Jeffrey G. Parker

Peer relations and later personal adjustment: are low-accepted children at risk?

In this review, we examine the oft-made claim that peer-relationship difficulties in childhood predict serious adjustment problems in later life. The article begins with a framework for conceptualizing and assessing childrens peer difficulties and with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in longitudinal risk research. Following this, three indexes of problematic peer relationships (acceptance, aggressiveness, and shyness/withdrawal) are evaluated as predictors of three later outcomes (dropping out of school, criminality, and psychcpathology). The relation between peer difficulties and later maladjustment is examined in terms of both the consistency and strength of prediction. A review and analysis of the literature indicates general support for the hypothesis that children with poor peer adjustment are at risk for later life difficulties. Support is clearest for the outcomes of dropping out and criminality. It is also clearest for low acceptance and aggressiveness as predictors, whereas a link between shyness/withdrawal and later maladjustment has not yet been adequately tested. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the implicit models that have guided past research in this area and a set of recommendations for the next generation of research on the risk

Friendship and Friendship Quality in Middle Childhood: Links With Peer Group Acceptance and Feelings of Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction

The distinction between friendship adjustment and acceptance by the peer group was examined. Third- through 5th-grade children (N = 881) completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on the features of their very best friendships, and a measure of their friendship satisfaction. Results indicated that many low-accepted children had best friends and were satisfied with these friendships. However, these childrens friendships were lower than those of other children on most dimensions of quality. Having a friend, friendship quality, and group acceptance made separate contributions to the prediction of loneliness

Significance of peer relationship problems in childhood

In his 1917 sixteen-volume series Practical Child Training, educator R. C. Beery offered advice to mothers whose children have few friends and are reticent to approach others. Beery urged mothers to facilitate get-togethers with peers, such as backyard picnics that include the child’s schoolmates, and to help the children “have a royal good time” (p. 1325). Beery also suggested what to do when a child is fearful about approaching other children: “If your child ever comes to you to bury his head in your skirts, you should not scold or make any scene, but simply appear to pay no attention to him” (p. 741).

Interpersonal processes in friendship: A comparison of abused and nonabused children's experiences.

Although parental maltreatment has been presumed to have deleterious effects on childrens abilities to form close relationships, observations of abused children with their best friends have rarely been conducted. Sixteen 9- to 14-year-old physically abused children and 32 matched nonabused children were observed during a 1.5-hr sequence of unstructured and structured tasks. Coding focused primarily on intimacy, conflict, and affective expression. Abused children and their friends displayed less overall intimacy than nonabused children and their friends, although peak levels of intimacy were similar for the 2 groups. Dyads containing an abused child were more conflictual than dyads without abused children, especially during game-playing activities. Abused boys and their friends also displayed more negative affect during game playing than did dyads of nonabused friends. Abused girls and their friends displayed less positive affect than other friendship dyads during activities involving primarily conversation and discussion. Several effects of gender and context not specific to abuse were also obtained.

Distinct and interactive contributions of physical abuse, socioeconomic disadvantage, and negative life events to children's social, cognitive, and affective adjustment

Past research highlights the importance of considering the sequelae of physical abuse in the context of other risk factors and possible exacerbating circumstances. The present research examines the relative, unique, and interactive effects of physical abuse, sociocultural disadvantage, and cumulative negative life events. Multiple measures and data sources were used to assess the socioeconomic circumstances, exposure to recent negative events, and social, cognitive, and affective adjustment of 19 physically abused and 49 nonabused elementary school-age children. Results indicated that abuse strongly independently predicted problems in childrens adjustment with peers, self-perceptions, and depression. Abuse was also related to increased behavioral problems at home and at school, though this relation abated and even reversed itself as social disadvantage increased. Cumulative negative events independently predicted negative self-perceptions and, for girls, increased depression. Socioeconomic hardship was independently related to childrens cognitive maturity. In addition, socioeconomic disadvantage qualified the relation between negative events and childrens adjustment to peers, such that increased negative events were related to lower peer adjustment among less disadvantaged children but increased peer adjustment of children with more disadvantage. These results support calls for a more contextualized approach to examining the developmental outcomes of physical abuse, one that considers multiple risk factors simultaneously.

Social problem-solving skills of children with traumatic brain injury

Studies of specific social skill deficits in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have begun to appear [1,2], but there are few empirical studies of children with TBI. This study examined social problem-solving skills in boys and girls with TBI and a matched group of non-injured peers, ages 7-13. The TBI group generated fewer total solutions on a social problem-solving measure, largely reflecting situation-specific differences in generated solutions. The TBI group also generated fewer positive assertive, and more indirect responses to peer group entry situations than the comparison group. Implications are discussed for a model of social information processing in paediatric brain injury.