Differences and similarities between the constructs of friendship and global peer acceptance in childhood are considered. Research to date has identified the features of children's friendships. Children appear to be capable of forming stable, close friendships at younger ages than was once thought. Gender differences in children's friendships have received considerable attention, but other types of individual difference have not been studied extensively. The synthesis of findings obtained using diverse methodologies in testing constructs derived from different theories has contributed to appreciation of the distinct and complex nature of children's friendships.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Argyle, M. (1983) The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour. New York: Pergamon.
2.
Argyle, M. (1992) The Social Psychology of Everyday Life. London: Routledge.
3.
Argyle, M. & Lu, L. (1990) `The Happiness of Extraverts', Personality and Individual Differences11: 1255-1261.
4.
Asher, S.R. & Parker, J.G. (1989) `The Significance of Peer Relationship Problems in Childhood', in B.H. Schneider, G. Attili, J. Nadel and R.P Weissberg (eds) Social Competence in Developmental Perspective, pp. 5-24. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.
5.
Austin, M.C. & Thompson, G.G. (1948) `Children's Friendships: A Study of the Bases on which Children Select and Reject their Best Friends', Journal of Educational Psychology39: 101-115.
6.
Berndt, T.J. (1982) `The Features and Effects of Friendship in Early Adolescence', Child Development53: 1447-1460.
7.
Berndt, T.J. & Das, R. (1987) `Effects of Popularity and Friendship on Perceptions of the Personality and Social Behavior of Peers', Journal of Early Adolescence7: 429-439.
8.
Berndt, T.J. & Perry, T.B. (1986) `Children's Perceptions of Friendships as Supportive Relationships', Developmental Psychology22: 640-648.
9.
Berscheid, E. & Walster, E. (1978) Interpersonal Attraction. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
10.
Bigelow, B. (1977) `Children's Friendship Expectations: A Cognitive-developmental Study', Child Development48: 570-578.
11.
Bigelow, B. & LaGaipa, J.J. (1975) `Children's Written Descriptions of Friendship: A Multidimensional Analysis', Developmental Psychology11: 857-858.
12.
Bowlby, J. (1988) A Secure Base. New York: Basic Books.
13.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1991) `The Ecology of Human Development: Paradigm Lost or Paradigm Regained?', paper presented to the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Minneapolis, MN.
14.
Bukowski, W.M. , Gauze, C., Hoza, B. & Newcomb, A.F. (1993) `Differences and Consistency between Same-sex and Other-sex Peer Relationships during Early Adolescence', Developmental Psychology29: 255-263.
15.
Bukowski, W.M. & Hoza, B. (1989) `Popularity and Friendship: Issues in Theory, Measurement and Outcome', in T.J. Berndt & G.W. Ladd (eds) Peer Relations in Child Development, pp. 15-45. New York: Wiley.
16.
Bukowski, W.M. & Kramer, T.L. (1986) `Judgments of the Features of Friendship among Early Adolescent Boys and Girls', Journal of Early Adolescence6: 331-338.
17.
Bukowski, W.M. , Newcomb, A.F. & Hoza, B. (1987) `Friendship Conceptions among Early Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study of Stability and Change', Journal of Early Adolescence7: 143-152.
18.
Bukowski, W. , Sippola, L., Gauze, C., Hoza, B. & Newcomb, A.F. (1993) `Differences in the Processes, Properties, and Perceptions of Friendship among Boys and Girls', paper presented to the Society for Research in Child Development, New Orleans, LA, March.
19.
Buzzelli, C.A. (1988) `The Development of Trust in Children's Relations with Peers', Child Study Journal18: 33-46.
20.
Clark, M.L. & Drewry, D.L. (1985) `Similarity and Reciprocity in the Friendships of Elementary School Children', Child Study Journal15: 251-263.
21.
Coie, J.D. , Dodge, K.A. & Kupersmidt, J. (1990) `Peer Group Behavior and Social Status', in S.R. Asher & J.D. Coie (eds) Peer Rejection in Childhood. New York: Cambridge University Press.
22.
Cuksts, B. (1988) `Peer Acceptance, Friendships, and Attitudes Towards Academically Integrated Physically Disabled Adolescents', unpublished master's thesis, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
23.
Derosier, M. (1989) `Costa Rican Children's Perceptions of their Social Networks', paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Kansas City, MO, April.
