Anti‐bullying interventions often assume that knowing how it feels to be bullied increases empathy for victims. However, longitudinal research on actual experiences of bullying and empathy is ...lacking. This study investigated whether within‐person changes in victimization predicted changes in empathy over 1 year using random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel models. Self‐ and peer‐reported victimization, and cognitive and affective empathy for victims were measured in a sample of 15,713 Finnish youth (Mage = 13.23, SDage = 2.01, 51.6% female; 92.5% had Finnish‐speaking parents; data was collected in 2007–2009 when information about participants’ race/ethnicity was not available due to ethical guidelines for the protection of personal information). Results indicated small, positive longitudinal associations from victimization to cognitive empathy. Implications for empathy‐raising interventions are discussed.
This prepost test experimental study examined the effectiveness of an intervention providing information about peers with sensory disability, intellectual disability, and behavioral difficulties ...(cognitive intervention), an intervention using imagined contact with peers with these disabilities (behavioral intervention), and an intervention combining information with imagined contact, against a no-intervention control condition. One hundred and forty-two typically developing children were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 conditions. Measures of attitudes, stereotypes, and feelings toward and intentions to engage in contact with peers with sensory disability, intellectual disability, and behavioral difficulties were administered. Results revealed that the combined cognitive and behavioral intervention improved all outcome variables considered. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
Educational Impact and Implications StatementThis study focused on the improvement of elementary school students' attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Its results suggest that it is important to provide positive information about the disabilities and strategies to encourage their participation in educational and extracurricular activities. Imaging interacting with peers with disabilities is also crucial. The combination of the 2 interventions (information about disability and imagination) allows to get stronger effects. These results can help to reduce negative attitudes toward students with disabilities and contribute to the construction of more inclusive school and social contexts.
Adopting a combination of expectancy-value and achievement goal theories, this study examined the role of self-efficacy, task value, and achievement goals in students’ learning strategies, task ...disengagement, peer relationship, and English achievement outcome. A sample of 1475 Year-9 students participated in the study. A structural equation model showed that while task value predicted only mastery goals, self-efficacy predicted each of the three types of achievement goal. Mastery and performance-approach goals were both positive predictors of deep learning and peer relationship. Mastery goals were also negatively associated with task disengagement and positively associated with surface learning. In contrast, performance-avoidance goals were a positive predictor of surface learning and task disengagement but a negative predictor of peer relationship. On the whole, these findings suggest that, like mastery goals, performance-approach goals can generate adaptive outcomes.
According to social referencing theory, cues peers take from positive and negative teacher behavior toward a student affect the student's peer liking and disliking status. The present study was the ...first to test the hypothesized mediation model connecting teacher behavior with peer liking and disliking status, via peer perceptions of teacher liking and disliking for the student. We used a longitudinal design and controlled for peer perceptions of student behavior. A sample of 1,420 5th-grade students (Mage = 10.60) from 56 classes completed sociometric questionnaires at 3 time points within 1 school year. At the first time point video data was also recorded, and teacher behavior toward specific students was coded. A multilevel path analysis showed that teachers did function as social referents for peer status but only through their negative behavior toward a student. Negative teacher behavior was associated with peer perceptions of the teacher's disliking for the student 3 months later, which in turn predicted peers' disliking of the student 6 months later. Findings suggest that teachers play a prominent role in peer relationships, particularly in peer disliking. For practice, this suggests that it may be important for teachers to refrain from openly negative behavior toward students, particularly those at risk of peer rejection.
This study used a short-term longitudinal design to examine the extent to which kindergartners': (a) peer relationships are associated with their school absenteeism; and (b) development of positive ...peer relationships vary as a function of their time spent in school. To address these aims, data were drawn from 801 kindergartners across 64 classrooms and 15 schools in a Midwest city in the United States. Results from covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that kindergartners' relational bonds were not predictive of their time away from school, and that their relationships with classmates were generally unaffected by absenteeism. There was, however, some indication that children's relationships with their classmates were more strongly predicted by their absenteeism for children from less educated households relative to children from more educated households.
•Links between peer relationships and school absenteeism in kindergarten were examined.•On average, kindergartners' relational bonds were not predictive of their time away from school.•On average, kindergartners' relationships with classmates were unaffected by absenteeism.•For children from less educated homes, however, peer relationships were more strongly predicted by absenteeism.
The study examined the subjective experiences of autistic youth regarding the role of peer interactions and relationships in feelings of belonging in integrated physical education classes. The term ...integrated is used to describe a setting in which all students, regardless of educational needs, are educated in the same physical space. Eight autistic youth (all male, aged 13–18 years) who had received most of their physical education in integrated classes acted as participants. Semi-structured interviews were used to generate qualitative data, which were analyzed using a reflexive thematic approach. Findings are presented in three themes: (a) bullying can lead to self-harm and self-isolation, (b) peer interactions and relationships in the locker room, and (c) peer relationships are based on shared interests and take time to develop. Even though autistic students were educated in the same spaces as their non-autistic peers, feelings of belonging were largely unavailable to them.
Lay abstract
Recent years have seen calls to amplify the voices of autistic people in research about their subjective experiences. Despite this, we know little about how autistic youth experience integrated physical education, particularly in the United States. The term integrated is used to describe a setting in which all students, regardless of educational needs, are educated in the same physical space. In this study, we sought to explore the perspectives of autistic youth toward their experiences in integrated physical education, and the roles of social interactions and relationships with peers in those experiences. Findings noted that several factors influenced the ways and extent to which our participants interacted with their peers during physical education. Unfortunately, most of our participants recalled experiencing bullying, and that physical education offered an environment where bullying was most frequent and comparatively unique compared to other contexts throughout the school day. The locker room, a space linked to physical education, was of particular concern because of a lack of teacher presence. Despite the negative views of and experiences in physical education, there was evidence of participants actively pursuing to connect with peers in this context. However, most instances where participants recalled pursuing friendship were not welcomed from others, which stunted their sense of belonging in this space. Given the role that belonging plays in what it means “to be included,” our research supports emerging ideas that even though autistic students were educated in the same physical spaces as their non-autistic peers, feelings of inclusion were largely absent.
