2012-03-21T23:34:33.012558-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00656.x
College Students' Revenge Goals Across Friend, Romantic Partner, and Roommate Contexts: The Role of Interpretations and Emotions
- Authors: Kristina L. McDonald; Steven R. Asher
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: Residential college environments provide young people with distinctive relationship opportunities and challenges. A major purpose of the present study was to learn whether college students respond differently to conflict‐of‐interest vignettes in three different relationship contexts. Students were more likely to make negative interpretations about their romantic partner's behavior than they did about their friend's or roommate's behavior. They were also more likely to feel angry and hurt and to endorse hostile goals and strategies with romantic partners. A second major purpose was to learn about the types of interpretations and emotions associated with revenge goals in conflict‐of‐interest situations. Results indicated that interpreting the other person's actions as disrespectful and as rejecting was related to revenge goals and also predicted to revenge goals beyond the contributions of anger and hurt feelings.
  PubDate: 2012-03-13T08:36:14.85858-05:0
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2011.00650.x
Parental Emotion Coaching and Child Emotion Regulation as Protective Factors for Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Authors: Julie C. Dunsmore; Jordan A. Booker, Thomas H. Ollendick
  Pages: no - no
  Abstract: We assessed linkages of mothers' emotion coaching and children's emotion regulation and emotion lability/negativity with children's adjustment in 72 mother–child dyads seeking treatment for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Dyads completed the questionnaires and discussed emotion‐related family events. Maternal emotion coaching was associated with children's emotion regulation, which in turn was related to higher mother‐reported adaptive skills, higher child‐reported internalizing symptoms, and lower child‐reported adjustment. When children were high in emotion lability/negativity, mothers' emotion coaching was associated with lower mother and child reports of externalizing behavior. Results suggest the role of emotion regulation and emotion lability in child awareness of socio‐emotional problems and support the potential of maternal emotion coaching as a protective factor for children with ODD, especially for those high in emotion lability.
  PubDate: 2012-02-15T22:55:51.084763-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2011.00652.x
Age Differences in Perceptions of Rich and Poor People: Is It Skill or Luck'
- Authors: Carol K. Sigelman
  Pages: 1 - 18
  Abstract: To gain new perspective on the development of understandings and perceptions of income inequality, this study compared the reactions of six, eight, and 10‐year‐olds to a rich man and a poor man and the winners and losers of a contest of skill and a game of chance. Age differences in attributions for outcomes reflected a strengthening with age of the skill–luck distinction and of equity thinking about wealth. Although men with good outcomes were generally perceived more positively than men with bad outcomes, and likeability was affected only by outcome, 10‐year‐olds differentiated most sharply among different types of ‘winners’ or ‘losers’, viewing the rich and poor men as more like the winner and loser of a contest of skill than like the winner and loser of a game of chance. Overall, the findings suggest that differential evaluation of rich and poor people may begin as affective tagging based on good or bad life outcomes and later be associated with justifications grounded in an equity perspective on income inequality that emphasizes the role of personal qualities such as ability in wealth accumulation.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:50:49.4922-05:00
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12000
Maternal Religiosity, Family Resources and Stressors, and Parent–Child Attachment Security in Northern Ireland
- Authors: Marcie C. Goeke‐Morey; Ed Cairns, Christine E. Merrilees, Alice C. Schermerhorn, Peter Shirlow, E Mark Cummings
  Pages: 19 - 37
  Abstract: This study explores the associations between mothers' religiosity, and families' and children's functioning in a stratified random sample of 695 Catholic and Protestant mother–child dyads in socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region which has experienced centuries of sectarian conflict between Protestant Unionists and Catholics Nationalists. Findings based on mother and child surveys indicated that even in this context of historical political violence associated with religious affiliation, mothers' religiosity played a consistently positive role, including associations with multiple indicators of better family functioning (i.e., more cohesion and behavioral control and less conflict, psychological distress, and adjustment problems) and greater parent–child attachment security. Mothers' religiosity also moderated the association between parent–child attachment security and family resources and family stressors, enhancing positive effects of cohesion and mother behavioral control on mother–child attachment security, and providing protection against risks associated with mothers' psychological distress. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the role of religiosity in serving as a protective or risk factor for children and families.