24.
Doyle, A. (1982) `Friends, Acquaintances, and Strangers: The Influence of Familiarity and Ethnolinguistic Background on Social Interaction', in K.H. Rubin and H.S. Ross (eds) Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood, pp. 229-252. New York: Springer-Verlag.
25.
Duck, S.W. , Miell, D.K. & Gaebler, H.C. (1980) `Attraction and Communication in Children's Interactions', in H.C. Foot, A.J. Chapman & J.R. Smith (eds) Friendship and Social Relations in Children, pp. 89-115. New York: Wiley.
26.
Elder, D. & Hallinan, M. (1978) `Sex Differences in Children's Friendships', American Sociological Review43: 237-250.
27.
Enright, D.J. & Rawlinson, D. (1993) Friendship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
28.
Epstein, J.L. (1989) `The Selection of Friends: Changes across the Grades and in Different Classroom Environments', in T.J. Berndt & G.W. Ladd (eds) Peer Relationships in Child Development, pp. 158-187. New York: Wiley.,
29.
Erwin, P.G. (1985) `Similarities of Attitudes and Constructs in Children's Friendships', Journal of Experimental Child Psychology40: 470-485.
30.
Feltham, R.F. , Doyle, A.B., Schwartzman, A.I., Serbin, L.A. & Ledingham, J.E. (1985) `Friendship in Normal and Deviant Children', Journal of Early Adolescence5: 371-382.
31.
Foster, S.L. , DeLawyer, D.D. & Guevremont, D.C. (1986) `A Critical Incidents Analysis of Liked and Disliked Peer Behaviors and their Situational Parameters in Childhood and Adolescence', Behavioral Assessment8: 115-133.
32.
Furfey, P.H. (1927) `Some Factors Influencing the Selection of Boys' Chums', Journal of Applied Psychology11: 47-51.
33.
Furman, W. & Bierman, K.L. (1983) `Developmental Changes in Young Children's Concepts of Friendship', Child Development54: 549-556.
34.
Furman, W. & Robbins, P. (1985) `What's the Point? Issues in the Selection of Treatment Objectives', in B.H. Schneider, K. Rubin & J.E. Ledingham (eds) Children's Peer Relations: Issues in Assessment and Intervention, pp. 141-154. New York: Springer-Verlag.
35.
Gottman, J.M. (1983) `How Children Become Friends', Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 41-81.
36.
Hartup, W.W. (1989) `Behavioral Manifestations of Children's Friendships', in T.J. Berndt & G.W. Ladd (eds) Peer Relations in Child Development, pp. 46-70. New York: Wiley.
37.
Hine, D. (1989) In and Out. New York: Alfred Knopf.
38.
Howes, C. (1989) `Friendships in Very Young Children: Definition and Functions', in B.H. Schneider, G. Attili, J. Nadel & R.P. Weissberg (eds) Social Competence in Developmental Perspective, pp. 127-128. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
39.
Jones, D.C. (1985) `Persuasive Appeals and Responses to Appeals among Friends and Acquaintances', Child Development56: 751-763.
40.
Juvonen, J. & Bear, G. (1992) `Social Adjustment of Children With and Without Learning Disabilities in Integrated Classrooms', Journal of Educational Psychology84: 332-340.
41.
Krauss, M.W. , Seltzer, M.M. & Goodman, S.J. (1992) `Social Support Networks of Adults with Mental Retardation who Live at Home', American Journal on Mental Retardation96: 432-441.
Lambert, W.E. & Taguchi, Y. (1956) `Ethnic Cleavage among Young Children', Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology53: 380-382.
44.
McCandless, B. & Hoyt, J. (1961) `Sex, Ethnicity, and Play Preferences of Preschool Children', Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology62: 683-685.
45.
McCendie, R. & Schneider, B.H. (1993) `Problematic Early Peer Relations and Later Adjustment: A Quantitative Synthesis', paper presented to the Society for Research in Child Development, New Orleans, LA, March.
46.
Maccoby, E.E. (1988) `Gender as a Social Category', Developmental Psychology21: 1204-1205.
47.
McGuire, K.D. & Weisz, J.R. (1982) `Social Cognition and Behavioral Correlates of Preadolescent Chumship', Child Development53: 1478-1484.
48.
