THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF A 5-YEAR RESEARCH PROGRAM WHICH ANALYZED MANY OF THE CORRELATES OF PEER ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION IN A SERIES OF STUDIES INVOLVING 37,913 SCHOOL CHILDREN, AGES 9 TO 12 YEARS. PEER ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION WAS INVESTIGATED THROUGH THE USE OF A PEER RATING SCALE AND A TEACHER RATING SCALE. A NUMBER OF METHODOLOGICAL STUDIES ON RELIABILITY AND STABILITY OF THE PEER STATUS AND TEACHER RATING SCORES AND INTERCORRELATIONS AMONG THESE SCORES ARE REPORTED. THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND ON PEER ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION IS SIGNIFICANTLY DEMONSTRATED IN DIFFERENT STUDIES INCLUDED IN THE REPORT. PEER REJECTION IS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO CRITERIA OF EARLY DELINQUENCY AND EARLY SCHOOL DROPOUT IN TWO FOLLOWUP STUDIES. AS THE REPORT DEMONSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER STATUS UPON SOCIALIZATION AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT, IT SUGGESTS FURTHER STUDY ON MEASURES DESIGNED TO ATTACK CAUSES OF THE PROBLEMS. GENERALLY, PARENT EDUCATION AND THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY WITH ITS ASSOCIATED SOCIAL ILLS APPEAR TO BE THE MAJOR MODES OF INTERVENTION. (NS)