Emotion regulation and support from others: Buffering of body dysmorphic symptoms in adolescent and young adult men but not women.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents and young adults who overemphasize the social values placed on an attractive appearance may develop body dysmorphic symptoms (BDS), defined as over-preoccupation with perceived appearance flaws and repetitive behaviors to conceal the flaws. Further, research has found that a heightened expectation of judgement and rejection by others because of appearance (i.e., appearance-based rejection sensitivity [appearance-RS]) is both a maintaining and an aggravating factor in BDS. This study focused on emotion regulation (ER), appearance-related support from others and self-acceptance, expecting they would buffer the negative impact of appearance-RS on BDS. METHODS: Participants included 782 Australian high school and young university students, aged 14-28 years (M = 17.94 years, 40% male) who completed a survey to report their BDS, appearance-RS, ER, appearance-related support from others and self-acceptance. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that youth reported more BDS when they were higher in appearance-RS but reported less self-acceptance, ER, and support from others. Further, the association between appearance-RS and BDS was weaker when young people reported higher (relative to lower) ER and support from others. However, when three-way interactions with gender were tested, these buffering effects were only significant for young men. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that ER and appearance-related support from important others are promising targets for intervention, given they could mitigate the risk of appearance-RS in young men. However, further research is needed to consider additional factors that buffer against the negative effects of appearance-RS on BDS for young women.

"Pretty Pressure" From Peers, Parents, and the Media: A Longitudinal Study of Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity.

Drawing from the tripartite sociocultural model of body image, the researchers examined whether direct messages and modeling from peers, parents, and media were concurrently and prospectively associated with appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS) in young adolescents (Mage  = 12.0 years). Appearance-RS was higher among those who concurrently reported more appearance-related teasing and pressure by peers, more parent teasing, and greater acceptance of media appearance ideals. In prospective analyses, greater increases in appearance-RS over 1 year were found for adolescents who perceived higher levels of parental appearance-related teasing and negative attitudes about their own appearance. Moderation analyses indicated the positive prospective association between parental negative appearance attitudes and appearance-RS was found in younger but not older participants. Gender did not moderate associations.

Early adolescents' body dysmorphic symptoms as compensatory responses to parental appearance messages and appearance-based rejection sensitivity.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is marked by high distress and behavioral and functional impairments due to preoccupation with perceived appearance anomalies. Our aim was to examine parental correlates of offspring's symptoms characteristic of BDD, testing both direct associations and indirect associations via appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS). Surveys were completed by 302 Australian adolescents (9-14 years) and their parents. Findings indicated parents' weight and appearance teasing and child-report (but not parent-report) of parental negative attitudes about weight and appearance were uniquely associated with offspring's heightened BDD-like symptoms, and associations were partially indirect via adolescents' appearance-RS. Findings support theory that identifies parents as socializers of children's appearance concerns, and show that BDD-like symptoms may be partly elevated because of the mediating role of appearance-RS. We propose that BDD symptoms could partly emerge as compensatory responses to parents' appearance messages, and the associated bias to expect and perceive rejection based on one's appearance.

A Longitudinal Rejection Sensitivity Model of Depression and Aggression: Unique Roles of Anxiety, Anger, Blame, Withdrawal and Retribution.

In this longitudinal study, attributional and social processes involved in symptoms of mental health problems (depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior) were identified by investigating anxious and angry rejection sensitivity (RS), causal attributions of self-blame and peer-blame, and responses to rejection threat of withdrawal and retribution. Young adolescents (N = 713, grades 5-7) completed questionnaires three times in their regular classrooms over 14 months. Participants who reported more self-blame for rejection were more likely to withdraw in response to rejection threat, and withdrawal and anxious RS were associated with increased depressive symptoms at T3 relative to T1. In contrast, adolescents higher in the angry form of RS and who reported more peer-blame for rejection were more likely to seek retribution, which in turn was associated with more overt/relational aggressive behavior at T3 relative to T1. Depressive symptom level measured at T1 also was associated with later RS and coping with withdrawal, and aggressive behavior at T1 was associated with later retribution. Sex of the participants did not moderate any longitudinal associations, and only one prospective path, from T1 depressive symptoms to T2 RS anxious, was moderated by age.

Peer Group Norms and Accountability Moderate the Effect of School Norms on Children's Intergroup Attitudes.

