Problem Behaviors Associated With Sociometric Status in an Adolescent Population.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the usefulness of the classification system developed by Coie and his colleagues (1982) with an adolescent population by examining the relationship between sociometric status and psychopathology. Five hundred thirty-one sevenththrough ninth-grade students participated in the study. Following the Coie et al. (1982) procedure, children were identified as either popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, or average. The basis for status group membership was scores adolescents received on positive and negative peer nominations. Four social status variables were derived from these measures: (a) liked most peer nomination scores, (b) liked least peer nomination scores, (c) social impact scores, and (d) social preference scores. Following the administration of the liked most and liked least nomination measures, participants were asked to complete self-report instruments regarding their problem behaviors. In addition, teachers were asked to complete measures which assess the problem behaviors of children identified as members of the various status groups. Scores obtained from selfand teacherratings were analyzed using multivariate and univariate statistical analyses. Findings suggested that adolescents classified as rejected and controversial exhibited both internalizing and externalizing disorders, as measured by teacher-ratings, to a greater extent than did popular and average adolescents. Neglected adolescents' scores did not differ significantly from average or popular adolescents. Rejected children also received higher scores than popular children on self-ratings of internalizing disorders. No significant differences between status groups were found for self-ratings of externalizing disorders. Further, teacher-ratings of internalizing and externalizing disorders correlated signifantly with liked most nomination scores, liked least nomination scores, and social preference scores. Social impact scores correlated significantly with teacher-ratings of internalizing disorders. Finally, self-ratings of internalizing disorders showed a significant relationship with liked most nomination scores, liked least nomination scores, and social preference scores. INTRODUCTION From association with the peer group, children learn appropriate moral behavior, important aspects of sexual relationships, the management of aggression, and interpersonal skills. Social development, therefore, ha3 been the focus of research to identify factors associated with poor peer relationships. One method employed frequently to investigate this issue has been to examine the behavioral correlates of social status in the peer group. A child's social status is derived from scores received on sociometric measures such as peer ratings and peer nominations. Subsequently, the relationship between sociometric status and other measures such as peer assessment, behavioral observations, and parent-, teacher-, and self-ratings are examined. The information gleaned from this research is useful when making decisions regarding criteria for selection of children for social skills training, for identifying which social behaviors are necessary for successful interpersonal relationships, and/or for determining which children are at risk for social/emotional adjustment problems. Studies examining the factors associated with peer status in preschool and middlechildhood years have existed for decades; however, research with an adolescent population is scant. Thus, the present study will attempt to extend the literature which has investigated the correlates of sociometric status in early and middlechildhood to adolescents. Of particular interest will be the issue regarding whether a group of children who have been labeled as sociometrically neglected are at risk for social/emotional adjustment problems. The review of the literature will be divided into three sections. First, a brief overview of the types of sociometric techniques employed by researchers in the area will be presented. Second, the literature will be reviewed pertaining to factors associated with sociometric status in childhood. Finally, the existing studies which have sought to identify correlates of sociometric status for adolescents will be discussedd. Sociometric Techniques Generally, sociometric measures consist of three major types: peer nominations, peer ratings, and paired-comparison methods. Peer nomination measures, originally developed by Moreno (1934), are the most frequently used technique and require children to identify one or more peers according to some specified criteria. For example, a child may be asked to nominate three peers whom he or she especially likes or three whom he or she does not like. A child's social status score is usually determined by summing the number of nominations received from classmates. In some cases, scores are determined by assigning weights to each choice. For example, if a child is required to nominate three peers whom they especially like, a weight of +3 will be given to their first choice, a weight of +2 to their second choice, and so on. The issue of the stability of peer nominations has received considerable attention in the literature. Asher and Hymel (1981) reported that test-retest reliability is one of the major assets of nomination measures. Stability over time varies, however, as a function of age, length of time between successive administrations, and valence of the nomination. With elementary school children, 3 adequate stability has been reported (Booney, 19^3; Bush, Ford, & Schulman, 1973; Coie & Dodge, 1983; Coie, Dodge, & Copotelli, 1982; Oden & Asher, 1977; Roff, Sells, & Golden, 1972). For preschoolers, however, reliability coefficients have generally been lower (e.g., Asher, Singleton, Tinsley, & Hymel, 1979; Greenwood, Walker, Todd, & Hops, 1979; Hartup, Glazer, & Charlesworth, 1967). Stabililty has also been found to be affected by the length of time between successive administrations of the measure, with the magnitude of reliability coefficients decreasing as the length of time between administrations increases (Coie & Dodge, 1983). A final factor which has been found to affect stability is the valence of the sociometric choice. Social status such as acceptance derived from positive nominations appears to be more stable than status based on negative peer nominations (Hartup et al., 1967). The second major type of sociometric measures, peer ratings, sometimes referred to as roster-and-rating measures, requires children to rate each peer on a Likert-type scale according to some specified criteria, such as liking or friendship. An advantage of the peer rating technique compared to the peer nomination sociometric is that each child in the group receives a rating from their peers. Because each rating is based on a larger number of data points, the reliability of ratings is greater than that found for nominations. The disadvantages of peer ratings are the same as those found for rating techniques in general (Saal, Downey, & Lahey, 1980). Children may possess a response bias, always selecting a certain point on the scale. Further, children may rate classmates in a steroetypical manner by assigning everyone the same rating. Finally, different points on the scale continuum may have different meanings for different children. The third major type of sociometric is the paired-comparison method. With this procedure, children are presented, in turn, with all possible dyad3 or pairs of peers within the reference group and, for each pair, are required to state a preference for one or the other peer. Again, as with nominations and ratings, a specified interpersonal criterion is used. Children may be presented with pairs of names or photographs of other children. Choices are generally positive; however, negative choices may be asked for (e.g., Burns, 1964). The major advantage of the paired-comparison technique is its superior reliability. Witryol and Thompson (1953) compared the test-retest reliability of a paired-comparison method to that of peer nominations. Coefficients that ranged from . 59 to . 96 were found for nominations while coefficients for paired-comparisons were in the . 90fs. The major disadvantage of this method is the rather lengthy administration time required. In summary, the three major types of methods used to assess sociometric status consist of peer nominations, peer ratings, and paired-comparisons. Test-retest reliability of these instruments varies as a function of (1) the type of instrument used, (2) the length of time between succesive administrations, (3) the age of the population studied, and (4) the valence of the socioraetric choice (i.e., whether positive or negative nominations are asked for). Although peer nominations are the most widely used sociometric instrument, peer ratings and paired-comparison techniques have several advantages compared to nominations. With both peer ratings and paired-comparisons, a score is derived for each member of the reference group. In addition, estimates of stability are greater for ratings and paired-comparison techniques. Paired-comparisons, however, require a lengthy administration time. While peer ratings appear to be superior to nominations in terms of reliability, more recent classification systems employing nominations have increased the utility of these instruments. These will be discussed in the following section of this paper. Status Group Identification for Preschool and Middlechildhood Although studies examining the variables associated with peer popularity have existed since the 1930s (e.g., Koch, 1933), several methodological problems have plagued the literature. First, no consistent method has been employed to identify the well accepted or poorly accepted child; peer rating scales, peer nomination measures, and pair-comparison techniques have all been used. Second, a universal categorization system for characterizing highor low-