Suchergebnisse

AbstractPeer teasing has contradictory conceptualizations, including teasing that is playful, and teasing that is akin to bullying. In addition to individuals potentially having different conceptualizations of teasing, and despite the inherently social nature of teasing, little is known about the social correlates of teasing attitudes. The current study aimed to examine multifaceted teasing attitudes (i.e., aggressive, affectionate, or romantic interest teasing), and to assess how past social experiences (victimization, popularity, social satisfaction/self‐concept) relate to teasing attitudes. Young adults (N = 437, 17–25 years old, 65% female) reported on multifaceted teasing attitudes on a Teasing Attitudes Scale developed for this study. Participants also reported retrospectively on adolescent social experiences. Findings validated the Teasing Attitudes Scale, showing that young adults have distinct attitudes toward teasing as aggressive, affectionate, and indicating romantic interest. Participants who reported victimization by bullying, lower popularity (girls only), social satisfaction, and social self‐concept were more likely to view teasing as aggressive. Participants who had been victims of non‐bullying aggression viewed teasing as affectionate, and those with high social satisfaction and self‐concept viewed teasing as for romantic interest purposes. Implications for understanding the complexities of teasing and its associations with individual attitudes and adolescent social experiences will be discussed.

AbstractThough there is increasing awareness of the potential benefits of other‐gender interactions and friendships, there has been little research examining the factors that might act as barriers or promoters of such friendships. Our goal was to explore both individual‐level factors (i.e., gender identity) and indicators of the social environment (i.e., perceived peer norms) that might relate to other‐gender friendships. Sixth graders (N = 396, 47% girls; 65% White) nominated friends in their classrooms, reported their similarity to both own‐ and other‐gender peers and reported on perceived peer norms related to other‐gender interaction. Results indicated that, in general, feeling similar to other‐gender youth was associated with more other‐gender friends. Positive peer norms (e.g., heightened respect) but not negative norms (e.g., teasing) also were associated with more other‐gender friends. Findings have implications for the importance of broadening our understanding of friendship homophily to consider gendered interests/similarities in addition to gender category. Further, the promotion of positive peer norms over negative ones might be an effective means of intervention to promote other‐gender friendships.

AbstractThis short‐term longitudinal study assessed the relations between the social context of children's play (playgroup size, playgroup gender composition, and play setting) in the fall and peer victimization in the spring for low‐income, minority, preschool girls and boys. Gender differences in these associations, as well as the moderating effect of children's individual problem behavior, were considered. Using a multiple‐brief observation procedure, preschoolers' (N= 255, 49 percent girls) naturally occurring play in each type of social context was recorded throughout the fall semester. Observers also rated children's victimization and problem behaviors in the fall, and teachers rated children's victimization at the end of the school year. Findings suggested that social context variables predicted spring victimization above and beyond fall victimization and individual levels of problem behavior, and that these associations varied for boys and girls. The findings signify the importance of the social context on changes in peer victimization.

AbstractFriendships have the potential to perpetuate or mitigate youth's aggressive behavior. We investigated concurrent and longitudinal effects of friendships on aggression by examining both structural (size and interconnectedness of the local friendship network) and behavioral (friends' aggression) friendship features. Participants were 868 sixth to eighth grade middle‐school students (M = 12.10 years; 49.9% girls; 44% Latina/o) who completed questionnaires at two time points. Participants nominated their friends; reciprocal friendship nominations were used to calculate structural friendship group features (size and interconnectedness). Peer nominations were also used to measure youth's and their friends' aggression. Having more reciprocal friends was associated with more aggression concurrently (particularly for youth whose friends were highly aggressive), and having an interconnected friendship group was associated with decreased aggression over time. Given that findings were different for group size and interconnectedness, we discuss the unique importance of each of these structural friendship features. Practical implications regarding the potential to decrease aggressive behavior based on specific friendship features are also discussed.