The present study examined the interactive effects of school norms, peer norms, and accountability on children's intergroup attitudes. Participants (n = 229) aged 5-11 years, in a between-subjects design, were randomly assigned to a peer group with an inclusion or exclusion norm, learned their school either had an inclusion norm or not, and were accountable to either their peer group, teachers, or nobody. Findings indicated, irrespective of age, that an inclusive school norm was less effective when the peer group had an exclusive norm and children were held accountable to their peers or teachers. These findings support social identity development theory (D. Nesdale, 2004, 2007), which expects both the in-group peer and school norm to influence children's intergroup attitudes.

A Longitudinal Study of Rejecting and Autonomy-Restrictive Parenting, Rejection Sensitivity, and Socioemotional Symptoms in Early Adolescents.

Rejection sensitivity (RS) has been defined as the tendency to readily perceive and overreact to interpersonal rejection. The primary aim of this study was to test key propositions of RS theory, namely that rejecting experiences in relationships with parents are antecedents of early adolescents' future RS and symptomatology. We also expanded this to consider autonomy-restrictive parenting, given the importance of autonomy in early adolescence. Participants were 601 early adolescents (age 9 to 13 years old, 51% boys) from three schools in Australia. Students completed questionnaires at school about parent and peer relationships, RS, loneliness, social anxiety, and depression at two times with a 14-month lag between assessments. Parents also reported on adolescents' difficulties at Time 1 (T1). It was anticipated that more experience of parental rejection, coercion, and psychological control would be associated with adolescents' escalating RS and symptoms over time, even after accounting for peer victimisation, and that RS would mediate associations between parenting and symptoms. Structural equation modelling supported these hypotheses. Parent coercion was associated with adolescents' increasing symptoms of social anxiety and RS over time, and parent psychological control was associated with increasing depressive symptoms over time. Indirect effects via RS were also found, with parent rejection and psychological control linked to higher T1 RS, which was then associated with increasing loneliness and RS. Lastly, in a separate model, peer victimisation and RS, but not parenting practices, were positively associated with concurrent parent reports of adolescents' difficulties.

Relational victimization, loneliness and depressive symptoms: indirect associations via self and peer reports of rejection sensitivity.

Theory suggests that aversive social experiences generate emotional maladjustment because they prompt the development of a hypersensitivity to perceiving and overreacting to rejection. The primary aim of this study was to test hypothesized direct and indirect (via rejection sensitivity) links of overt/relational victimization and friendship conflict with early adolescents' loneliness and depressive symptoms. Participants were 366 Australian early adolescents age 10-14 years (50.5 % girls). Using both a self-report and peer-report measure of rejection sensitivity, no difference was found when comparing the significant correlations of each measure with loneliness and depressive symptoms. Tests of direct and indirect associations with structural equation modeling showed that adolescents higher in relational victimization reported more loneliness and depressive symptoms and part of this association was by way of their greater self-reports of rejection sensitivity and their peers' identification that they were higher in rejection sensitivity. Additionally, relational victimization was the only unique correlate of emotional maladjustment, and adolescents who reported more overt victimization were identified by their peers as higher in rejection sensitivity. Finally, gender and rejection sensitivity were tested as moderators. No gender moderation was found, but friendship conflict was associated more strongly with emotional maladjustment for adolescents low, rather than high, in rejection sensitivity. These findings identify relational victimization as particularly salient for emotional maladjustment both directly and indirectly via links with elevated rejection sensitivity. They show how rejection sensitivity and aversive experiences may contribute independently and jointly to emotional maladjustment for both boys and girls.

Comparing reports of peer rejection: associations with rejection sensitivity, victimization, aggression, and friendship.

Perceiving that one is rejected is an important correlate of emotional maladjustment. Yet, self-perceptions can substantially differ from classmate-reports of who is rejected. In this study, discrepancies between self- and classmate-reports of rejection were identified in 359 Australian adolescents (age 10-12 years). As expected, adolescents who overestimated rejection reported more rejection sensitivity and felt more victimized by their peers, but were not seen by peers as more victimized. Adolescents who underestimated rejection identified themselves as high in overt aggression, and their peers identified them as high in overt and relational aggression and low in prosocial behavior. Yet, underestimators' feelings of friendship satisfaction did not seem to suffer and they reported low rejection sensitivity. Results suggest that interventions to promote adolescent health should explicitly recognize the different needs of those who do and do not seem to perceive their high rejection, as well as adolescents who overestimate their rejection.

Children's social cognition about proactive aggression.

In this study, 6- and 9-year-old children (N=258) observed two instances of proactive aggression (one relational and the other direct aggression) that were committed by members of a group toward out-group members. Participants were either members of the group or independent observers. Analyses of participants' social cognition about the aggressor and the aggression (cause of aggression, moral judgment of aggression, attitudes toward the aggressor, and exclusion of the aggressor) indicated that, overall, group members were more positive toward aggressors than were independent observers. Although intergroup competition was perceived to be the cause of the aggression, participants disapproved of both types of aggression (especially direct aggression), disapproval increased with age, and girls disapproved of relational aggression more than did boys. Group members' social cognition about the aggressor and the aggression comprised a coherent cognitive process for both types of aggression, but the observers' process was simpler and differed by aggression type.

