Social withdrawal, observed peer acceptance, and the development of self-perceptions in children ages 4 to 7 years

Participants included 163 children (89 females, 74 males) who were seen at age 4 and then again at age 7 years. For girls, results revealed that nonsocial behavior (both reticence and solitary-passive withdrawal) was negatively related to observed peer acceptance at both ages 4 and 7, and peer acceptance, as early as 4 years of age, was found to influence self-perceptions of competence at age 7 years. For boys, results revealed that (a) reticence at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance, perceived physical and perceived cognitive competence at age 7 years, (b) solitary-passive withdrawal at age 4 predicted positive cognitive self-perceptions at age 7, and (c) solitary-passive withdrawal at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance and perceived physical competence at age 7 years.