Social Networks and Social Status in Emotionally Disturbed Children

This short-term longitudinal research investigated the social networks formed by emotionally disturbed children in a residential school. Affiliation patterns were analyzed using both social network analyses and applied sociometric techniques over a 12-week period. The subjects were 10–13 years old. The results indicated that robust peer clusters could be identified in these emotionally disturbed subjects, within-classroom clusters were relatively stable in week-to-week observations, and considerable overlap occurred between the findings of the two measures. Comparisons between the social network analysis and applied sociometric results demonstrate that children who are identified as nuclear members of clusters generally have the highest levels of popularity. Peer-nominated play preferences indicated that cluster members are preferred as playmates by both cluster members and noncluster members. Some methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for the treatment of emotionally disturbed children are discussed.