Peers And Antisocial Behavior
A study indicates that what parents decry,
peers often promote. The survey of 452 boys in grades four through six
in Chicago and North Carolina shows the most popular and socially accepted
kids are often the ones with the most aggressive, antisocial tendencies.
The bottom line is startling: children are
rewarded with popularity for being antisocial, said psychologist Philip
Rodkin of Duke University, the lead author of the study appearing in Developmental
Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
The implications are far-reaching, the authors
said, noting, "If some popular children are also antisocial, they may be
overlooked in programs (focused mainly on unpopular children) that assist
children toward positive developmental outcomes, and they also may have
a large and negative influence on their peers."
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