REJECTION SENSITIVITY AND CHILDRENS INTERPERSONAL DIFFICULTIES

Some children respond to social rejection in ways that undermine their relationships, whereas others respond with more equanimity. This arti cle reports 3 studies that test the proposition that rejection sensiti vity-the disposition to defensively (i.e., anxiously or angrily) expec t, readily perceive, and overreact to social rejection-helps explain i ndividual differences in response to social rejection. Data were from urban, minority (primarily Hispanic and African American) fifth to sev enth graders. Study 1 describes the development of a measure of reject ion sensitivity for children. Study 2 provides experimental evidence t hat children who angrily expected rejection showed heightened distress following an ambiguously intentioned rejection by a peer. Study 3 sho ws that rejection sensitive children behaved more aggressively and exp erienced increased interpersonal difficulties and declines in academic functioning over time.