Interpersonal Perceptions of Adverse Peer Experiences in First-Grade Students

Francisco J García Bacete; Inmaculada Sureda-García; Victoria Muñoz-Tinoco; Irene Jiménez-Lagares; Ghislaine Marande Perrin; Jesús F Rosel

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01165

Interpersonal Perceptions of Adverse Peer Experiences in First-Grade Students

Front Psychol. 2018 Jul 10:9:1165. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01165. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Francisco J García Bacete^{1

2}, Inmaculada Sureda-García^{2

3}, Victoria Muñoz-Tinoco^{2

4}, Irene Jiménez-Lagares^{2

4}, Ghislaine Marande Perrin^{1

2}, Jesús F Rosel¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology, and Methodology, Jaume I University, Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
² GREI Interuniversity Research Group, Jaume I University, Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
³ Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
⁴ Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify which adverse peer experiences better predict perceived negative peer relationships among elementary school first graders according to sex. The peer experiences examined were peer rejection, peer victimization, and mutual antipathy; the interpersonal perceptions studied were perceived peer victimization, dyadic meta-perception of peer disliking, and loneliness. Methods: The participants were 809 children (M_age = 6.4 years, SD = 0.32; n_girls = 412, 50.9%) enrolled in 35 first-grade classes from 15 schools in 4 Spanish regions: Valencia, n = 276, 34.1%; Balearic Islands, n = 140, 17.3%; Andalusia, n = 199, 24.6%; Castile-Leon, n = 194, 24%. We calculated sex differences in peer experiences and interpersonal perceptions by means of one-way ANOVA for means differences and Fisher's r-to-z transformation for correlations differences. We used a multilevel regression analysis (nesting variables: class and region) to determine whether the associations between each peer experiences and each perception were unique. Results: Each adverse peer relationship predicted each interpersonal perception differentially. Peer victimization was a good predictor of the three interpersonal perceptions, and the only predictor of perceived peer victimization. Peer rejection predicted loneliness, whereas mutual antipathies predicted dyadic meta-perception of peer disliking, although more so among girls. A significant effect at region level was found but not at class level. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that research should take into account the different levels of the social peer system when analyzing peer experiences within the classroom context. The study contributes to sensitize teachers about the greater responsiveness of 6-year-old girls to adverse peer experiences, and it could be useful for designing interventions that would help children oppose rejection and empower active bystanders to fight against peer mistreatment.

Keywords: adverse peer experiences; mutual antipathy; negative interpersonal perceptions; peer rejection; peer social system; peer victimization.