Sociometric status and academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment: a five-year longitudinal study.

Six hundred fourth-graders rated how much they liked to play with each of their classmates and then nominated their three best friends; 296 of the 600 children were assigned sociometric classifications of popular, neglected, average, controversial, or rejected status (the remaining 304 children failed to meet inclusion criteria). Five years later, 267 of the 296 classified children (90.2%) were evaluated on measures of academic performance, social behavior, and psychological adjustment. The number and type of contacts with the juvenile justice system were also determined. In general, children classified as rejected or controversial tended to fare more poorly on indices of long-term adjustment than did children classified as popular, neglected, or average. Results are discussed in terms of the predictive validity of sociometric rating and nomination procedures and their utility in identifying children at risk for later maladjustment.