Friendship, Negative Peer Experiences, and Daily Positive and Negative Mood

Abstract

We examined the effect of negative peer experiences (NPEs; peer victimization and exclusion) on mood (depressed, angry, positive). Seventy-seven (43 female) fifth graders from elementary schools located in a small town in the Midwest completed a friendship quality measure, in addition to daily reports (seven school days) of mood and peer experiences. Multilevel modeling showed that children who had NPEs in which no one intervened had more negative and less positive mood. For negative mood, this result was attenuated if the child had a friend who was generally helpful. The results demonstrate the positive role of bystanders during NPEs and highlight the protective role of high-quality friendships.

The importance of peer relatedness at school for affective well‐being in children: Between‐ and within‐person associations

“…Note that reliabilities on the between‐person level are usually higher due to averaging across all sessions (maximum of 18 in Grade 3 and 17 in Grade 4). Reliabilities reported in the present article are in line with those reported by other researchers using intensive longitudinal designs (e.g., Lengua, ; Morrow et al, ; Reavis et al, ). Correlations between PA and NA were moderately negative in all sessions on the within‐person level ( r = −0.28 to −0.38) and the between‐person level ( r = −0.27 to −0.47).…”

“…Yet, it does not include direct experiences of social rejection or exclusion, which might be a crucial point: it may be necessary to assess active relatedness frustration (e.g., exclusion). In future research, children should be asked whether someone in their class ostracized or picked on them (Reavis et al, ) in order to examine potential differentiated effects of social inclusion and exclusion on PA and NA. If such effects exist, it would be worth investigating whether the positive link between peer relatedness and PA serves as some kind of protective factor against the diminishing effects of social exclusion on well‐being.…”

“…PA and NA typically are correlated negatively, yet clearly separable, indicating that the presence of PA does not automatically imply the absence of NA and vice versa (Diener, Smith, & Fujita, ; Lucas, Diener, & Suh, ). Therefore, it is recommended to assess both PA and NA in order to thoroughly cover affective well‐being and to assess potential differentiated effects on its components (Diener et al, ; Martin & Huebner, ; Reavis, Donohue, & Upchurch, ).…”

“…Although there are a few intensive longitudinal studies assessing within‐person associations, they have focused mainly on negative social experiences (e.g., victimization; Morrow, Hubbard, Barhight, & Thomson, ; Nishina, ; Nishina & Juvonen, ). Furthermore, with one exception (Reavis et al, ), they only assessed negative affective outcomes. As far as we know, there is only one study by Lehman and Repetti () capturing the effects of positive peer experiences (i.e., peer success, referring to having had a good time with peers, for instance) on both PA (positive mood) and NA (anxious mood).…”

Observed Emotions as Predictors of Quality of Kindergartners’ Social Relationships

“…Study limitations include the inability to examine possible bidirectional associations between emotional expression and relationship quality in school. It is quite possible that the quality of children's social relationships at school affect both the intensity and frequency of their expressed emotions (Reavis, Donohue, & Upchurch, ). In addition, longitudinal research on the relations of emotional intensity and frequency to the quality of social relationships would clarify the generalizability of our results at different age ranges and during school transitions.…”