Although previous research has established that child maltreatment (CM) and peer relationships (i.e., deviant peer affiliation, being ignored by peers) are strong predictors of adolescent ...internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) behavior problems, no study has examined the above effects concurrently. Nor have researchers investigated the potential peer relationship differences in the effects of CM types on adolescent behavior problems. Thus, this study aims to examine the independent and combined effects of different types of CM and peer relationships on behavior problems.
The Generalized Estimating Equations approach was conducted using the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child-Protective-Services reports and youth self-reports were used for each type of CM. Deviant peer affiliation (DP) has been assessed using a modified version of the Youth-Risk-Behavior-and-Monitoring-the-Future Survey, while being ignored by peers was assessed using a single question. Adolescent INT and EXT were measured using the Youth-Self-Report.
Emotional abuse was associated with both INT and EXT, whereas physical abuse was associated with EXT. Higher DP and higher incidence of being ignored by peers were both associated with higher levels of INT and EXT. Emotionally abused youth with higher levels of DP had less INT, compared to emotionally abused youth with lower levels of DP.
The Findings indicate the need for interventions that 1) take into account the different effects of CM types, specifically for emotionally abused youth; 2) help youth to build positive relationships with peers; and 3) work to reduce the possibility of affiliation with deviant peers.
Social interaction is inherently bidirectional, but research on autistic peer interactions often frames communication as unidirectional and in isolation from the peer context. This study investigated ...natural peer interactions among six autistic and six non-autistic adolescents in an inclusive school club over 5 months (14 45-min sessions in total) to examine the students’ peer preferences in real-world social interactions and how the preferences changed over time. We further examined whether social behavior characteristics differ between student and peer neurotype combinations. Findings showed that autistic students were more likely to interact with autistic peers then non-autistic peers. In both autistic and non-autistic students, the likelihood of interacting with a same-neurotype peer increased over time. Autistic and non-autistic students’ within-neurotype social interactions were more likely to reflect relational than functional purposes, be characterized as sharing thoughts and experiences rather than requesting help or objects, and be highly reciprocal, as compared with cross-neurotype interactions. These peer preferences and patterns of social interactions were not found among student-peer dyads with the same genders. These findings suggest that peer interaction is determined by more than just a student’s autism diagnosis, but by a combination of student and peer neurotypes.
Lay abstract
Autistic students often experience challenges in peer interactions, especially for young adolescents who are navigating the increased social expectations in secondary education. Previous research on the peer interactions of autistic adolescents mainly compared the social behaviors of autistic and non-autistic students and overlooked the peers in the social context. However, recent research has shown that the social challenges faced by autistic may not be solely contributed by their social differences, but a mismatch in the social communication styles between autistic and non-autistic people. As such, this study aimed to investigate the student-and-peer match in real-world peer interactions between six autistic and six non-autistic adolescents in an inclusive school club. We examined the odds of autistic and non-autistic students interacting with either an autistic peer, a non-autistic peer, or multiple peers, and the results showed that autistic students were more likely to interact with autistic peers then non-autistic peers. This preference for same-group peer interactions strengthened over the 5-month school club in both autistic and non-autistic students. We further found that same-group peer interactions, in both autistic and non-autistic students, were more likely to convey a social interest rather than a functional purpose or need, be sharing thoughts, experiences, or items rather than requesting help or objects, and be highly reciprocal than cross-group social behaviors. Collectively, our findings support that peer interaction outcomes may be determined by the match between the group memberships of the student and their peers, either autistic or non-autistic, rather than the student’s autism diagnosis.
Whilst new friendships and an active social life are commonly discussed features of 'being a student', there is limited empirical research that has quantitatively studied the contribution that social ...factors play in students' university experience. Research that has been conducted shows that belonging and social integration are important factors in successful transition to university, and subsequent retention. This article presents research into students' social relationships at university, their attachment to the university, and how these elements link to university adjustment. Undergraduates (N = 135) completed questionnaires measuring their attachment to university peers, attachment to the university, experiences of problematic peer relationships and quality of adjustment to university life. Students who reported strong attachment to their peers also demonstrated higher levels of adjustment to university life and attachment to their university. Students who reported difficulties in their relationships with other students had lower levels of peer attachment and university adjustment. Attachment to university peers was the strongest predictor of university adjustment, followed by attachment to the university. The research highlights the role of social relationships in institutional belonging, and the importance of nurturing peer relationships and institutional affiliation to create a positive student experience.
This study evaluated a school-based intervention to enhance adolescent peer relationships and improve functional outcomes, building upon Ed Zigler's seminal contribution in recognizing the potential ...of academic contexts to enhance social and emotional development. Adolescents (N = 610) primarily from economically or racially/ethnically marginalized groups were assessed preintervention, postintervention, and at 4-month follow-up in a randomized controlled trial. At program completion, intervention participants reported significantly increased quality of peer relationships; by 4-month follow-up, this increased quality was also observable by peers outside of the program, and program participants also displayed higher levels of academic engagement and lower levels of depressive symptoms. These latter effects appear to have potentially been mediated via participants' increased use of social support. The potential of the Connection Project intervention specifically, and of broader efforts to activate adolescent peer relationships as potent sources of social support and growth more generally within the secondary school context, is discussed.
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