Aggressive children often anxious

Children may need help to learn how to interact

Children rejected by their classmates for being aggressive are often the most socially anxious, researchers say.

Now a project is going on to try to help children rejected by their peers.

Psychologists at the University of Sussex are working with more than 330 children aged five to 10 in seven primary schools in Brighton.

Educational psychologists in the Brighton and Hove education authority are devising ways teachers can help children behave more appropriately.

Developmental psychologist Dr Robin Banerjee, who is leading the research, said it aimed to spot early on children who were having difficulties.

FIRST YEAR FINDINGS - OF ALL THE CHILDREN IN THE STUDY 14% rated as popular by their classmates 14% were neither liked nor disliked 12% were rejected - given negative responses 6.8% many positive and negative responses 53% classified as average.

He said the first year's findings gave an important indication of how problems persisted.

"The children who were rejected by their peers at the beginning of the year were still rejected at the end of the year," he said.

"Yet when we looked at how they felt about themselves, we found they were often the most socially anxious.

"Others found them aggressive and their behaviour unacceptable, but they had little idea how to improve their peer status."

He said the demands of the curriculum meant schools and teachers were often not able to give as much time as they would like to the social context of schooling.

But children's "peer interactions" had an effect on their academic performance.

Dr Robin Banerjee is leading a nine-strong research team

The children are seen three times a year and use a computer program to identify their classroom friends.

They are then given various story scenarios and a set of questions.

Their responses give the researchers data not just about their behaviour, but also how they think and feel about their world.

One of the Brighton and Hove educational psychologists involved is Bob Daines.

Already he has produced a preliminary "emotional literacy curriculum".

This involves small groups or a whole class exploring their thoughts and feelings about each other through drama, writing, art, and discussion.