Heterogeneity among peer-rejected boys across middle childhood: developmental pathways of social behavior.
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to identify subgroups of rejected boys with different developmental pathways of aggression and prosocial behavior across the elementary school years. Peer, teacher, and parent reports and behavior observations yielded composite scores for aggression and prosocial behavior at 3 measurement waves. A cluster analysis with these composites on 87 initially rejected boys identified 4 subgroups with different developmental pathways of prosocial behavior and aggression that were associated with different patterns of sociometric acceptance and rejection over time and with social emotional adjustment in the last measurement wave. Changes in acceptance and rejection tend to precede changes in aggression and prosocial behavior. Cluster differences on social emotional adjustment indicators converged into I moderately discriminating factor, Social Maladaptation in Peer-Oriented Behavior.
Haselager
Gerbert J T
GJ
Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. haselager@psych.kun.nl
Cillessen
Antonius H N
AH
Van Lieshout
Cornelis F M
CF
Riksen-Walraven
J Marianne A
JM
Hartup
Willard W
WW
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010379:Peer Group; D011897:Random Allocation; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior