Although positive peer relationships have been shown to promote healthy school involvement and academic achievement, subpopulations of perceived popular (i.e., socially prominent, high status), but aggressive, youth have been identified who exhibit poor school functioning. The objective of this study was to examine whether attainment of perceived popularity may be a contributing factor in the school difficulties of these aggressive youth. Data were collected from 208 early adolescents (95 boys; 113 girls) during the fall and spring of their fourth- and fifth-grade years. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that, for children with above-average levels of aggression, perceived popularity predicts trajectories of increasing school avoidance and declining academic performance. These results were significant even after accounting for how integrated children were in their social network (i.e., how many friends they had), providing further support to the contention that for aggressive youth, social status serves as a risk factor for school maladjustment.

The present study tested whether a close relationship with the teacher would reduce, or a conflictual relationship would amplify, links between peer victimization and school maladjustment. Data on 352 3rd- and 4th-grade children (166 boys; 186 girls) were collected over a two-year period. Teachers provided data on their relationships with students and students' academic performance. Children completed measures assessing peer victimization and school liking. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that at high levels of peer victimization declines in school liking were reduced when student shared a close, low conflict, relationship with their teacher. Furthermore, a combination of peer victimization and poor teacher-child relationship quality predicted trajectories of sustained, low academic performance. These findings highlight the benefits of a close relationship with the teacher for victimized children and the cumulative impact stress within peer- and teacher-relationships can have on students.

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