Spilt, van Lier, Leflot, Onghena, & Colpin (2014). Children’s social self-concept and internalizing problems: The influence of peers and teachers.” – Article summary

It is not clear what through what processes peer rejection lead to internalizing problems and how the teacher can be a protective factor in this. School-age children who experience difficulties in their relationships with peers are at increased risk for psychopathology. Social self-concept act as a mechanism through which peer rejection influences the development of internalizing problems.

The social self-concept refers to cognitive self-perceptions of one’s functioning in the social domain and this is negatively influenced by peer rejection. A poor self-concept is a cognitive vulnerability factor leading to the development of internalizing problems.

Teacher-student relationships are predictive of internalizing problems and self-perceptions. Supportive teacher-student relationships may compensate for the negative effect of peer rejection on children’s self-concept. This means that good teacher-student relationships could be a protective factor against the negative effect of peer rejection on one’s social self-concept.

Peer rejection predicts declines in social self-concept and this is negatively associated with internalizing problems. Impeded social self-concept is the mechanism through which peer rejection leads to internalizing problems. Disliked children may receive more negative treatment from peers and this negative feedback may be internalized over time.

Individual teacher support may have a protective factor, though this is not clear. Medium-high to high levels of teacher support protected children’s social self-concept against peer rejection but only at the end of the second grade. This means that teacher support can at least buffer the effects of peer problems on children’s self-concept. However, teachers are not able to alleviate the full burden of peer rejection.

It is possible that the link between maladaptive self-cognitions and internalizing outcomes becomes stronger with age as children’s cognitive abilities mature.