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13 - Social Self-Discrepancy Theory and Loneliness During Childhood and Adolescence
- Edited by Ken J. Rotenberg, Keele University, Shelley Hymel, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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- Book:
- Loneliness in Childhood and Adolescence
- Published online:
- 13 October 2009
- Print publication:
- 28 June 1999, pp 263-279
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Summary
In this chapter, we are interested in loneliness in children and adolescents and its relevance to their adjustment. The subjective experience of loneliness as a negative affective state associated with deficits in the formation of social relationships has long been recognized as an important area of study in adults (see Marangoni & Ickes, 1989, for a review). However, until the past decade, loneliness was relatively neglected in the child and adolescent literature. In recent years, a growing body of literature has emerged to suggest that children and adolescents experience feelings of loneliness related to problems in social relationships. Indeed, approximately 10% of children between kindergarten through eighth grade report feeling very lonely (Asher et al., 1984; Asher & Wheeler, 1985; Cassidy & Asher, 1992; Parkhurst & Asher, 1992). These and other studies highlight the fact that loneliness can occur with alarming frequency across child and adolescent development.
Loneliness is related to a range of emotional, social, and behavioral problems for children, adolescents, and adults. Emotional problems include low self-esteem (Hymel et al., 1990), depression (Goswick & Jones, 1981), and social anxiety (Moore & Schultz, 1983). Social problems include peer rejection and victimization, lack of friendships, and lack of highquality friendships (Asher et al., 1990; Asher & Wheeler, 1985; Boivin & Hymel, 1996; Crick & Ladd, 1993; Kochenderfer & Ladd, 1996; Parker & Asher, 1993b). Behavioral problems include shyness, social withdrawal, spending more time alone (Horowitz, French, & Anderson, 1982; Jones et al., 1981; Russell et al., 1980), dating frequency (Brennan, 1982), and decreased participation in religious and extracurricular school activities (Brennan, 1982).
4 - Social self-discrepancy: A theory relating peer relations problems and school maladjustment
- Edited by Jaana Juvonen, University of Delaware, Kathryn R. Wentzel, University of Maryland, College Park
- Foreword by Bernard Weiner
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- Book:
- Social Motivation
- Published online:
- 22 October 2009
- Print publication:
- 13 September 1996, pp 66-97
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Summary
A growing body of literature indicates that problematic peer relations in childhood and adolescence are predictive of both academic and behavioral problems in school (see Kohlberg, LaCrosse, & Ricks, 1972; Kupersmidt, Coie, & Dodge, 1990; Parker & Asher, 1987, for reviews). The findings from this literature have been important for the development of criteria for defining, identifying, and screening children at risk for school maladjustment. Despite the fact that the relation between problematic peer relations and school maladjustment has been replicated across samples of children from different ethnic, geographic, and developmental groups, little is known about the mechanisms by which problematic peer relations may affect school maladjustment. The development and testing of such mechanisms has been slow, in part, because the transactional relations among social, behavioral, and academic functioning over time have been difficult to study due to methodological limitations and practical constraints. It is likely that there is a bidirectional influence between peer relations and school maladjustment; however, this chapter focuses only on one side of the equation, namely, the influence of problematic peer relations on school maladjustment. In this chapter, school maladjustment is defined in terms of behavioral, emotional, or academic difficulties that may interfere with adequate functioning in school.
One mechanism that has been proposed for understanding the impact that problematic peer relations have on children's school maladjustment suggests that poor peer relations are stressful for children due to both the experienced negative affect and the accompanying lack of social support that, in turn, increases children's vulnerability to other life stressors (Armacost, 1989; Colton & Gore, 1991; see also Birch & Ladd, this volume).
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