The Relationship Among Peer Acceptance, Social Impact, and Academic Achievement in Middle Childhood

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of academic achievement to four categories of social status including popular, rejected, isolated, and amiable, and to the variables of peer acceptance and social impact. Subjects were 145 elementary school children, grades 3 through 6. The children responded to a questionnaire designed to assess peer acceptance as well as rejection. Data consisted of (a) acceptance scores based on the predominance of either acceptance or rejection responses from peers and (b) social impact scores based on the number of children who mentioned a given child either positively or negatively. These scores were correlated with each child’s Iowa Test of Basic Skills composite score. Pooled-within correlations indicated that acceptance correlated positively and significantly with academic achievement, whereas social impact correlated negatively and significantly with achievement. Children above average in achievement were significantly more often considered amiable or popular than rejected or isolated. They were just as likely to be considered amiable as popular. Students below average in achievement were significantly more often rejected than were above average students. When they were given positive mention, these youngsters were more often considered amiable than popular.