Behavioral profiles of different types of social status in preschool children: An observational approach

The aim of this study was to explore the behavioral profiles of children of various types of social status, in a sample of 54 preschool children (15 boys, 39 girls; mean age = 5.15 years), using an observational method. Popular, rejected, neglected and controversial types of social status were defined by direct observation of the behaviors received by each child from their peers. Behavioral profiles were obtained from the time budget of activities exhibited by each subject during free play time. Popular children showed high levels of hierarchical play and sociability and low levels of all aggression subtypes; rejected children showed high levels in person-directed and seizing object aggressions and did not engage in hierarchical play; neglected children displayed low levels of hierarchical play and sociability and higher than average levels only in seizing object aggression; and controversial children showed high levels of sociability and low levels of hierarchical play. The results highlight the relevance of hierarchical play in social acceptance and its possible effectiveness as an intervention tool.