This study investigates links between children's social behaviour and their sociometric status, empathy and social problem-solving strategies. Sociometric ratings were obtained from a sample of 131 9-10-year-old children drawn from two matched schools. Each child also completed a newly developed and empirically derived Social Behaviour Questionnaire. This questionnaire led to the identification of 21 prosocial children, 23 bullies and 14 victims of bullying. Children in these subgroups were then assessed on measures of empathy and social problem-solving. Prosocial children were significantly more popular than the other role groups, and bully-victims were most frequently rejected by their peers. Prosocial children also showed greater empathic awareness than either bullies or victims, but gender was the significant source of variance. Prosocial children and victims responded more constructively than did bullies to socially awkward situations, and bullies were less aware than prosocial children of the possible negative consequences of their solution strategies.
The present study aimed to draw on 2 theoretical models to examine the relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and psychological distress in a sample of ethnic minority young people (N ϭ 154). Analysis provided no support for the hypothesis derived from the self-esteem theory of depression that self-esteem (personal and ethnic) moderates the discrimination-distress relationship. There was, however, partial support for a mediating role of self-esteem, as predicted by the transactional model of stress and coping. This mediational relationship was moderated by gender, such that both forms of self-esteem exerted a mediating role among men but not women. The authors consider the implications of their findings for theory and future research examining the consequences of discrimination on psychological well-being.
Peer-victimization and bullying appear to be qualitatively different experiences for children and adolescents, with bullying being the more serious phenomenon.
Heart rate (HR) was employed to compare vicarious affective arousal across three groups of children (aged 7.6 - 11, N = 95): Conduct Disordered (CD) elevated on Callous-Unemotional traits (CD/CU), CD low on CU traits (CD-only), and [Symbol: see text]typically-developing' controls, matched in age, gender and socioeconomic background. While watching an emotion evocative film, participants' HR was monitored. Immediately after viewing, self-reported vicarious responses were obtained. Participants also completed the Bryant Empathy Index. CD/CU children displayed lower magnitude of HR change than both CD-only and controls. Both CD groups reported fewer vicarious responses and scored lower than controls on the empathy index. These results support distinct deficits across CD subsets, suggestive of distinct mechanisms underlying their antisocial conduct.
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