Anxious and angry rejection sensitivity, social withdrawal, and retribution in high and low ambiguous situations.

OBJECTIVE: Rejection sensitivity (RS) is a tendency to expect, perceive, and overreact to rejection. Our objective was to examine whether anxious and angry RS have specific associations with negative social reactions, and whether responses are intensified in situations of high rejection ambiguity. METHOD: In two studies, youth (N = 464 and N = 371) reported their RS and anticipated responses to social scenarios. In Study 1, all scenarios portrayed overt rejection events. In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to conditions portraying overt or ambiguous rejection. RESULTS: Greater rejection expectation was associated with more negative reactions to rejection. Moreover, as expected, anxiety about rejection was uniquely associated with withdrawal, and anger about rejection was uniquely associated with retribution (i.e., reactive aggression). In the second study, RS persons responded more negatively than others to both overt and high ambiguous rejections, but retribution was intensified among participants high in rejection expectation when rejection was ambiguous, and withdrawal was intensified among participants high in anxious RS in overt rejection situations. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the revised RS model, there are different patterns of emotions, cognitions, and behaviors in response to high and low ambiguous rejection events, which are heightened in youth sensitive to rejection.

Young children's responses to media representations of intergroup threat and ethnicity.

Two studies are reported in which ethnic majority children's reactions to media representations of ethnic minorities are examined. In Study 1, 20 white Scottish 6-year-olds viewed short television stories in which white or ethnic minority children were depicted as hostile to the participants' in-group (threat present) or not (threat absent). A strong effect of threat on liking was obtained but no effect of ethnicity of target and no interaction. In Study 2, 4- and 6-year-old white Scottish children viewed PowerPoint displays in which Scottish people were shown only as white (traditional version) or as ethnically diverse (multicultural version). Intergroup threat was manipulated. Again, a strong effect of threat was obtained. However, when threat was absent, participants exposed to the traditional condition liked the white out-group more than the multi-ethnic out-group, while participants exposed to the multicultural condition liked the multi-ethnic out-group more than the white out-group. The results are interpreted as consistent with the predictions of Social Identity Development Theory.

Social identity, peer group rejection, and young children's reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression.

The effects of peer group rejection on 7- and 9-year-old children's (N= 192) reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression were examined in a group simulation study. Children were assigned membership in a pretend social group for a drawing competition and were then rejected or accepted by their group. Their direct and indirect aggressive intentions towards either the ingroup or outgroup were assessed. Analysis of their aggressive intentions revealed enhanced indirect aggression but less direct aggression. Peer group rejection, in comparison with acceptance, instigated reactive aggression towards the ingroup, and displaced reactive aggression towards the outgroup. Accepted children displayed proactive aggression towards the outgroup but not the ingroup. The implications of the findings for peer group rejection and aggression research are discussed.

Children's social groups and intergroup prejudice: assessing the influence and inhibition of social group norms.

A simulation group study examined whether the effects of group norms on 7- and 9-year-old children's intergroup attitudes can be moderated by a contrary school norm. Children learnt that their school had an inclusion norm, were assigned to a group with an outgroup inclusion or exclusion norm, and indicated their ingroup and outgroup attitudes under teacher surveillance or not. Results revealed reduced outgroup liking when the group had an exclusion norm, but that the effect was moderated when the school had an inclusion norm, especially among the older children. The participants' ingroup liking was also reduced, but teacher surveillance had no effect on attitudes. The findings are discussed in relation to possible strategies to moderate social group norm effects.

Social groups and children's intergroup attitudes: can school norms moderate the effects of social group norms?

The effects of social group norms (inclusion vs. exclusion vs. exclusion-plus-relational aggression) and school norms (inclusion vs. no norm) on 7- and 10-year-old children's intergroup attitudes were examined. Children (n = 383) were randomly assigned to a group with an inclusion or exclusion norm, and to 1 of the school norm conditions. Findings indicated that children's out-group attitudes reflected their group's norm but, with increasing age, they liked their in-group less, and the out-group more, if the group had an exclusion norm. The school inclusion norm instigated more positive attitudes toward out-group members, but it did not moderate or extinguish contrary group norms. The use of school norms to counteract the effects of children's social group norms is discussed.

Effects of information about group members on young children's attitudes towards the in-group and out-group.