Murphy, K. & Schneider, B. (1994) `Coaching Socially-rejected Early Adolescents Regarding Behaviors Used by Peers to Infer Liking: A Dyad-specific Intervention', Journal of Early Adolescence14: 82-94.
49.
Newcomb, A.F. , Bukowski, W.M. & Pattee, L. (1993) `Children's Peer Relations: A Meta-analytic Review of Popular, Rejected, Neglected, Controversial and Average Sociometric Status', Psychological Bulletin113: 99-128.
50.
Northway, M.L. (1952) A Primer of Sociometry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
51.
Osman, B.B. (1982) No-one to Play With: The Social Side of Learning Disabilities. New York: Warner Books.
52.
Parker, J.G. & Asher, S.R. (1987) `Peer Acceptance and Later Personal Adjustment: Are Low-accepted Children at Risk?', Psychological Bulletin102: 357-389.
53.
Parker, J.G. & Asher, S.R. (1988) `Peer Group Acceptance and the Quality of Children's Best Friendships', paper presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute `Social Competence in Developmental Perspective', Savoy, France, July.
54.
Parker, J.G. & Asher, S.R. (1993) `Friendship and Friendship Quality in Middle Childhood: Links with Peer Group Acceptance and Feelings of Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction', Developmental Psychology29: 611-621.
55.
Price, M.J. & Ladd, G.W. (1986) `Assessment of Children's Friendships: Implications for Social Competence and Social Adjustment', in P.J. Prinz (ed.) Advances in Behavioral Assessment of Children and Families, Vol. 2, pp. 121-149. London: JAI Press.
56.
Rackham, H. (1945) Aristotle's Ethics for English Readers. Oxford: Blackwell.
57.
Roopnarine, J.L. , Adams, G.R. & Mounts, N.S. (1988) `Sociometric Status and Peer Group Dynamics', Child Psychiatry and Human Development18: 169-180.
58.
Rotenberg, K.J. & Mann, L. (1986) `The Development of the Norm of Reciprocity of Self-disclosure and its Function in Children's Attraction to Peers', Child Development57: 1349-1357.
59.
Rotenberg, K.J. & Pilipenko, T.A. (1984) `Mutuality, Temporal Consistency, and Helpfulness in Children's Trust of Peers', Social Cognition2: 235-255.
60.
Rotenberg, K.J. & Sliz, D. (1988) `Children's Restrictive Disclosure to Friends', Merrill-Palmer Quarterly34: 203-215.
61.
Schneider, B.H. (1992) `Didactic Methods for Enhancing Children's Social Competence: A Quantitative Review', Clinical Psychology Review12: 363-382.
62.
Schneider, B.H. (1993) Children's Social Competence in Context. Oxford: Pergamon.
63.
Selman, R. & Selman, A. (1979) `Children's Ideas about Friendship: A New Theory', Psychology TodayOct.: 71-80.
64.
Shannon, K. & Kafer, N.F. (1984) `Reciprocity, Trust, and Vulnerability in Neglected and Rejected Children', Journal of Psychology117: 65-70.
65.
Siperstein, G. & Bak, G.N. (1989) `Social Relationships of Adolescents with Moderate Mental Retardation', Mental Retardation27: 5-10.
66.
Spurgeon, P. , Hicks, C. & Terry, R. (1983) `A Preliminary Investigation into Sex Differences in Reported Friendship Determinants amongst a Group of Early Adolescents', British Journal of Social Psychology22: 63-64.
67.
Stoneman, Z. , Brody, G.H. & MacKinnon, C. (1984) `Naturalistic Observations of Children's Activities and Roles while Playing with their Siblings and Friends', Child Development55: 617-627.
68.
Sullivan, H.S. (1953) The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. New York: Horton.
69.
Triandis, H. (1986) `Collectivism vs. Individualism: A Reconceptualization of a Basic Concept in Cross-cultural Psychology', in C. Bagley & G. Verma (eds) Personality, Cognition and Values: Cross-cultural Perspectives of Childhood and Adolescence. London: Macmillan.
70.
Waldrop, M.F. & Halverson, C.F. (1975) `Intensive and Extensive Peer Behaviour: Longitudinal and Cross-sectional Analyses', Child Development46: 19-26.
71.
Whiting, B.B. & Edwards, C.P. (1988) Children of Different Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
