{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T05:52:51Z","timestamp":1774936371549,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Social rejection during the latency stage is a significant risk factor for children\u2019s emotional and social development. Whereas earlier research focused primarily on individual characteristics of rejected children, contemporary perspectives emphasize peer-group processes, including norm formation, hierarchies, and social status structures. Although autonomy has been widely examined as an individual developmental construct, less attention has been given to its possible collective expression within the classroom peer group. This study aimed to explore how children understand and experience group autonomy and to clarify its role in social status and peer rejection. Methods: Twelve classroom-based focus groups were conducted with 140 fifth-grade children from five public elementary schools in Israel. Discussions were initiated using a projective narrative describing ambiguous peer exclusion. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Coding was conducted independently by two researchers and refined through iterative comparison and reflexive procedures. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) a shared longing for classroom-based group autonomy and collective decision-making; (2) group autonomy as an implicit hierarchical criterion shaping social status, whereby reduced reliance on adults and alignment with peer norms were associated with higher status, while adult dependence was linked to marginalization; and (3) an ambivalent structure of autonomy, as children valued peer independence yet expressed fear of adult punishment and responsibility. Conclusions: Findings suggest that during the latency stage autonomy shifts toward a collectively organized peer-group process. Recognizing group autonomy as a developmental dimension may deepen understanding of social status and peer rejection within classroom contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13040463","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T14:33:33Z","timestamp":1774622013000},"page":"463","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Peer Rejection and Group Autonomy in the Latency Stage: A Qualitative Analysis of Children\u2019s Voices in the Classroom Context"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2090-8919","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hana","family":"Fisher-Grafy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Emotional-Social Psychotherapy Program for Children, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4982-601X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yael","family":"Malin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"571","article-title":"Peer interactions, relationships, and groups","volume":"Volume 3","author":"Damon","year":"2006","journal-title":"Handbook of Child Psychology"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Bukowski, W.M., Laursen, B., and Rubin, K.H. 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