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Biomedical subjects

W M Bukowski

Publications and source records attributed to W M Bukowski.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Peer relationships and emotional well-being of youngsters with sickle cell disease.

Comparisons with measures of peer relationships and emotional well-being were made between youngsters with sickle cell disease (SCD) and same-classroom comparison peers. Relative to the comparison subjects, females with SCD were perceived by peers as being less sociable and less well accepted; males with SCD were perceived as being less aggressive than comparison peers. For both males and females with SCD, no other differences were identified on numerous measures of emotional well-being. None of the multiple measures of illness severity were significantly related to measures of psychological adjustment. The common side effects of SCD, chronic fatigue and small physical size, may divert males with the illness from manifesting difficulties related to aggressive behavior with peers. For females with the illness, the common side effects of the illness may hinder the development of normal social relationships. Despite chronic exposure to numerous stressful life events associated with SCD, the youngsters with the illness were remarkably similar to comparison peers, showing evidence of considerable hardiness.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Interactions between family environment and friendship and associations with self-perceived well-being during early adolescence.

Using a sample of 138 early adolescents and their parents, we examined the hypothesis that family and friendship measures would moderate each other's associations with measures of children's perceptions of their adjustment and well-being. Family environment was assessed by asking parents to complete the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale II. A sociometric nomination procedure and the Friendship Quality Scale were completed by the subjects as assessments of reciprocity and quality in their best friendship relations. The Perceived Competence Scale for Children was used to assess children's adjustment. Stronger associations were observed between the family measures and the adjustment measures in children without a close friendship than in children with such a relationship. Also, friendship was more strongly linked to outcome measures for children from low adaptive and low cohesive families than for children in more adaptive and cohesive families. These findings indicate that experiences in the family and friendship domains interact in their associations with children's impressions of their adjustment during early adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Social competence of siblings of children with sickle cell anemia.

Examined the peer relationships of siblings of children with SCA (N = 37), comparing them to a matched group of classroom comparison children who were the same race/gender, closest date of birth. Social reputation was examined from the perspective of teacher and peers; peer ratings and nominations of social acceptance were obtained; and information was obtained about the sibling's own view of their peer relationships. No differences were found between the two groups, suggesting that the overall functioning of this group of siblings was comparable to peers in their classrooms. Findings are discussed in terms of professional biases, the lack of empirical data relevant to the issue of sibling competence, and resilience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Mealtime interactions and family relationships of families with children who have cancer in long-term remission and controls.

This study investigated reports of parents (mothers and fathers) of 25 children with cancer in long-term remission and matched neighborhood control families on issues related to the quality of mealtime interactions, and the relationship between parental reports of overall family functioning and the quality of mealtime interactions. Results showed positive correspondence for both groups between fathers' and mothers' reports of favorable family environments (greater cohesion and expressiveness, less conflict) and positive mealtime interactions. No significant differences were found between parents of children with cancer and control parents with regard to mealtime conflicts, current concerns about their child's eating, or satisfaction with the child's food intake. The data demonstrate a moderate relationship between overall family functioning and the quality of mealtime interactions, but suggest a minimal relationship between children with cancer in long-term remission who are at low nutritional risk and the quality of mealtime interactions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Children's peer relations: a meta-analytic review of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average sociometric status.

Two-dimensional sociometric models have had a critical role in the investigation of children's peer relations in the past decade. In a meta-analysis, fitting categorical models (Hedges, 1982), sociometric group differences on behavioral and information source typologies were assessed. The broad-band behavioral analysis showed that popular children's array of competencies makes them likely recipients of positive peer nominations, whereas high levels of aggression and withdrawal and low levels of sociability and cognitive abilities are associated with rejected peer status. A consistent profile marked by less sociability and aggression emerged for neglected status. Controversial children had higher aggressive behavior than rejected children but compensated for it with significantly better cognitive and social abilities. The moderator effects of narrow-band behavioral categories and information source were also examined.

Child↗
PubMed1993

Adjustment in the peer system of adolescents with cancer: a two-year study.

Evaluated the psychosocial adaptations of adolescents with cancer who were primarily off treatment (n = 19, ages 11-18) as compared with matched classroom controls in a 2-year longitudinal study on indices of (a) teacher, peer, and self-perceptions of social reputation; (b) multiple measures of popularity and friendships; and (c) self-reported feelings of loneliness, depression, and self-concept. Adolescents with cancer continued to have a social reputation as being more socially isolated, but no significant differences were identified on multiple measures of social acceptance or the self-reported feelings. In general, adolescents with cancer were similar to peers on numerous dimensions of psychological functioning manifesting minimal discernable psychosocial late effects.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Social interactions between children with cancer or sickle cell disease and their peers: teacher ratings.

We evaluated the social reputation of children with cancer (nonprimary brain tumors) (n = 26) children with a primary malignancy involving the central nervous system (n = 15), and children with sickle cell disease (SCD) (n = 33) using a standardized measure of social reputation, the Revised Class Play (RCP). Each child's classroom teacher completed the RCP, an instrument designed to assess sociability-leadership, aggressive-disruptive, and sensitive-isolated interpersonal qualities. Matched-pairs analyses comparing the child with chronic illness to one peer in each class who was the same gender/race and the closest date of birth showed children with cancer were nominated more often for sociability-leadership roles and less often for aggressive-disruptive roles. Brain tumor survivors were nominated more often for sensitive-isolated roles. Children with SCD were not significantly different from peers. Findings suggest that the stressful life events associated with cancer or SCD did not have a significant negative impact on social adjustment for school-aged children with these diseases. The data demonstrate the critical need for appropriate controls when evaluating psychosocial morbidity and chronic illness. Better understanding of the processes of resilience for these children who are routinely exposed to heightened stress provides an opportunity to improve the competence of other high-risk youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Differences in the child-rearing practices of parents of children with cancer and controls: the perspectives of parents and professionals.

