Self-help Articles

by Philip C. Rodkin, Ph.D., Thomas W. Farmer, Ph.D., Ruth Pearl, Ph.D. & Richard Van Acker, Ph.D.

Aggressive, antisocial behavior as an adult doesn't win you many friends, but the same behavior in elementary school can make you one of the most popular kids in school. That's one finding from a study of 452 fourth-through-sixth-grade boys which shows that tough, antisocial boys were not only viewed as popular and antisocial by their peers but also by their teachers and themselves.

The findings of the study are important because they show how children are rewarded with popularity for being antisocial.

Psychologist Philip C. Rodkin, Ph.D., of Duke University, the study's lead author, along with co-authors Thomas W. Farmer, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ruth Pearl, Ph.D. & Richard Van Acker, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, say the findings are also important because "if some popular children are also antisocial, they may be overlooked in programs that assist children toward positive developmental outcomes, and they also may have a large and negative influence on their peers."

The study involved boys from 59 classrooms from schools in Chicago and North Carolina. The schools involved included inner-city, suburban and rural schools. The study found that there were similarities and differences in the typical behavioral profiles of popular African-American and European-American boys.

Antisocial, Aggressive Behavior and Popularity

Most popular boys in both ethnic groups were model children - athletic, cooperative, studious and sociable. However, about a third of very popular children were extremely antisocial. These boys tended to argue, be disruptive, get into trouble and start fights. African-American boys in mostly White classrooms were particularly likely to be antisocial and very popular.

Although many popular antisocial boys may become lifelong bullies, Dr. Rodkin notes that "society effectively says that some kinds of aggression and rebelliousness are legitimate to express and are culturally rewarded, and some antisocial boys in our study may go this route."

For instance, many political leaders, CEOs and supervisors use aggression in a nonviolent way (verbal aggression, manipulation, etc.) to get what they want. "They may not be loved, but they are powerful and have status, prestige and social/professional connections," he adds.

This study only looked at popularity as it applies to boys, but the authors also have evidence that there are substantial gender differences for popularity. Previous studies have shown that even when educated in the same classrooms, pre-adolescent boys and girls are involved in segregated cultures that can best be described as "separate worlds." They add that future research examining the differences between popular children should consider this.

Reference:

"Heterogeneity of Popular Boys: Antisocial and Prosocial Configurations," Philip C. Rodkin, Ph.D., Thomas W. Farmer, Ph.D., Ruth Pearl, Ph.D., and Richard Van Acker, Ph.D. Developmental Psychology, Vol. 36, No. 1.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.