AbstractsPsychology

Longitudinal associations between delinquent behaviour and popularity were examined in a sample of high school students. The ethnicity of the adolescent and the ethnic composition of their classroom were taken into account. Self-reports and peer nominations were obtained from 1161 students, mean age 13.17 years old (15.1% Immigrant), across 56 classrooms. Classrooms consisted 0-10% immigrants (N=33), 10-30% immigrants (N=12) or >30% immigrants (N=11). Levels of delinquent behaviour differed significantly for boys and girls. No differences were found between Dutch and immigrant children in their level of delinquent behaviour. A multivariate regression analysis showed that delinquency predicted popularity negatively, only when ethnicity (i.e. individual factor) or ethnic classroom composition (i.e. contextual factor) was taken into account. Furthermore, an overall positive relationship was found for popularity and delinquency. Results in this study demonstrate the importance of integrating the influence of ethnicity, both at the individual as contextual level, when examining children’s perceptions of achieving popularity and status.