Obtained self-reports of parenting practices from fathers and mothers of 24 children with cancer, and 24 controls using the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). Cancer patients were primarily in long-term remission and represented a typical pattern of childhood malignancies. Same age/sex controls were recruited from the classrooms of the children with cancer. In addition, CRPR ratings were obtained from experts in pediatric oncology based upon their prediction of how a parent of a child with cancer would respond. The experts predicted differences in the areas of overinvolvement, discipline, worry about the child, nutritional concerns, and use of supernatural explanations. Results from parents showed surprising similarity between the parents of children with cancer and control parents, and disagreement with the experts. Discussion focuses on explanations for this apparent contradiction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Peer relationships and adjustment in children with cancer.

Evaluated the psychosocial adaptations of children with cancer (n = 24, ages 8-18) as compared with same classroom controls on indices of (a) peer- and self-perceptions of sociability, aggression, and social isolation; (b) overall popularity; (c) mutual friendships; (d) feelings of loneliness; and (e) self-concept in multiple domains. Although the peer report data showed that children with cancer had a social reputation as significantly more socially isolated, no significant differences were found for their popularity, number of mutual friends, loneliness, or self-worth. Findings suggest that children with cancer have a reputation as more socially isolated, but differences were not found on measures of acceptance by peers, self-concept, or loneliness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Social interactions between children with cancer and their peers: teacher ratings.

Compared children (ages 8-18) with cancer (n = 24) and matched classroom control children (n = 24) using a modified version of the Revised Class Play (RCP). A wide variety of malignancies were represented, except brain tumors. Childrens' classroom teachers completed the RCP, an instrument modified to obtain teachers' impressions of three fundamental dimensions of interpersonal style: sociability-leadership, aggressive-disruptive, sensitive-isolated. Relative to the matched controls, children with cancer were perceived by teachers as (a) less sociable and prone towards leadership and (b) more socially isolated and withdrawn. These findings suggest a need for long-term psychosocial interventions oriented towards peer relationships of children with cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Age differences in children's memory of information about aggressive, socially withdrawn, and prosociable boys and girls.

Age differences in children's memory for information about aggression, prosociability, and social withdrawal were examined in 2 studies, one using a recall task, the other a recognition task. In both studies, second- and sixth-grade subjects heard descriptions of hypothetical boys and girls described as (a) aggressive, (b) socially withdrawn, or (c) prosociable, and their memory of the items in the descriptions was assessed. With the recall task, age-related increases were observed for the descriptions of the girl peers and for the withdrawn boy peer. With the recognition task, age differences were observed in memory for information about social withdrawal and prosociability but not aggression, and memory for information about aggression was better for the boy peer than girl peer, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for information about withdrawal. These results indicate that school-age and early adolescent children's recall of information about a peer is affected by the peer's gender.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

The stability and coherence of aggregated and single-item measures of antisocial behaviour.

Aggregated and single-item measures of antisocial behaviour taken from a one-year longitudinal study of early adolescents (N = 334) were examined according to their consistency across situations and the degree of coherence among them. To assess the extent to which differences between single-item scores and aggregated scores could be attributed to differences in reliability, comparisons were made with scores that were either corrected or uncorrected for measurement error. Consistent with predictions derived from Rushton & Erdle (1987), both consistency and coherence increased as the number of items contributing to a score increased. However, as expected in light of the arguments of Campbell, Muncer & Bibel (1987), these increases appeared to be primarily due to higher reliability in the multiple item scores. Nevertheless, some increases in consistency and coherence remained after the effects of measurement error had been accounted for, thus indicating that the higher degree of consistency in aggregated scores cannot be due solely to their higher reliability. These results are important as they demonstrate that, relative to single-item scores, aggregated scores provide a more consistent index of antisocial tendencies regardless of whether the effects of measurement error have been taken into account. Practical and theoretical issues regarding the use of single-item and aggregated scores to represent behavioural constructs are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

A longitudinal study of the utility of social preference and social impact sociometric classification schemes.

The stability of standard score and probability method sociometric group assignments was examined over a 2-year period with an initial group of 334 preadolescents. The popular, neglected, and controversial sociometric groups evidenced low stability of group membership over intervals of approximately 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months; the rejected group evidenced slightly higher short-term stability. These findings of limited stability were attributed to measurement error and to the failure of both classification systems to identify groups with homogeneous social reputation profiles. Social role scores contributed to the prediction of stable group membership in the rejected and controversial classification, although these scores added little to the prediction of stable popular and neglected group membership. Stability over short intervals could be used to enhance the prediction of stability over longer periods; however, this procedure resulted in the classification of numerous false positives and false negatives. The instability of sociometric group assignments completed with the standard score and probability methods indicates that researchers should be cautious about the use of classifications based on only one data collection and that the selection of children for both clinical intervention and further nomothetic research may require alternative assessment procedures.

Child↗