  PubDate: 2012-06-04T21:59:20.104124-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00659.x
Integration of Behavioral Frequency and Intention Information in Young Children's Trait Attributions
- Authors: Janet J. Boseovski; Korinne Chiu, Stuart Marcovitch
  Pages: 38 - 57
  Abstract: Two experiments examined three‐ to six‐year‐olds' use of frequency and intention information to make trait attributions and behavioral predictions. In experiment 1, participants were told a story about an actor who behaved positively once or four times on purpose or incidentally. Children were most likely to make trait‐consistent behavioral predictions after hearing about several positive, intentional behaviors. Trait attributions were largely positive. Experiment 2 examined children's use of the same cues concerning negative behavioral outcomes. Participants tended to predict that actors who engaged in negative behavior would do so again, irrespective of intention, although younger children required more exemplars than older children. Participants were most likely to make negative trait attributions after hearing about multiple intentional behaviors; however, there was reluctance with age to describe actors as mean. Implications for children's ‘theory of personality’ are discussed.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:51:07.003069-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12008
Paternal and Maternal Mind‐mindedness and Preschoolers' Theory of Mind: The Mediating Role of Interactional Attunement
- Authors: Brenda L. Lundy
  Pages: 58 - 74
  Abstract: The present investigation explored (1) fathers' contributions to children's theory of mind (ToM) development, (2) the similarity between maternal and paternal mind‐mindedness (MM) in relation to children's ToM, and (3) the relative predictive strength of two concurrently administered measures of MM (an online and an interview assessment) in relation to children's ToM. Thirty‐nine fathers, mothers, and their four‐year‐olds participated. Paternal MM was positively correlated with children's ToM performance. In addition, the two groups of parents performed similarly on both measures of MM. The findings also suggest that mothers and fathers who scored higher on the MM interview were more attuned to their children's mental processes during the online interaction measure of MM. The online measure of MM was found to mediate the relationship between the interview measure of MM and children's ToM for the maternal–child data only.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:51:11.203694-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12009
The Assessment of Elaborated Role‐play in Young Children: Invisible Friends, Personified Objects, and Pretend Identities
- Authors: Marjorie Taylor; Alison B. Sachet, Bayta L. Maring, Anne M. Mannering
  Pages: 75 - 93
  Abstract: Role‐play (i.e., pretending in which children imagine and act out the part of another individual) was assessed with child interviews and parent questionnaires about invisible friends, personified objects, and pretend identities in a sample of 208 young children. Children who engaged in role‐play did not differ from other children in age or vocabulary comprehension. However, they were better able to generate a pretend conversation than other children and were rated by their parents as less shy. The overall pattern of results suggests that the capacity to interact with imaginary others (in and out of the lab) is more closely associated with individual differences in personality than developmental level.
  PubDate: 2012-12-07T05:58:56.120971-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12011
The Components of Young Children's Emotion Knowledge: Which Are Enhanced by Adult Emotion Talk'
- Authors: Karen Salmon; Ian M. Evans, Sophie Moskowitz, Melissa Grouden, Fiona Parkes, Emily Miller
  Pages: 94 - 110
  Abstract: This research adopted observational and experimental paradigms to investigate the relationships between components of emotion knowledge in three‐ to four‐year‐old children. In Study 1, 88 children were assessed on the Emotion Matching Task (Morgan, Izard, & King), and two tasks requiring the generation of emotion labels and causes. Most tasks were significantly associated with age and language ability, and similar tasks were significantly but moderately correlated. In Study 2, 58 of these children were allocated to one of three conditions: emotion cause talk, in which they received four sessions of training focusing on emotion labels and causes; non‐emotion cause talk, focusing on causal relationships in general; or were allocated to a no‐training control. Children in the emotion causes condition showed improvement in their use of emotion labels but not other components of emotion knowledge. The findings suggest that, in three‐ to four‐year‐old children, emotion knowledge is constituted by related but separable components and that training in emotion language targets separate rather than all aspects of emotion knowledge.
  PubDate: 2012-11-12T21:10:19.925845-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12004
Stability and Change in Kindergartners' Friendships: Examination of Links with Social Functioning
- Authors: Marie‐France Proulx; François Poulin
  Pages: 111 - 125
  Abstract: Stability and change in kindergartners' friendships were examined based on a typology of profiles (stable, fluid, loss, gain, friendless). Our purpose was to determine whether children belonging to the five profiles differed in their social functioning. The sample was composed of 2353 kindergartners. Reciprocal friendships and social functioning indices were measured using peer nominations collected in October and May of the same year. A series of repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that children in the friendless profile were less accepted by their peers, more shy, more withdrawn, and more aggressive than other children. Moreover, children in the stable profile were significantly more accepted by their peers, more prosocial, and less shy than children in the fluid profile. Lastly, children in the loss profile became less accepted by their peers and less prosocial over the course of the year whereas children in the gain profile became more accepted and prosocial.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:50:55.343438-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12001
Shy but Getting By' An Examination of the Complex Links Among Shyness, Coping, and Socioemotional Functioning in Childhood
- Authors: Mila Kingsbury; Robert J. Coplan, Linda Rose‐Krasnor
  Pages: 126 - 145
