About this Research Topic
Research has shown that peer acceptance is an important indicator of children’s and adolescents’ psychological and social adjustment, whereas peer rejection is associated with adverse consequences for mental health and social development. Traditionally, peer acceptance has been associated with social competence behaviors such as prosocial behaviors, including support and cooperation among peers. By contrast, aggressive behaviors and other antisocial behaviors have been linked to rejection and exclusion among peers. There is nonetheless growing evidence to suggest that aggression and antisocial behaviors, especially in late childhood and adolescence, are also associated with social acceptance and dominance among peers. Rodkin, Farmer, Peral and van Acker (2000), for example, described two types of popular secondary students. The popular-prosocial students with good academic skills and the popular-antisocial students who are aggressive, disruptive and less academically skilled. Socially dominant or popular peers may be socially attractive even if they wield their status aggressively. Resource-control theory, for example, suggests that antisociality and prosociality, or mixed strategies (bistrategic peers) may serve the same function (Hawley, 1999). Embracing both aggressive self-assertion and niceness strategies can increase acceptance and dominance among peers.
The present Research Topic aims to explore how prosocial and antisocial (attitudes and) behaviors are associated with social acceptance and dominance between peers during childhood and adolescence. Our intention is to gather papers from different countries and incorporate analyses from several disciplines. We would like to encourage submissions describing research involving a wide range of social and individual variables. All kinds of papers are invited: conceptual, methodological, narrative reviews, systematic reviews, experimental research, findings based on survey data and qualitative studies. Cross-cultural comparative papers are particularly welcome, along with studies with children or youths from a variety of backgrounds with respect to socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, and other family conditions.
Submissions may address, but need not be limited to, the following topics:
- Peer acceptance and dominance in educational contexts.
- Bullying behavior.
- Studies on popularity among peers.
- Disruptive behaviors.
- Cooperation, peer acceptance and peer dominance
- Peer acceptance and dominance in virtual contexts.
- Social attractiveness, popularity and dating relationships.
The present Research Topic aims to explore how prosocial and antisocial (attitudes and) behaviors are associated with social acceptance and dominance between peers during childhood and adolescence. Our intention is to gather papers from different countries and incorporate analyses from several disciplines. We would like to encourage submissions describing research involving a wide range of social and individual variables. All kinds of papers are invited: conceptual, methodological, narrative reviews, systematic reviews, experimental research, findings based on survey data and qualitative studies. Cross-cultural comparative papers are particularly welcome, along with studies with children or youths from a variety of backgrounds with respect to socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, and other family conditions.
Submissions may address, but need not be limited to, the following topics:
- Peer acceptance and dominance in educational contexts.
- Bullying behavior.
- Studies on popularity among peers.
- Disruptive behaviors.
- Cooperation, peer acceptance and peer dominance
- Peer acceptance and dominance in virtual contexts.
- Social attractiveness, popularity and dating relationships.
Keywords: acceptance, dominance, prosocial behaviors, antisocial behaviors, social preference
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
