SOCIOEMOTIONAL

DEV'T IN THE MIDDLE

AND LATE CHILDHOOD
In terms of peer relationships
CONTENTS

Developmental Peer Social

Bullying Friends
Changes Status Cognition
 Having positive relationships with peers is
important in this stage of human development (Nesi
& others, 2017; Rubin & Barstead, 2018)
 Reciprocity

DEVELOPMENTAL Social interaction increases

CHANGES from approximately 2% (age 2)
to more than 30% in this stage
(Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker,
2006)

Peer size increases and

supervision decreases with
age; preference for same-sex
peer groups increases
Sociometric Status (Achtenberg & PEER STATUS
others, 2017; Cillessen & Bukowski, 2018;
Wentzel & Asher, 1995)

POPULAR CHILDREN

AVERAGE CHILDREN

NEGLECTED CHILDREN

REJECTED CHILDREN

CONTROVERSIAL CHILDREN
SOCIAL COGNITION
Social Cognition are thoughts
about social matters

Children's social cognition about their peers becomes

increasingly important for understanding peer
relationships in this stage (Dodge, 2011a, b)
 INFORMATION SELECTIVELY ATTEND TO SOCIAL CUES

PROCESSING
ATTRIBUTE INTENT BY INTERPRETING
Dodge (1983, 2011a, b) argues SOCIAL CUES
that children go through these
six steps
ESTABLISH SOCIAL GOALS

ACCESS BEHAVIORAL SCRIPTS FROM MEMORY

& GENERATE PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

EVALUATE THE LIKELY EFFECTIVENESS

OF STRATEGIES & MAKE DECISIONS

ENACT BEHAVIOR
BULLYING Bullying is a verbal or physical
behavior meant to disturb
someone less powerful

SIGNIFICANT NO. OF STUDENTS ARE

VICTIMS OF BULLYING (HALL, 2017)

LOOKS OR SPEECH WAS THE MOST

FREQUENT SUBJECT FOR BULLYING

BOYS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE BULLIES, BUT GENDER

DIFFERENCES ON VICTIMS ARE UNCLEAR (PEETS, HODGES,
& SALMIVALLI, 2011)

BEING BULLIED = MORE LONELINESS

& DIFFICULTY MAKING FRIENDS
Anxious, socially withdrawn, aggressive,
and overweight children are common
victims (Coplan & others, 2018)
Social contexts (poverty, family, school,
etc.)
Frequent bullying = high social status;
perceived popularity

OTHER FACTORS
 Worse physical and mental
EFFECTS OF health (Bogart & others, 2014)
BULLYING More likely to experience stress,
The psychological impact of depression, suicidal ideation, and
attempt suicide (Undheim & Sund, 2014)
bullying in the middle to late
childhood stage Tendency to internalize problems,
especially in adolescence (Schwartz
& others, 2015)

More likely to gain excess weight

Difficulty in forming lasting

relationships
CYBERBULLYING Cyberbullying (peer bullying and
harassment on the Internet) is a growing
concern and has more profound effects
than traditional bullying.

It was more strongly associated with suicidal ideation

compared to traditional bullying (Van Geel, Vedder, & Tanilon,
2015)
Engaging in cyber aggression was linked to loneliness, lower
self-esteem, fewer mutual friendships, and lower peer
popularity (Schoffstall & Cohen, 2011)
 FRIENDS
Friendship is an important aspect of
children's development (Bagwell &
Bukowski, 2018)

PROVIDE
COGNITIVE
SIMILARITY &
EMOTIONAL
RESOURCES
 COMPANIONSHIP
FUNCTIONS
Six functions of children's STIMULATION
friendships according to
Gottman and Parker (1987).
PHYSICAL SUPPORT

EGO SUPPORT

SOCIAL COMPARISON

AFFECTION & INTIMACY

Friendships are not
all alike! (Bagwell &
Bukowski, 2018)