Abstract

The current project examined the predictive strength of children's peer rated care, justice and aggression on expressed liking. A total of 685 children (mean age = 10.34 years, SD = 1.32) participated. Data collection took place in Montreal, Canada and Barranquilla, Colombia. Participants were rated by classmates for levels of justice, care, aggression and their liking of others. Analyses of the associations between variables were performed through the use of multilevel modeling. Correlates of peer acceptance were variables at the level of the target, at the level of the rater and at the level of the group (to assess contextual influences). While target aggression was negatively associated with acceptance, target care and justice were positively associated. Subjects rated same-sex peers more positively than other-sex peers. Also, several characteristics of the group were associated with peer liking in various ways. The significant group variables included SES, place and interactions with individualism. As a whole, the final model accounted for 19.1% of the target-related variance and 37.5% of the rater-related variance and 47.8% of the group variance. Additional research is required using different dimensions of culture to better elucidate contextual factors associated with acceptance.