CHILDRENS BELIEFS ABOUT FAMILIAR AND UNFAMILIAR PEERS IN RELATION TO THEIR SOCIOMETRIC STATUS

In this study, children's general beliefs about familiar and unfamiliar peers were examined in relationship to their sociometric status and their experience with parents. In the initial phase involving 886 4th and 5th graders, submissive rejected children but not aggressive rejected children reported less positive beliefs about peers than average status children. In the 2nd portion, which included 77 boys and girls from the larger sample, no relationship between children's sociometric status and their beliefs about unfamiliar peers was found. Beliefs about unfamiliar peers were related, however, to children's perception of the amount of acceptance and support they received from parents. Implications of these findings for children's social competence are discussed.