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Children’s Social–Emotional Development in Contexts of Peer Exclusion

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Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth

Abstract

In this chapter, we review literature on the social–emotional processes of peer inclusion and exclusion from childhood to adolescence with a focus on peer exclusion based on minority status in distinct categories (e.g., ethnicity/nationality, gender, socioeconomic status). We begin with a brief historical review of research on social–emotional development in the context of peer relationships, followed by current research questions and methods. In our review of empirical findings under prevailing integrative developmental theories (i.e., moral emotions theory and social–developmental reasoning theory), we highlight children’s feelings and reasoning in contexts of peer exclusion, and the emotional and behavioral outcomes thereof. We then discuss the risks of failing to address peer exclusion in multicultural societies and offer guidelines and strategies for prevention and intervention. Finally, we conclude with a proposed research agenda that aims to address gaps in the literature and provide avenues for future research.

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Acknowledgments

The first author was funded, in part, by a New Investigator Salary Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Deerfield Hall, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada

    Tina Malti, Tyler Colasante, Joanna Peplak & Na Young Bae

  2. Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Antonio Zuffianò

  3. NYU-ECNU Institute for Social Development at NYU Shanghai, New York University Shanghai, Shangai, China

    Lixian Cui

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  1. Tina Malti
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  2. Antonio Zuffianò
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  3. Lixian Cui
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  4. Tyler Colasante
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  5. Joanna Peplak
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  6. Na Young Bae
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Correspondence to Tina Malti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Natasha J. Cabrera

  2. Fakultät für Psychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Birgit Leyendecker

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Malti, T., Zuffianò, A., Cui, L., Colasante, T., Peplak, J., Bae, N.Y. (2017). Children’s Social–Emotional Development in Contexts of Peer Exclusion. In: Cabrera, N., Leyendecker, B. (eds) Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43645-6_18

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