Leading researchers review current knowledge on the dynamics of peer interactions and relationships from infancy through adolescence. Topics include methods of assessing friendship and peer networks; early romantic relationships; individual differences and contextual factors in children's social and emotional competencies and behaviors; group dynamics; and the impact of peer relations on achievement, social adaptation, and mental health.

Full Description:   

This comprehensive, authoritative handbook covers the breadth of theories, methods, and empirically based findings on the ways in which children and adolescents contribute to one another's development. Leading researchers review current knowledge on the dynamics of peer interactions and relationships from infancy through adolescence. Topics include methods of assessing friendship and peer networks; early romantic relationships; individual differences and contextual factors in children's social and emotional competencies and behaviors; group dynamics; and the impact of peer relations on achievement, social adaptation, and mental health. Salient issues in intervention and prevention are also addressed.

"Truly deserving of the name 'handbook,' this volume offers a complete overview of empirical research on children's peer relations, right up to today's state-of-the-art multimodal prevention experiments. Readers will learn about the full range of methods and analytic tools for studying the broad developmental span from infancy to young adulthood. Several chapters stand out as gems."
-Kenneth A. Dodge, PhD, William McDougall Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University

"A first-rate handbook edited by three major scholars....An invaluable resource for researchers who study social and emotional competence, instructors who teach courses on socioemotional development, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students."
-Celia A. Brownell, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

636 Pages, Size: 7" x 10"

I. Introduction: History and Theory

1. Critical Issues and Theoretical Viewpoints, Willard W. Hartup

2. Trends, Travails, and Turning Points in Early Research on Children's Peer Relationships: Legacies and Lessons for Our Time?, Gary W. Ladd

II. Social Behaviors, Interactions, Relationships, and Groups: What Should Be Measured, How, and Why??

3. Children's Behaviors and Interactions with Peers, Richard A. Fabes, Carol Lynn Martin, and Laura D. Hanish

4. Methods for Investigating Children's Relationships with Friends, Thomas J. Berndt and Melissa A. McCandless

5. Sociometric Methods, Antonius H. N. Cillessen

6. Assessment of the Peer Group: Identifying Naturally Occurring Social Networks and Capturing Their Effects, Thomas A. Kindermann and Scott D. Gest

III. Infancy and Early Childhood

7. The Beginnings of Peer Relations, Dale F. Hay, Marlene Caplan, and Alison Nash

8. Peer Interactions and Play in Early Childhood, Robert J. Coplan and Kimberley A. Arbeau

9. Social-Emotional Competence in Early Childhood, Linda Rose-Krasnor and Susanne Denham

10. Friendship in Early Childhood, Carollee Howes

11. Structural Descriptions of Social Transactions among Young Children: Affiliation and Dominance in Preschool Groups, Brian E. Vaughn and António José Santos

IV. Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence

12. Friendship as Process, Function, and Outcome, William M. Bukowski, Clairneige Motzoi, and Felicia Meyer

13. The Behavioral Basis of Acceptance, Rejection, and Perceived Popularity, Steven R. Asher and Kristina L. McDonald

14. Social Exclusion in Childhood and Adolescence, Melanie Killen, Adam Rutland, and Noah Simon Jampol

15. Conflict in Peer Relationships, Brett Laursen and Gwen Pursell

16. Aggression and Peer Relationships in School-Age Children: Relational and Physical Aggression in Group and Dyadic Contexts, Nicki R. Crick, Dianna Murray-Close, Peter E. L. Marks, and Nazanin Mohajeri-Nelson

17. Avoiding and Withdrawing from the Peer Group, Kenneth H. Rubin, Julie C. Bowker, and Amy E. Kennedy

18. Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victim Relationships in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence, Christina Salmivalli and Kätlin Peets

19. Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Experiences, Wyndol Furman and W. Andrew Collins

20. Informal Peer Groups in Middle Childhood and Adolescence, B. Bradford Brown and Erin L. Dietz

V. Distal Correlates of Children'S Peer Relationships

21. Sex Differences in Peer Relationships, Amanda J. Rose and Rhiannon L. Smith

22. Race and Ethnicity in Peer Relations Research, Sandra Graham, April Z. Taylor, and Alice Y. Ho

23. Neighborhood Contexts of Peer Relationships and Groups, Håkan Stattin and Margaret Kerr

24. Peer Interactions and Relationships from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Xinyin Chen, Janet Chung, and Celia Hsiao

VI. Proximal Correlates of Children'S Social Skills and Peer Relationships

25. Genetic Factors in Children's Peer Relations, Mara Brendgen and Michel Boivin

26. Temperament, Self-Regulation, and Peer Social Competence, Nancy Eisenberg, Julie Vaughan, and Claire Hofer

27. Child-Parent Attachment Relationships, Peer Relationships, and Peer-Group Functioning, Cathryn Booth-LaForce and Kathryn A. Kerns

28. Family Influences on Children's Peer Relationships

Hildy Ross and Nina Howe

VII. Childhood Peer Experiences and Later Adjustment

29. Peers and Academic Functioning at School, Kathryn R. Wentzel

30. Peer Reputations and Psychological Adjustment, Mitchell J. Prinstein, Diana Rancourt, John D. Guerry, and Caroline B. Browne

31. The Role of Friendship in Child and Adolescent Psychosocial Development, Frank Vitaro, Michel Boivin, and William M. Bukowski

VIII. Translation and Policy

32. Deviant by Design: Peer Contagion in Development, Interventions, and Schools, Thomas J. Dishion and Timothy F. Piehler

33. Social Skills Training to Improve Peer Relations, Karen L. Bierman and C. J. Powers

Stock: Usually ships in 4-8 business days!