  Abstract: The purpose of the current study was to test a conceptual model of the mediated and moderated associations among shyness, coping strategies, and socioemotional functioning in middle childhood. Participants were 358 children (177 boys) aged 9–13 years (M = 10.16 years, SD =.95). Children completed self‐report assessments of shyness, coping style in response to a social stressor, internalizing problems, and peer difficulties. Among the results, shyness was positively associated with internalizing symptoms and negatively related to perceptions of peer difficulties. However, both of these associations were partially mediated by internalizing coping styles. Moreover, problem‐solving coping moderated these mediated pathways: among children who reported higher levels of problem‐solving coping, the associations between internalizing coping and outcomes were attenuated. Several gender differences also emerged, suggesting that problem‐solving coping may be particularly useful for shy boys. Results are discussed in terms of the complex but potentially critical role of coping in shy children's socioemotional functioning.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:51:03.763915-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12003
Young Children's Affective Responses to Acceptance and Rejection From Peers: A Computer‐based Task Sensitive to Variation in Temperamental Shyness and Gender
- Authors: Grace Z. Howarth; Amanda E. Guyer, Koraly Pérez‐Edgar
  Pages: 146 - 162
  Abstract: This study presents a novel task examining young children's affective responses to evaluative feedback—specifically, social acceptance and rejection—from peers. We aimed to determine (1) whether young children report their affective responses to hypothetical peer evaluation predictably and consistently, and (2) whether young children's responses to peer evaluation vary as a function of temperamental shyness and gender. Four‐ to seven‐year‐old children (N = 48) sorted pictures of unknown, similar‐aged children into those with whom they wished or did not wish to play. Computerized peer evaluation later noted whether the pictured children were interested in a future playdate with participants. Participants then rated their affective responses to each acceptance or rejection event. Children were happy when accepted by children with whom they wanted to play, and disappointed when these children rejected them. Highly shy boys showed a wider range of responses to acceptance and rejection based on initial social interest, and may be particularly sensitive to both positive and negative evaluation. Overall, the playdate task captures individual differences in affective responses to evaluative peer feedback and is potentially amenable to future applications in research with young children, including pairings with psychophysiological measures.
  PubDate: 2012-11-12T21:10:24.435766-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12006
Social Competence in Preschool Children: Replication of Results and Clarification of a Hierarchical Measurement Model
- Authors: António J. Santos; Inês Peceguina, João R. Daniel, Nana Shin, Brian E. Vaughn
  Pages: 163 - 179
  Abstract: This study tested assumptions and conclusions reached in an earlier confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) study of the social competence (SC) construct for preschool children. Two samples (total N = 408; a new Portuguese sample and one from US samples that had participated in the original study) contributed data. Seven SC indicators were tested for mean differences across age, sex, and sample. Significant sex differences were found for peer acceptance (favoring girls) and for initiating affectively neutral interactions (boys had higher rates), and the sex by sample interaction also was significant for initiating interactions (i.e., effect significant only in the Portuguese sample). In CFAs, the hypothesized structure of SC fits the data and was invariant across sample and age within sample in both measurement and structural tests. The model was invariant at the measurement level for sex within sample tests, but not at the structural level. The results replicate and extend understandings of SC reported in the original study.
  PubDate: 2012-11-12T21:10:27.776386-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12007
Associations among Maternal Behavior, Delay of Gratification, and School Readiness across the Early Childhood Years
- Authors: Rachel A. Razza; Kimberly Raymond
  Pages: 180 - 196
  Abstract: This study examined the developmental pathways from maternal behavior to school readiness within a sample of 1007 children, with a specific focus on the mediating role of delay of gratification (DoG). Maternal behavior across the first 36 months of age was explored as a predictor of children's DoG at 54 months as well as their behavioral and academic competence in kindergarten. Results support sensitivity as a predictor of children's DoG and indicate significant associations between DoG and teacher‐reported externalizing behavior, social skills, and academic skills. Moreover, DoG partially mediated the associations between maternal sensitivity and school readiness skills, with the highest percentage of mediation reported for social skills. Findings indicate maternal sensitivity and DoG as potential targets for efforts aimed at enhancing school readiness among young children.
  PubDate: 2012-09-14T04:43:27.519397-05:
  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00665.x
Sex Differences in the Relationship between Harsh Discipline and Conduct Problems
- Authors: Laura J. Lysenko; Edward D. Barker, Sara R. Jaffee
  Pages: 197 - 214
  Abstract: Research on sex differences in antisocial behaviour may shed light on the causes of childhood antisocial behaviour. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether there were sex differences in the amount of harsh discipline children received or in the effect of harsh discipline and whether this accounted for sex differences in later conduct problems. Our sample was a representative, longitudinal sample of 13 830 twins born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1996. Results showed that boys experienced more harsh discipline than girls and that the sex difference in harsh discipline accounted for 10 percent to 20 percent of the sex difference in conduct problems. We found no evidence that harsh discipline had a greater effect on boys vs. girls. We also found evidence of a bidirectional relationship between harsh discipline and child conduct problems. These findings were replicated within families, automatically controlling for between‐families confounding factors.
  PubDate: 2012-11-01T06:50:59.37693-05:0
  DOI: 10.1111/sode.12002