Testing links between childhood positive peer relations and externalizing outcomes through a randomized controlled intervention study.

In this study, the authors used a randomized controlled trial to explore the link between having positive peer relations and externalizing outcomes in 758 children followed from kindergarten to the end of 2nd grade. Children were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a universal classroom-based preventive intervention, or a control condition. Children’s acceptance by peers, their number of mutual friends, and their proximity to others were assessed annually through peer ratings. Externalizing behavior was annually rated by teachers. Reductions in children’s externalizing behavior and improvements in positive peer relations were found among GBG children, as compared with control-group children. Reductions in externalizing behavior appeared to be partly mediated by the improvements in peer acceptance. This mediating role of peer acceptance was found for boys only. The results suggest that positive peer relations are not just markers, but they are environmental mediators of boys’ externalizing behavior development. Implications for research and prevention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multimethod comparison of similarity in school adjustment of siblings and unrelated children.

Examined similarities among 45 sibling pairs in Grades 2–5 in their social and academic adaptation to the school setting. Measures included teacher ratings and ranking of academic skills, social behavior, and peer acceptance; peer sociometric ratings; and direct observations on the playground with peers and in the classroom with teachers and peers. Comparisons were made with randomly selected, unrelated S pairs matched on sex, grade, and classroom. Significant correlations were found only among sibling pairs on peer ratings of social preference, teachers' judgments of academic competence, popularity, social behavior and school adjustment, positive behavior with peers on the playground, and teachers' disapproving behavior in the classroom. Results underscore the need for more multiagent and multimethod research on sibling concordant–discordant adjustment regardless of theoretical orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community-based resilient peer treatment of withdrawn maltreated preschool children.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate differences in the social play of maltreated and nonmaltreated preschool children and the effectiveness of a resilient peer treatment (RPT) for socially withdrawn victims of physical abuse and neglect. RPT is a peer-mediated classroom intervention based on a developmental–ecological model. It involves pairing withdrawn children with resilient peers in the natural classroom under the supervision of a parent assistant. Forty-six Head Start children, of whom 22 were maltreated, were randomly assigned to RPT and control conditions. Outcome variables were observational categories of social play and standardized teacher ratings. Before treatment, maltreated children were significantly more isolated and less interactive in peer play than nonmaltreated children. RPT resulted in a significant increase in positive interactive peer play and a decrease in solitary play for maltreated and nonmaltreated, socially withdrawn children. Moreover, treatment gains in social interactions were validated 2 months following treatment. Findings are discussed in terms of a developmental-ecological model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of functional analysis to develop peer interventions for disruptive classroom behavior.

Evaluated the effectiveness of a peer intervention for disruptive behavior that was based on the results of a prior classroom based functional analysis. Four 7–9 yr old males who exhibited disruptive classroom behavior participated in the study. Results of a functional analysis suggest that peer attention rather than teacher attention or escape/timeout is associated with the most disruptive classroom behavior. An intervention based on peer attention for appropriate behavior, and extinction of peer attention for disruptive behaviors, reduced disruptive behaviors to zero for all 4 Ss. The successful fading of peer reinforcement is demonstrated, and previous classroom based functional analyses of the differential effects of teacher attention, peer attention, and timeout/escape for verbal children of average intellectual functioning was replicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity of multiple measures in teaching, research, and service and reliability of peer ratings.

The construct validity measures in teaching, research, and service were determined using a multitrait–multimethod matrix. The measures in research (research publications, research grants, research awards, and peer ratings in research) and three of the measures in teaching (student evaluations, teaching awards, and peer ratings in teaching) supported convergent and divergent validity. However, the three-pronged model in academia was not validated, and exploratory factor analysis identified 5 and possibly 6 domains of behavior (research, classroom teaching, writing about teaching, community service, writing about service, and internal service). For one measure, peer ratings, reliability varied across academic areas and was moderately high for only high-confident ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between peer-play interactions in the family context and dimensions of school readiness for low-income preschool children.

Relationships between parental report of children's peer play at home and indicators of children's school readiness were examined. Behavior ratings and observational data were collected for 242 preschool children from a large urban Head Start program. Relationships between children's home-based, peer-play behaviors and 4 measures of children's classroom behaviors (i.e., school-based peer play, approaches to learning, self-regulation, and behavior problems) were analyzed using bivariate correlational and multivariate methods. Play competencies exhibited in the home environment were significantly associated with prosocial behavior in the classroom, motivation to learn, task persistence, and autonomy. Disruptive or disconnected play behaviors were significantly related to patterns of disruptive and dysregulated experiences in the classroom with peers and with the learning process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventing Disruptive Behavior in Elementary Schoolchildren: Impact of a Universal Classroom-Based Intervention.

A population-based, randomized universal classroom intervention trial for the prevention of disruptive behavior (i.e., attention-deficit/hyperactivity problems, oppositional defiant problems, and conduct problems) is described. Impact on developmental trajectories in young elementary schoolchildren was studied. Three trajectories were identified in children with high, intermediate, or low levels of problems on all 3 disruptive behaviors at baseline. The intervention had a positive impact on the development of all disruptive behavior problems in children with intermediate levels of these problems at baseline. Effect sizes of mean difference at outcome were medium or small. In children with the highest levels of disruptive behavior at baseline, a positive impact of the intervention was found for conduct problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's perceptions of their own and their classmates' ability.

