부산대학교 도서관

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-report measure that assesses children’s rejection sensitivity in peer relationships. Participants were 5th and 6th-grade students in elementary schools in South Korea. Phase 1 utilized a review of literature, in-depth interviews with five children, and expert panel reviews with the Delphi technique to formulate preliminary items. In Phase 2, a total of 389 children responded to the 43 preliminary items designed to assess children’s rejection sensitivity in a peer context. The data were used to extract factors and items with exploratory factor analyses. In Phase 3, another sample of 194 children and their parents participated. Children reported rejection sensitivity in peer context, which was developed in Phase 2, as well as rejection sensitivity (Children Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire; Downey et al., 1998), self-presentational expectancy (Self-Presentational Expectancy Scale for Peer Interaction; Yang & Oh, 2005), insecure friendship attachment (Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale; Wilkinson, 2006), depression (Korean version of the 11-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children; Hoe et al., 2017), social withdrawal (Korean version of the Social Preference Scale; Kim et al., 2016), and aggression (Korean Peer Conflict Scale; Ha & Kim, 2013). Parents also evaluated children’s rejection sensitivity in general context (Parent-Reported Rejection Sensitivity; Downey et al., 1998), social withdrawal and aggression (K-CBCL; Oh et al., 1997). The confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the factor structure and reliability statistics were estimated. Additionally, validity coefficients by correlating the scores of peer rejection sensitivity with measures of related attributes were investigated. The major findings of this study were as follows:1. The Children’s Peer Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (PRSQ), which was developed in this study, had 27 items with four factors. The four factors accounted for 57.8% of the variance. The first factor, anger/depression, assesses the tendency to feel angry or depressed when expecting rejection in peer relations. The second factor, rejection expectation, assesses the tendency to expect rejection in peer interactions. The third factor, anxiety/withdrawal, assesses the tendency to feel anxious or withdrawn for being rejected for their fault or mistake in peer relationships. The fourth factor, interpretation bias, assesses misinterpretation and overreaction to the peer’s reactions in group contexts. 2. The PRSQ was shown to have good construct validity. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a second-order formative peer rejection sensitivity conceptual model consisting of four reflective first-order factors was acceptable. The total score of PRSQ was strongly correlated with peer rejection sensitivity scores of CRSQ, self-presentational expectancy, and insecure friendship attachment, which supported the convergent validity. The total score of PRSQ was not significntly correlated with parent-reported rejection sensitivity in a general interpersonal context, which supported the discriminant validity. The total and subscale scores of PRSQ were significantly correlated with depression, social withdrawal, and aggression, which supported the criterion validity. 3. The PRSQ was shown to offer a reliable measure of peer rejection sensitivity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability of PRSQ indicated acceptable to excellent reliability. These results indicate that the PRSQ is a valid and reliable scale to assess the level of peer rejection sensitivity among children.