What Makes a Girl (or a Boy) Popular (or Unpopular)? African American Children's Perceptions and Developmental Differences

Open-ended questions were used to obtain narrative accounts of what makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular) at school. The participants were 489 African American students in Grades 1, 4, and 7 recruited from high-risk inner-city neighborhoods. Appearance and self-presentation were mentioned t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2006-07, Vol.42 (4), p.599-612
Main Authors: Xie, Hongling, Li, Yan, Boucher, Signe M, Hutchins, Bryan C, Cairns, Beverley D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Attitudes
Adolescent Development
African American Children
African Americans
Age Differences
Age Factors
Aggression - psychology
Antisocial Behavior
Antisocial Personality Disorder - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Black American people
Black or African American
Black People
Black People - psychology
Child
Child Attitudes
Child Development
Childhood Attitudes
Childhood Development
Children
Children & youth
Development
Developmental psychology
Deviant behaviour
Dominance-Subordination
Educational Status
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender
Gender Differences
Grade 1
Grade 4
Grade 7
Human
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Individual Characteristics
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Peer Acceptance
Peer Group
Peer Relationship
Personal Construct Theory
Personality Development
Popularity
Poverty Areas
Prosocial Behavior
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychosocial Deprivation
Self image
Sex Factors
Social Desirability
Social Perception
Social Support
Students
Urban Areas
Urban Population
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Summary:Open-ended questions were used to obtain narrative accounts of what makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular) at school. The participants were 489 African American students in Grades 1, 4, and 7 recruited from high-risk inner-city neighborhoods. Appearance and self-presentation were mentioned the most in Grades 4 and 7. Prosocial characteristics were especially relevant for popularity in Grade 1, as were studentship in Grade 4 and peer affiliations in Grade 7. Deviant behaviors were nominated for popularity more frequently in Grade 7 than in the younger grades and more for boys' popularity than for girls'. The mean deviance scores were negative in all grade levels, suggesting a normative peer culture. Male groups in Grade 7 showed significant homophily in reports of deviant behaviors.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.599