Wyndol Furman

Children's Perceptions of the Personal Relationships in Their Social Networks.

Relatively few investigators have compared and contrasted the characteristics of different kinds of relationships in childrens social networks. In the present study, 199 fifthand sixth-grade children completed Network of Relationships Inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with Weisss (1974) theory, children reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Additionally, children reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Children reported being most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought that their relationships with mothers and fathers were most important. Discussion centers around the bases for the childrens differentiations of their relationships and the implications for understanding social networks.

Adolescent Romantic Relationships

In this article, we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on romantic relationships between age 10 and the early twenties. First, we describe key themes in this area of research. Next, we briefly characterize the most influential theoretical formulations and distinctive methodological issues. We then describe research findings regarding pertinent social and developmental processes. We summarize the extensive findings on relationships with parents and peers as a context for romantic relationships. Finally, we characterize the growing evidence that adolescent romantic relationships are significant for individual adjustment and development, and we note promising directions for further research.

The Effects of Social Skills Training and Peer Involvement on the Social Adjustment of Preadolescents.

This study examined the effects of social skills training and peer involvement on the peer acceptance of disliked preadolescents. 56 fifth- and sixth-grade children were identified as unaccepted by their peers and deficient in conversational skills. These children were then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: (1) conversational skills training (individual coaching), (2) peer involvement under superordinate goals (group experience), (3) conversational skills training combined with peer involvement (group experience with coaching), and (4) a no-treatment control. Differential treatment effects were observed at both a posttreatment and follow-up assessment. As predicted, conversational skills training promoted skill acquisition and increased skillful social interaction. Peer involvement increased peer acceptance and childrens self-perceptions of their social efficacy. The results were interpreted in terms of a developmentally based multidimensional model of social competence.

Rehabilitation of Socially Withdrawn Preschool Children through Mixed-Age and Same-Age Socialization.

24 socially withdrawn preschool children were located through classroom observations and assigned to 3 conditions: (a) socialization with a younger child during 10 play sessions, (b) socialization with an age mate during a similar series of sessions, and (c) no treatment. The socialization sessions, particularly those with a younger partner, were found to increase the sociability of the withdrawn children in their classrooms. Significant increases occurred mainly in the rate with which positive social reinforcement was emitted. Generally, the results support a leadership deficit theory of social isolation. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observed changes are discussed.

Age differences in adolescents' perceptions of their peer groups.

This study employed social psychological theories of group formation to conceptualize and predict age differences in peer groups. Adolescents were administered questionnaires about the characteristics of their peer groups. Early and middle adolescents reported placing more value on being in a popular group and perceived more group conformity and leadership within their groups than preand late adolescents. Early and middle adolescents also reported more antagonist interactions and fewer positive interactions with group members and more antagonistic interactions with those not part of their peer groups. Girls reported having more positive group interactions, being more bothered by negative interactions, and having more permeable group boundaries. Boys reported more negative interactions with those outside their groups. Results are discussed in the context of adolescent development. Adolescence is a period in which individuals are expanding their perspective beyond the family and learning how to negotiate relationships with others in the social system. Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents (Sherif & Sherif, 1964; Youniss & Smollar, 1985). The peer group can also serve as a bridge from childhood parental dependencies to a sense of autonomy and connectedness with the greater social

Methods and Measures: The Network of Relationships Inventory: Behavioral Systems Version:

This paper describes an alternative version of the Network of Relationships Inventory, which was designed to assess how frequently different relationships were used to fulfill the functions of three behavioral systems: attachment, caregiving, and affiliation. Psychometric and validational evidence is presented including: (a) high internal consistency for all scales and composites; (b) a second order factor structure of support and negative interactions for each relationship; (c) moderately high stability over a one year period; (d) moderate convergence among different reporters; (e) theoretically meaningful differences among different relationships; (f) moderate associations among different relationships; (g) associations with the original Network of Relationships Inventory; and (h) relations with observed interactions with mothers and friends.

Children's Conceptions of Friendship: A Multimethod Study of Developmental Changes.

Although previous research has examined the development of childrens conceptions of friendship, two major limitations currently exist. First, previous investigators have relied principally on a single methodological approach-the open-ended interview. Second, little is known about childrens expectations of other peer relationships or how friendship expectations are distinguished from them. These two issues were addressed in the present study by administering second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade children three measures: (a) an open-ended interview, (b) a story-recognition task, and (c) a questionnaire about the importance of different characteristics to friendships and acquaintances. In general, friendship expectations based on dispositional characteristics increased in saliency with age, whereas characteristics referring to overt behaviors remained constant. Several substantive differences were found among the three measures. Children recognized the importance of different friendship expectations before spontaneously reporting them in the interview. Moreover, the recognition tasks yielded a more complete set of friendship expectations than the interview did. Finally, children of all ages differentiated between expectations for friends and acquaintances, but the degree of differentiation increased with age.

Developmental Changes in Young Children's Conceptions of Friendship.

The present study examined the development of friendship conceptions from 4 to 7 years of age. Subjects were administered an open-ended interview, a picture recognition task, and a forced-choice rating task in which they identified the most important characteristics of friendship. Common activities, affection, support, and propinquity were all found to be salient aspects of most childrens conceptions. Friendship expectations concerning affection and support increased m frequency with age, while references to physical characteristics decreased. In general, parallel findings were found on the 3 measures, although the results were not as strong on the open-ended interview. The findings suggest that children first learn the overt characteristics of the occupants of the role of friend, but as they grow older they place increasing emphasis on affectively based characteristics.

Romantic Experience and Psychosocial Adjustment in Middle Adolescence

Concurrent and longitudinal relations between the amount of romantic experience and psychosocial adjustment were examined in a 1-year study of a community based sample of 200 tenth graders. Adolescents, parents, and friends completed measures of psychosocial adjustment. The amount of romantic experience was associated with higher reports of social acceptance, friendship competence, and romantic competence; at the same time, romantic experience also was associated with greater substance use, more delinquent behavior, and more frequent genital sexual behavior. The amount of romantic experience predicted increased substance use and genital sexual behavior over a 1-year period, whereas social acceptance predicted increased romantic experience. These relations with romantic experience were significant even when genital sexual behavior and social acceptance were taken into account, underscoring the unique contribution of romantic experiences.

Working Models of Friendships

The purpose of this study was to determine if a narrative technique based on the Adult Attachment Interview could be used for studying working models of friendships. A Friendship Interview was developed and administered to a sample of 68 high school seniors. Theoretically coherent factors reflecting friendship experiences and working models were obtained. Ratings of dyadic support from friends were related to secure working models, and inversely related to dismissing working models. Ratings of friend controlling-self dependent behavior and self controlling-friend dependent behavior were related to preoccupied working models. Ratings of experiences in friendships were related to self-perceptions of friendships. Working models were related to self-perceptions of relational styles and attachment styles.