Patterns and temporal changes in peer affiliation among aggressive and nonaggressive children participating in a summer school program

Examined the behavior and affiliation patterns of 118 highly, moderately, a nd nonaggressive 7-year-old children over the course of a 6-week summer sch ool program. During free play, participants did not selectively associate o n the basis of behavioral similarity, but initial mutual friendship choices did show a preference for similarly behaved peers. Nonreciprocated friends hips at the beginning and end of the program and mutual friendships at the end revealed a preference of all children to befriend nonaggressive peers. Moderately aggressive children increased their number of mutual friendships and their association with nonaggressive peers during free play, whereas h ighly aggressive children lost mutual friends. The aggressiveness of a chil d's playmates predicted the likelihood of that child behaving inappropriate ly during free play. Results suggest that selective affiliation may be the result of peer rejection rather than an active process of seeking similarly aggressive peers.