Peer group influences affect children much earlier than researchers suspected, according to a new study led by the University of Maryland. Researchers say this makes parents and educators wary of undue group influences, clichés and biases that might take hold early, researchers say. The study appears in the May/June 2013 issue of Child Development, and is available online. The researchers say their work represents a new line of research – what they call "childhood group dynamics." No previous research has studied how children feel about challenging groups that act unfairly or nontraditionally, they note. The findings refute an older view that conflicts between group loyalty and fairness are not yet part of elementary-age children's daily interactions. “This is not just an adolescent problem,” says Melanie Killen, a developmental psychologist at the University of Maryland and the study's lead researcher. “Peer group pressure starts in primary schools, from the age of nine. This is what children actually encounter there every day.” Even at this earlier age, children demonstrate moral independence and stand up to the group, Killen adds. But it is also a context in which the seeds of group prejudice can grow, if left unchecked. “Parents and teachers often miss children's emerging understanding of group dynamics, as well as children's willingness to give in to pressure,” says Killen. Children begin early to understand the costs and consequences of resisting peer pressure. As teenagers, they discover that it becomes more and more complicated. norms, particularly towards outsiders or members of "out-groups", which is often created when peers form an "in-group". “Children may need help from adults when they face conflicts between loyalty to the group and fairness to outsiders,” Killen “They may have difficulty 'doing what' they need to stay on good terms with friends in the group, but they don't know how. If a child appears uncomfortable and anxious about spending time with friends, this may signal problems. conflicts in his peer relationships were from middle-income families and reflected American ethnic backgrounds. They surveyed attitudes on a moral issue – the equal distribution of resources between those in the group and those outside. are not part, and on a question of tradition (group t-shirts).).