The world of parents and peers: coercive exchanges and children's social adaptation

Abstract

The relation among child antisocial behavior, child coercive exchanges with parents and peers, and the social adaptation of middle-childhood-aged boys and girls was investigated. The 374 children were observed during laboratory tasks with their parents and during recess with peers. A covariance model was tested that hypothesized that coercive exchanges with parents and peers would contribute uniquely to a multiple-agent assessment of child antisocial behavior, supporting an ecological view of social development. A single model described both boys and girls adequately, although minor gender-specific variations in effect size did produce a better fit. Children's antisocial behavior was associated with school maladaption primarily among boys, as represented by academic engagement in the classroom and peer nominations of social preference. Children's antisocial behavior and coercive interactions, in contrast, were correlated with peer antisocial behavior in both girls and boys.

Are Adolescents’ Mutually Hostile Interactions at Home Reproduced in Other Everyday Life Contexts?

“…Our results are consistent with previous findings on how mutual hostility unfolds in the family and at school (Snyder and Patterson 1995;Schwartz et al 1997), and between the family and school (Dishion et al 1994;Snyder et al 1994). Although previous studies have shown that adolescents' maladaptive behaviors are transmitted from the home to other settings (Patterson 1986;Schwartz et al 1997), most of these studies have focused solely on home-to-school adjustment.…”

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Peer Violence and Popularity and Delinquency in Adolescent Boys: Examining Effects by Family Functioning

“…The coercion model of development suggests that a coercive pattern of socialization begins within the family and may later generalize to relationships outside of the family (i.e., peer relationships), further supporting an antisocial pattern of socialization (Dishion, Patterson, & Griesler, 1994; Patterson, 1982). The confluence model of peer influence builds upon this research and suggests that conventional peers reject children engaging in coercive socialization, limiting coercive children to socialize with other rejected children, also likely to be coercive and/or antisocial (Dishion et al, 1994). Over time, deviant behavior escalates through peer reinforcement of antisocial values, attitudes, and behavior (e.g., deviancy training; Dishion, Duncan, Eddy, Fagot, & Fetrow, 1994; Dishion et al, 1994).…”

The Role of Bicultural Stress and Perceived Context of Reception in the Expression of Aggression and Rule Breaking Behaviors Among Recent-Immigrant Hispanic Youth

“…Two notable risk behaviors that heighten susceptibility for downward assimilation are aggression and rule breaking behaviors. More aggressive youth often have difficulty integrating with their more normatively oriented peers, a form of social rejection that then can encourage friendships and bonding with adolescents more tolerant and encouraging of these behaviors (Dishion, Duncan, Eddy, Fagot, & Fetrow, 1994; Tremblay, Pagani-Kurtz, Mâsse, Vitaro, & Pihl, 1995). Associations with other delinquent youth are strong correlates of aggression and general deviancy, but have also been evidenced to increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of problematic behaviors that only further alienate students from mainstream groups (Copeland-Linder, Lambert, & Ialongo, 2010; Gil & Vega, 2001; Nagin & Tremblay, 2001).…”