Research shows that being a member of a group is sufficient to instigate more positive attitudes towards the in-group than an out-group in young children. The present study assessed whether children's intergroup attitudes during the middle childhood years are moderated by additional information about in-group and out-group members, as proposed by Aboud's (1988) socio-cognitive theory (ST). To a minimal group 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children (N = 159) were assigned, and received information, or no information, about the interests and activities of the in-group and out-group members. Results indicated that the in-group was always rated more positively than the out-group, and that the in-group's ratings were unaffected by either the in-group or out-group information. In contrast, out-group ratings were affected by out-group information, but only when there was no information available about the in-group. The implications of the findings for ST, and for social identity development theory, are discussed.

Social group norms, school norms, and children's aggressive intentions.

This study examined whether the effect of social group norms on 7- and 10-year-old children's aggression can be moderated or extinguished by contrary school norms. Children (n=384) participated in a simulation in which they were assigned membership in a social group for a drawing competition against an outgroup. Participants learnt that their group had a norm of inclusion, exclusion, or exclusion-plus-relational aggression, toward non-group members, and that the school either had a norm of inclusion, or no such norm. Findings indicated that group norms influenced the participants' direct and indirect aggressive intentions, but that the school norm moderated the group norm effect, with the school's norm effect tending to be greater for indirect vs. direct aggression, males vs. females, and younger vs. older participants. Discussion focused on how school norms can be developed, endorsed, and presented so that they have their most lasting effect on children.

Effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on children's intergroup attitudes.

This study examined the effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on 7- and 9-year old children's intergroup attitudes. Children (N = 82) were rejected or accepted by an initial group, then accepted by a new group that had a norm of inclusion versus exclusion towards others. Results showed that rejected compared with accepted children had a more negative attitude towards the initial group, that they were equally positive towards their new group, but that the rejected children were more negative towards an outgroup. Results also revealed an age x target group x group norm effect that indicated that the younger children's attitudes towards the three groups were more negative in the exclusion versus acceptance norm condition. The older children were also more negative towards the initial and new groups in the exclusion condition, but their more positive attitudes towards the outgroup were unaffected by the group norms. The bases of the effects of peer group rejection and group norms are discussed.

Group membership, group norms, empathy, and young children's intentions to aggress.

This study assessed the effect of ingroup norms and empathy on 6 and 9-year-old children's (N=161) attitudes and aggressive intentions toward outgroup members. Prior to an intergroup drawing competition against an outgroup, participants' empathy was measured, and they were randomly assigned to a simulated group with a norm of direct or indirect aggression, or no aggression norm. Results indicated participants' attitudes were less positive toward the outgroup vs. the ingroup, and that both direct and indirect aggressive intentions were displayed toward the outgroup. Most importantly, the ingroup was liked less when it had an aggression norm, and the participants' aggressive intentions were not enhanced by the group aggression norm. Empathy was a significant negative predictor of direct but not indirect aggression intentions. Implications for understanding the instigation and inhibition of children's aggression intentions are discussed.

Learning social attitudes: children's sensitivity to the nonverbal behaviors of adult models during interracial interactions.

White children show marked ingroup race preferences and a relative devaluation of Black people. The origin of these early interracial attitudes is to a large extent still unclear. The studies here test the possibility that preschool-aged children are particularly sensitive to the nonverbal behaviors performed by White adults during interracial interactions. In Study 1, children were shown a video displaying an interaction between a White and a Black adult. Across conditions, the White adult's verbal behaviors were either friendly or neutral, whereas his nonverbal behaviors showed either easiness (e.g., closeness, high eye contact) or uneasiness (e.g., distance, avoidance of eye contact). Results revealed that participants shaped their attitudes toward the Black target accordingly, independently from the White adults' verbal behaviors. Study 2 replicated the basic findings and demonstrated that the observed effects generalized to other Black targets. Results are discussed in relation to current approaches to understanding the formation of racial attitudes among children.

Group norms, threat, and children's racial prejudice.

To assess predictions from social identity development theory (SIDT; Nesdale, 2004) concerning children's ethnic/racial prejudice, 197 Anglo-Australian children ages 7 or 9 years participated in a minimal group study as a member of a team that had a norm of inclusion or exclusion. The team was threatened or not threatened by an out-group that was of the same or different race. Consistent with SIDT, prejudice was greater when the in-group had a norm of exclusion and there was threat from the out-group. Norms and threat also interacted with participant age to influence ethnic attitudes, although prejudice was greatest when the in-group had an exclusion norm and there was out-group threat. The implications of the findings for SIDT are discussed.