ERIC Number: EJ1461601
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Feb
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0140-1971
EISSN: EISSN-1095-9254
Available Date: 2020-01-21
Positive Influence of Peers' Interpersonal Character on Children's Interpersonal Character: The Moderating Role of Children's and Peers' Social Status
Lisha Liu1,2; Liangyuan Xu2; Xue Xiao2; Lu Liu2; Yanfang Li2
Journal of Adolescence, v79 n1 p157-172 2020
Introduction: Peers are an important source of influence on children's social development. This study investigated the positive association between peers' and children's interpersonal character (i.e., humanity and justice) and the moderating role of children's and peers' social status including wealth (family SES), power (class leadership), and prestige (social preference and social visibility). Methods: The participants were 1555 fourth-to ninth-graders (M[subscript age] = 12.76; 46.9% boys) and their reciprocal playmates in China. Questionnaires and peer nomination methods were used to measure interpersonal character and social status. Children's reciprocal playmates were used as the source of peer influence. Results: The playmates' humanity and justice were positively associated with the children's humanity and justice regardless of the child's grade, gender, or sibling status. Children's level of social visibility moderated the associations between the playmates' and the children's humanity and justice, with children of low social visibility being more strongly influenced by their playmates. The moderating role of playmates' social status was displayed in two modes and appeared in the secondary school and singleton samples. First, playmates with a higher social preference were more closely related to secondary school children's justice; second, playmates with lower social visibility were more closely related to secondary school children's and singletons' justice. Conclusions: The findings confirm the positive relationships between peers' and children's interpersonal character and reveal an important moderating role of prestige status, especially social visibility, among the relationships. This study extends the research on positive peer influence and contributes to knowledge of peer influence mechanisms.
Descriptors: Peer Relationship, Social Status, Socioeconomic Status, Personality Traits, Social Development, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Peer Influence, Justice, Prosocial Behavior, Siblings, Gender Differences, Instructional Program Divisions, Foreign Countries
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Center for Teacher Education Research, Beijing, PR China; 2Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing, PR China