social anxiety and social reasoning in peer-rejected children

Children who experience peer rejection in childhood are at an increased risk for a number of difficulties in later life including juvenile delinquency, school dropout, academic problems, school truancy, and mental health problems (Coie & Dodge, 1990; Hoza et al., 1995; Kuppersmidt, Parker, & Asher, 1987). Several researchers have identified two separate subgroups within the peer rejected group of children, aggressive and nonaggressive (Bierman, Smoot, & Aumiller, 1993; Cillessen et al., 1992). The nonaggressive group has been found to represent up to 50% of the rejected samples, but much is still unknown about the nonaggressive group (French, 1988; Rubin, LeMare, & Lollis, 1990). There are far fewer studies that investigate peer rejection in females than in males, and researchers continue to debate about the unique characteristics of rejection in males and females (e.g., French, 1990; lnderbitzen, Walters, & Bukowski, 1997). The current study examined social reasoning ability, social context, social anxiety, social goals, and feelings of self-efficacy in social situations with nonaggressive peer rejected males and females in comparison to males and females of average peer status. The results of the study indicated that there was no significant difference between the groups on social reasoning or social anxiety. However, the desired number of participants could not be obtained for this study and therefore, the statistical power was lower than was desired. The analyses for the goals and self-efficacy questionnaires produced several significant results indicating differences between the nonaggressive peer rejected children and those of average peer status. The implications of this study and future directions for research are discussed.