How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

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From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development

In this review, we examine the oft-made claim that peer-relationship difficulties in childhood predict serious adjustment problems in later life. The article begins with a framework for conceptualizing and assessing children's peer difficulties and with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in longitudinal risk research. Following this, three indexes of problematic peer relationships (acceptance, aggressiveness, and shyness/withdrawal) are evaluated as predictors of three later outcomes (dropping out of school, criminality, and psychcpathology). The relation between peer difficulties and later maladjustment is examined in terms of both the consistency and strength of prediction. A review and analysis of the literature indicates general support for the hypothesis that children with poor peer adjustment are at risk for later life difficulties. Support is clearest for the outcomes of dropping out and criminality. It is also clearest for low acceptance and aggressiveness as predictors, whereas a link between shyness/withdrawal and later maladjustment has not yet been adequately tested. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the implicit models that have guided past research in this area and a set of recommendations for the next generation of research on the risk

Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk?

A developmental model of antisocial behavior is outlined. Recent findings are reviewed that concern the etiology and course of antisocial behavior from early childhood through adolescence. Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that the route to chronic delinquency is marked by a reliable developmental sequence of experiences. As a first step, ineffective parenting practices are viewed as determinants for childhood conduct disorders. The general model also takes into account the contextual variables that influence the family interaction process. As a second step, the conduct-disordered behaviors lead to academic failure and peer rejection. These dual failures lead, in turn, to increased risk for depressed mood and involvement in a deviant peer group. This third step usually occurs during later childhood and early adolescence. It is assumed that children following this developmental sequence are at high risk for engaging in chronic delinquent behavior. Finally, implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior.

Risky families are characterized by conflict and aggression and by relationships that are cold, unsupportive, and neglectful. These family characteristics create vulnerabilities and/or interact with genetically based vulnerabilities in offspring that produce disruptions in psychosocial functioning (specifically emotion processing and social competence), disruptions in stress-responsive biological regulatory systems, including sympathetic-adrenomedullary and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical functioning, and poor health behaviors, especially substance abuse. This integrated biobehavioral profile leads to consequent accumulating risk for mental health disorders, major chronic diseases, and early mortality. We conclude that childhood family environments represent vital links for understanding mental and physical health across the life span.

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Risky Families: Family Social Environments and the Mental and Physical Health of Offspring

The chapter begins with a distinction made between the interactions children have with peers, the relationships they form with peers, and the groups and networks within which peer interactions and relationships occur. From this conceptual overview, a review of relevant theories is presented. Thereafter, a developmental perspective of peer interactions, relationships, and groups is presented covering the periods of infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Subsequently, methods and measures pertaining to the study of children's peer experiences are described. Next, we examine factors that may account for peer acceptance and rejection as well as qualitatively rich and poor friendships. Among the factors discussed are included temperament (biological factors), sex of child, parenting, parent-child relationships, and culture. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the extent to which individual differences in peer acceptance, rejection and friendship (prevalence and quality) predict adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes and a suggested agenda for future research.


Keywords:

friendship;
peer interactions;
peer relationships;
peer rejection;
social acceptance;
social competence

Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups

Overt and Relational Aggression and Victimization: Multiple Perspectives within the School Setting

PUTALLAZ, MARTHA, and GOTTMAN, JOHN M. An Interactional Model of Children's Entry into Peer Groups. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 986-994. The dyadic interaction of popular and unpopular children was compared. Analyses revealed that unpopular children were (1) more disagreeable and (2) less likely to provide a general reason or rule for their disag-eement or to suggest a constructive alternative when criticizing a peer. Children of either the same or differing popularity then attempted to enter these dyads. It was found that unpopular children were less likely to be accepted and more likely to be ignored by the groups they entered than popular children. When attempting to enter groups, unpopular children were more disagreeable than popular children and were more likely to attempt to call attention to themselves by stating their feelings and opinions, talking about themselves, and asking informational questions than popular children. These strategies were more likely to lead to the children being ignored or rejected by the groups rather than accepted. Some suggestions for intervention were made.

/pdf/an-interactional-model-of-children-s-entry-into-peer-groups-3ryyt9we6y.pdf

An Interactional Model of Children's Entry into Peer Groups

PUTALLAZ, MARTHA. Maternal Behavior and Children's Sociometric Status. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1987, 58, 324-340. Research on the determinants of children's sociometric status has generally ignored the role of parental behavior. In this study, the relation between maternal behavior observed during the play sessions of mother-child pairs and the children's social behavior and sociometric status were examined. In addition, the relation between the children's sociometric status and maternal behavior exhibited when interacting with another mother, as well as child dyadic behavior, was assessed. Results indicated that behaviors exhibited in all 3 contexts (i.e., mother-child, mother-mother, child-child interaction) were related to one another and to sociometric status. Finally, the relation between maternal social knowledge and the social knowledge, behavior, and sociometric status of the children was investigated. Again, analyses revealed significant relations. Implications of these findings in terms of the determinants of social status and preventive intervention programs are discussed.

Maternal behavior and children's sociometric status.

PUTALLAZ, MARTHA. Predicting Children's Sociometric Status from Their Behavior. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54, 1417-1426. 22 boys were videotaped during their summer before first grade as they attempted to enter a group of 2 unfamiliar boys. The 2 boys, who were experimental confederates, engaged in a series of scripted games and presented several scripted problematic social situations to the subjects. The subjects' behavior was used to predict their sociometric status 4 months later in first grade. Results indicated that the tendency of subjects to fit into the group they entered by contributing relevant conversation was predictive of their social status even after controlling for intelligence. Further, this relationship was enhanced for those subjects who accurately perceived the group's behavior, as assessed in a postsession interview.

Predicting children's sociometric status from their behavior.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/56143/sex-differences-in-the-right-tail-cognitive-abilities.pdf

Martha Putallaz

Papers

Overt and Relational Aggression and Victimization: Multiple Perspectives within the School Setting

An Interactional Model of Children's Entry into Peer Groups

Maternal behavior and children's sociometric status.

Predicting children's sociometric status from their behavior.

Sex differences in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 30 year examination