Behavioral Profiles of Anxious Solitary Children: Predicting Peer Relations Trajectories from Third Through Fifth Grades.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Behavioral Profiles of Anxious Solitary Children: Predicting Peer Relations Trajectories from Third Through Fifth Grades.
Authors:	Gazelle, Heidi¹ hgazelle@unimelb.edu.au, Shell, Madelynn D.² hgazelle1@gmail.com
Source:	Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2017, Vol. 63 Issue 2, p237-281. 45p.
Subject Terms:	Child psychology, Peer relations, *Psychology of school children, Anxiety in children, Attention-seeking
Abstract:	Consistent with a holistic perspective emphasizing the integration of multiple individual characteristics within child systems, it was hypothesized that subgroups of anxious solitary (AS) children differentiated by agreeable, normal, attention-seeking, and externalizing behaviors would demonstrate enduring heterogeneity in peer relations over the last three years of elementary school, a period of relative ecological stability. Subgroup analyses were conducted with 661 children (mean age in third grade = 8.66 years, 51.6% female) who participated in peer sociometrics in the fall and spring of the third through fifth grades. Recess observations were conducted for a subset of these children (n = 227) once in the third and fourth grades and twice in fifth grade. About half of children retained the same subgroup classification from third through fourth and fifth grades--a significant pattern of stability. Results revealed some normative patterns of change (particularly for recess observations) and groupspecific patterns of change in peer relations over time. However, the overarching pattern was stability and the preservation of initial between-group differences in peer relations over time. Taken together, results revealed that Agreeable AS children demonstrated significantly superior relational adaptation relative to other AS children, whereas Normative, Attention-seeking, and Externalizing AS children demonstrated successively worse relational adversity. Attention-seeking AS children engaged in particularly high rates of solitary directed behavior and were most ignored by peers. Both Attention-seeking AS and Externalizing AS children were most often victimized by peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology is the property of Wayne State University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Consistent with a holistic perspective emphasizing the integration of multiple individual characteristics within child systems, it was hypothesized that subgroups of anxious solitary (AS) children differentiated by agreeable, normal, attention-seeking, and externalizing behaviors would demonstrate enduring heterogeneity in peer relations over the last three years of elementary school, a period of relative ecological stability. Subgroup analyses were conducted with 661 children (mean age in third grade = 8.66 years, 51.6% female) who participated in peer sociometrics in the fall and spring of the third through fifth grades. Recess observations were conducted for a subset of these children (n = 227) once in the third and fourth grades and twice in fifth grade. About half of children retained the same subgroup classification from third through fourth and fifth grades--a significant pattern of stability. Results revealed some normative patterns of change (particularly for recess observations) and groupspecific patterns of change in peer relations over time. However, the overarching pattern was stability and the preservation of initial between-group differences in peer relations over time. Taken together, results revealed that Agreeable AS children demonstrated significantly superior relational adaptation relative to other AS children, whereas Normative, Attention-seeking, and Externalizing AS children demonstrated successively worse relational adversity. Attention-seeking AS children engaged in particularly high rates of solitary directed behavior and were most ignored by peers. Both Attention-seeking AS and Externalizing AS children were most often victimized by peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	0272930X
DOI:	10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.63.2.0237