64 children in kindergarten through 3rd grade rated their own and their classmates' "smartness" and nominated classmates who were the best and worst at specific tasks and the best and worst thinkers in the classroom. These ratings were then compared to 12 teachers' classification of the Ss as low or high achievers. Only the 2nd and 3rd graders' ratings of their own ability reflected their teachers' ratings and were correlated to classmates' ratings of their ability. At all grade levels, Ss' ratings of their classmates reflected teachers' ratings of the academic status of the child being rated. Responses to open-ended questions concerning the criteria Ss used in evaluating their own smartness revealed that older Ss most often provided examples of their performance on specific tasks to justify their self-ratings, whereas younger Ss most frequently explained their self-ratings on the basis of their work habits (e.g., following directions). Work habits were also given as the most common explanation for peer smartness ratings. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group contingencies, randomization of reinforcers, and criteria for reinforcement, self-monitoring, and peer feedback on reducing inappropriate classroom behavior.

Considerable research has demonstrated the effectiveness of interdependent and unknown dependent group contingencies on reducing inappropriate classroom behavior. Several investigators have focused on the addition of self-monitoring and peer feedback to these interdependent and unknown dependent group contingencies in order to further improve their effectiveness. In addition, another and separate line of research has examined group contingencies with the randomization of the reinforcement procedure as a means of improving the intervention effect. Absent in the present literature is a study that combines all of these various elements into one multicomponent intervention. Therefore, the present study focused on demonstrating the effectiveness of interdependent and unknown dependent group contingencies that also included self-monitoring, peer feedback, and the randomization of both reinforcers and criteria for reinforcement in reducing the frequency of inappropriate classroom behaviors. The results indicated large positive effects for this multicomponent intervention across all students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity in personality trait attribution.

Compared peer ratings, self-ratings, and ratings by outside judges of the aggressiveness of 8 male graduates from each of 2 fraternities. Pairs of Ss, each pair consisting of 1 high-aggressive and 1 low-aggressive member, engaged in discussion and a competitive game. Peer ratings and self-ratings converged only slightly. Judges' ratings based on observation of verbal and nonverbal behavior of the Ss, had a high degree of concordance with peer ratings, but judges' ratings based on tape recordings of the discussions were not significantly associated with peer ratings. These results provide strong evidence that peer ratings of aggressiveness describe an identifiable characteristic of an individual's behavior which is consistent in different settings. The findings do not, however, demonstrate the general validity of the trait approach to personality. Needed is a more economical method for assigning aggressiveness scores that approach peer ratings, determination of observable behavioral cues denoting aggressiveness, development of the predictive utility of aggressiveness scores, and establishing the validity of other personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing teacher and peer perceptions of aggression: An ecological approach.

Teacher and peer perceptions of aggression were investigated in a sample of 899 students. Teachers rated their students in Grades 3–8 on an 8-item scale assessing peer-directed aggression. Students completed a questionnaire within classrooms that measured acceptance, rejection, and peer-directed aggression. Both teachers and peers reported higher levels of aggression in boys than in girls. Teacher and peer perceptions of aggressive behavior were more congruent for boys than for girls, but this congruence differed significantly as a function of ethnicity. Significant differences among individual classrooms also existed in both teacher and peer ratings, as well as in the relationships between the 2 measures. Findings of gender, grade level, ethnic, and classroom differences are compared with previous research, and issues relevant to the identification of highly aggressive youth are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting preschoolers' peer behavior and status from their interpersonal strategies: A comparison of verbal and enactive responses to hypothetical social dilemmas.

The purposes of this study were (a) to compare a verbal and an enactive procedure for assessing preschool children's social strategies in hypothetical situations in terms of their ability to predict social behavior with peers and peer acceptance and (b) to examine some of the psychometric properties of the two assessment methods. Children's responses to a set of hypothetical social situations were elicited both with puppets and props (enactive assessment) and with a set of pictures (verbal assessment). The responses were rated in terms of their friendliness and assertiveness. Enactive friendliness ratings contributed significantly to regression equations predicting teacher and observer ratings of prosocial and aggressive behavior but not to peer group acceptance, whereas the verbal method contributed little predictive power beyond that provided by the enactive ratings. Implications for social skill assessment and intervention with children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of behavioral problem analysis versus instructional environment information on teachers' perceptions.

Compared 2 types of problem analysis information for their effects on 48 regular education teachers' problem attributions, ratings of acceptability, and preferences for intervention alternatives. Ss were given problem analysis vignettes containing either behavioral or instructional environment information after watching a videotape of a 2nd-grade girl exhibiting classroom behavior problems. Instructional environment information led to more problem attributions involving conditions in the classroom. Behavioral information led to more problem attributions concerning student characteristics and behavior and remote contextual variables. Ss in both informational conditions preferred instructional modification as a means of responding to the student's problems. Ratings of the intervention categories correlated significantly with Ss' problem attributions, perceptions of problem severity, and perceived likelihood for resolution in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diffusion effects: Control group contamination threats to the validity of teacher-administered interventions.

