Academic task avoidance and achievement as predictors of peer status during the early primary school years

Given the diverse and substantial developmental outcomes associated with low peer acceptance, it is important to research its potential predictors. However, the developmental antecedents are not likely restricted to simple, one-lagged links within the same domain. Rather, peer status may stem from a developmental sequence of effects across several domains, particularly across those that develop at the same time and in the same environment as peer status. A developmental cascade model is best used to capture sequential changes over time, across multiple domains, and during sensitive periods of development Academic motivation and achievement likely exemplify predictors that would affect peer status sequentially over time during the early primary school years. This study examined the developmental cascade of task avoidance, academic achievement, and peer acceptance using a sample of 545 (311 boys, 234 girls) Finnish students in the 1st through 4th grade (M = 7.67, SD = 0.31 years old at the outset).