# The Impact of Gossip on Children's Feelings of Belongingness

> **NIH NIH F32** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $74,284

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Having a sense of belonging is vital to children’s and adults’ psychological health. In fact, lack of belonging is
detrimental to children’s psychological health, causing acute and chronic distress and increasing risk for later
anxiety/depressive symptoms and drug use. This fundamental need to belong can be undermined or
strengthened by social experiences, such as gossiping (i.e., negative or positive talk about others). The effects
of gossiping are well-studied in both adults and adolescents; members of both age groups who are associated
with negative gossip feel less connected in their friend groups than those who are associated with positive
gossip. Yet, no study to date has investigated the immediate and long-term effects of gossip on feelings
of belonging at younger ages. The present proposal aims to address this gap. To understand the link
between early childhood gossip and children’s social and psychological well-being, we aim to identify
how spreading gossip or being the target of gossip impacts children’s feelings of belonging.
The overall objectives will be achieved through two lab studies (Studies 1 and 2) and one naturalistic study
(Study 3). Study 1 will use a novel experimental paradigm to identify the immediate effects of spreading gossip
on children’s belonging and distress by testing the hypotheses that 1a) Children will feel closer to their
conversation partners and feel less distressed if they gossip with them, and 1b) Children will feel closer to the
peers who were the targets of positive gossip than peers who were the targets of negative gossip. Study 2 will
use a similar experimental design to identify the immediate effects of being the target of gossip on children’s
belonging and distress, by testing the hypothesis that 2) Children who are the targets of negative gossip will
experience lower belonging and feel more distressed than the children who are the targets of positive gossip.
In a novel analysis of an already collected observational social network dataset from classrooms, Study 3 will
map long-term social network implications of children’s gossip over the course of an entire school year. Study
3 will test the hypotheses that 3a) Children who have higher connectedness (i.e., belonging) among friends will
be less involved in spreading negative gossip and have lower likelihood of being a target of negative gossip,
and 3b) Children who are more centrally connected to the friend group will be more involved in spreading
positive gossip and have higher likelihood of being a target of positive gossip. The proposed research and
training aims will identify the functions and impact of gossip on children’s feelings of belonging and distress
and help the Candidate in furthering their career goals to lead their own lab as an independent PI. The findings
can contribute to programs and policies to support healthy social development by increasing children’s feelings
of belonging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10919162
- **Project number:** 5F32HD108861-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nazli Meltem Yucel
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $74,284
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10919162

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10919162, The Impact of Gossip on Children's Feelings of Belongingness (5F32HD108861-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10919162. Licensed CC0.

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