Within-class experimental designs (with experimental and control groups in the same classroom) are subject to diffusion effects whereby both experimental and control students benefit from the intervention, thereby contaminating the control group and biasing evaluations of intervention effects. Although the problem has been recognized, most previous demonstrations have been anecdotal. In support of diffusion effects, we show that a classroom intervention resulted in higher academic self-concepts for internal (within-class) controls compared with external (between-class) controls. The construct validity of the interpretation of this difference as a diffusion effect was supported by observer and teacher comments and ratings of teacher success in focusing the intervention on experimental students and by different patterns of results for teachers who were more or less successful in maintaining this focus. Potential dangers in sole reliance on internal within-class control groups may outweigh advantages of this expedient experimental design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of managerial success by peer and training-staff ratings.

Examined the predictive validity of peer and training-staff ratings made under "real" conditions in an industrial situation. Ratings were obtained for 156 middle-level managers and 83 higher level executives attending a 4-wk training course. Analysis of 13 peer-related characteristics yielded 2 factors: Impact and Tactfulness. Follow-up showed that later success (promotion and performance appraisal) was predicted by most peer ratings mainly from the Impact factor. Training staff ratings were much weaker predictors and added little to the peer ratings. Broader use of peer ratings for executive selection is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher ratings predict peer ratings of aggression at 3-year follow-up in boys with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Compared initial and 3-yr follow-up peer ratings of 19 boys, who were in Grades 1–3 at the beginning of the study, who had attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH). When the entire group was considered, nominations on the Aggression and Likability factors of a pupil evaluation inventory improved. Subgroups were created using teacher ratings on an aggression scale. Peer ratings of Aggression improved for Ss whom teachers rated below the median on the aggression scale but not for Ss rated above the median. Subgroups reflecting other teacher and peer ratings were less effective in predicting differential change in peer ratings of ADDH Ss. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of ratee task performance and interpersonal factors on supervisor and peer performance ratings.

The study examines the effects of a wide array of rater–ratee relationship and ratee-characteristic variables on supervisor and peer job-performance ratings. Interpersonal ratings, job performance ratings, and ratee scores on ability, job knowledge, and technical proficiency were available for 493 to 631 first-tour US Army soldiers. Results of supervisor and peer ratings-path models showed ratee ability, knowledge, and proficiency accounted for 13% of the variance in supervisor performance ratings and 7% for the peer ratings. Among the interpersonal variables, ratee dependability had the strongest effect for both models. Ratee friendliness and likability had little effect on the performance ratings. Inclusion of the interpersonal factors increased the variance accounted for in the ratings to 28% and 19%, respectively. Discussion focuses on the relative contribution of ratee technical and contextual performance to raters' judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of peer assessment methods: Reliability, validity, friendship bias, and user reaction.

Compared peer nominations, peer rankings, and peer ratings as to reliability, validity, friendship bias, and user reaction. 145 police officers provided each type of peer assessment. Criterion rankings and ratings were provided by 33 squad supervisors. All peer-based methods showed significant reliability and validity, and the validity coefficients were not significantly biased by the friendship between peer assessor and assessee. Peer rankings and peer nominations displayed significantly greater reliability and validity than did peer ratings. User reactions were negative for all methods. Recommendations are made for collection of peer assessment data in nonpolice organizations for comparative purposes and for investigation of techniques to reduce negative reactions to peer assessment. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Children's Ethnicity in the Relationship Between Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Observed Classroom Behavior.

Significant ethnic differences have been consistently documented on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) teacher rating scales. Whether these ethnic differences result from a teacher rating bias or reflect actual classroom behavior patterns is unknown. Ethnic differences between Caucasian and African American (AA) elementary schoolchildren on teacher ratings and codings of observed classroom behavior were examined with latent variables. In structural equation models, correlations between teacher ratings and observed classroom behavior suggested nonbiased teacher ratings of AA schoolchildren with diagnosed ADHD. Ethnic differences were documented for both teacher ratings of ADHD and classroom behavior. Differences in classroom behavior were attenuated when the behavior of an average child in the classroom was taken into account. Multiple explanations for this pattern of results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediating Teacher Liking and Moderating Authoritative Teachering on Chinese Adolescents' Perceptions of Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviors.

The authors present a model of adolescents' peer relations in the classroom that integrates 3 social processes involving the adolescent students, the classroom teacher, and peers. One of the hypotheses was that teacher liking of students mediated the relation between students' social behaviors (e.g.. antisocial disruption and prosocial leadership) and peer acceptance. This mediating teacher influence was also hypothesized to be moderated by the extent to which adolescent students perceived their teacher to be authoritative in teachering. These hypotheses were tested and supported on the basis of a sample of 659 Chinese middle school students. A discussion of these results focuses on the classroom teacher as a social context in the study of children's social interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)