Position in the Peer Group’s Perceived Organizational Structure:

Abstract

Position in the perceived peer group organization was assessed using a multidimensional scaling strategy and was compared with measures of social status and mutual friendship in a sample of 404 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students. Perceived organization position was correlated significantly to social preference, like-most nominations, and like-least nominations but not to social impact. Furthermore, peer group members who were marginal in the perceived structure were more likely to have a rejected status and to be friendless, whereas those in a central position were more likely to be popular and have at least one friend. Most rejected students, however, were not marginal in the perceived structure. Marginal-rejected group members, compared with nonmarginal-rejected individuals, had more negative scores on social status measures. It was hypothesized that studying the overlap between position in the group’s perceived organization and social status might be useful for discriminating types of rejected children and adolescents.