JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 9t 409-420 (1988) Concurrent and Longitudinal Correlates of Preschool Peer Sociometrics: Comparing Rating Scale and Nomination Measures SHERYL L. OLSON University of Michigan KAREN LIFGREN University of Maine Nomination and rating scale measures of preschool sociometric status were com- pared with respect to their patterns of concurrent and longitudinal developmental correlates. The study was undertaken to help fill a void in the empirical literature on young children's peer adjustment. Subjects were 79 4-5 year-old children, currently enrolled in preschool classes. In addition to the sociometric interviews, diverse mea- sures of children's social and cognitive competence were administered concurrently, and longitudinally one year later. These measures included teacher ratings of peer acceptance and behavior problems, and performance measures of social problem- solving ability, impulse control, and vocabulary competence. As expected, the relia- bility of the rating scale technique was superior to that of the nomination measures. Furthermore, all three sociometric measures had modest but meaningful patterns of concurrent and longitudinal correlates. However, the negative nomination measure was distinguished from the others by its consistent association with measures of impulsivity, and its predictive link with aggressive social problem solving. Therefore, negative peer nomination measures supply unique information about children's so- cial functioning that should be represented in studies of children at risk for social maladjustment. During the past decade, there have been numerous research studies on the mea- surement of social status in school-age children. This trend was sparked in part by evidence linking negative childhood peer status with later interpersonal diffi- culties (Cowen, Pederson, Babigian, Izzo, & Trost, 1973). However, relatively little attention has been given to the early detection and prevention of peer- Portions of the present study were presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Detroit, MI., April, 1983. The authors are indebted to the teachers, admin- istrative staffs, and children of the Child Study Center, Hilltop Daycare Center, and Penquis Head Start for their help with the present project. Thanks are also due to Jane Parks, Janelle Johnson, Betsy Hoza, Nancy Benigno, and Edward Barrett for assistance with data collection. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to: S.L. Olson, Department of Psychol- ogy, University of Michigan, 580 Union Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1346. 409