Children's conceptions of friendship: A multimethod study of developmental changes (original) (raw)
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Developmental changes in young children's conceptions of friendship
1983
Developmentd Changes m Young Chddren's Concepttons of Friendship CmLLD DEVKLOPMENT, 1983, 54, 549-556 The present study examined the development of fnendship concepfaons from 4 to 7 years of age Subjects were admimstered an open-«iided mterview, a picture recogmbon task, and a forced-choice ratmg task m which they identified the most important charactenstics of fnendship Common activities, affection, support, and propmqmty were all found to be sahent aspects of most children's conceptions Fnendship expectabons concermng affection and support increased m frequency with age, while references to physical charactensbcs decreased In general, parallel findings were found on the 3 measures, although the results were not as strong on the open-ended mterview The findmgs suggest that children first leam the overt charactenstics of the occupants of the role of fnend, but as they grow older they place mcreasmg emphasis on affectively based charactensbcs ICkM DadcpmtHt, 1983,54, S49-S56 © 1983 by the Soaety for Rese«rcb m Child Development, Ine AU nghU tewrved 0009-3920/83/5403-0019t01 00]
Old Friends, New Friends: Predictors of Children's Perspective on Their Friends at School
Child Development, 2002
Predictors of 5-year-old kindergartners' insights into their friends, and their accounts of liking and conflict with their friends were investigated, with a focus on both the children's and their friends' social understanding during the preschool period, and the quality of their preschool friendships. Seventy children initially studied at 4 years utilizing social cognition tasks and observations of dyadic play with their friends were followed over the transition to school; at school they were interviewed about their friendships and their social understanding was assessed. One group had remained close to their preschool friends, whereas a second group had formed new friendships. Social understanding, language abilities, and prosocial characteristics of both the children and preschool friends, their successful communication and shared pretend play experiences during the preschool period, and their mothers' educational level were related to their perspectives on their current school friends. Liking of current friends was linked to relationship history and maternal educational level for both those with old and with new friends, whereas insight was related to assessments of social cognition.
Early Child Development and Care, 2017
A Friend is truly a treasure, in accordance with age and competence's qualitative changes. The aim of this study was to confirm the increase in friendship competence and its multifactorial nature in 3-up to 10-yearold children, and to verify gender differences, and parenting influences on the concept of friendship. A semi-structured interview was administered in a natural context to 3-to 10-year-old children (N = 167; Mean = 7.6 years; SD = 2.16). According to Selman's Model, the coding provides five sub-categories: (1) friendship; (2) social perspective taking; (3) emotions understanding; (4) social interaction strategies; and (5) aggressiveness. Three parental style questionnaires were administered to parents. Results point up an increase in social skills according to age. The Friendship Interview turned out to be a reliable tool able to investigate how the concept of friendship is also structured in preschool children.
Propósitos y Representaciones, 2021
The article is devoted to the study of some aspects of friendship relations in primary school age. It presents original diagnostic methods for studying friendship relations in elementary school students: “Qualities of a friend” and “What kind of friend am I?”. The object of the diagnostic techniques is the significant qualities of a friend, the features of the respondents’ attitude to the identified qualities, and the awareness of their contribution to friendly relations. The procedure of administering the techniques is described and the parameters of evaluation of the results, the features of their processing, and recommendations to experts on the use of the given diagnostic tools are allocated. The procedure of testing the validity and reliability of the diagnostic techniques is described. The deployed testing methods include expert evaluation and retesting. The results of the study of friendly relations in primary school students are described. The specific characteristics of the...
Friendship competence in kindergarten and primary school children
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2015
ABSTRACT Aim of this study was to confirm the increase of friendship competence and its multifactorial nature in kindergarten and primary school children and to verify gender differences, parenting and socioeconomic status influences on friendship concept. A semi-structured interview was administered in a natural context to 3–8 years-old children (N = 99; mean = 6.1 years; SD = 1.35). The coding provides five sub-categories: (1) friendship; (2) social perspective taking; (3) emotions understanding; (4) social interaction strategies; (5) aggressiveness. Three parental style questionnaires were administrated to parents. Results confirm the increasing of friendship competence according to age. No gender difference was found. Father's involvement in son's activities was inversely correlated with son's aggressivity.
Social Development, 2001
Peer relations researchers generally agree that friendship involves a close, mutual, dyadic relationship. However, the lack of consensus on how to operationalize this construct has limited our understanding of the role of friendship in social adjustment. The present study directly compared the psychometric properties (i.e., number of friendships identified, concordances, and stability) of the five major different definitions of friendship used in the literature. Fourth-and fifth-grade students (N ϭ 90) completed a battery of sociometric measures at two different times separated by eight weeks. Friendship dyads were then identified using the following definitional criteria: (1) mutual positive nominations; (2) mutual high ratings (i.e., 4 or 5 on a five-point Likerttype scale); (3) one positive nomination reciprocated by a rating of 5; (4) one positive nomination and mutual high ratings; and (5) one positive nomination and mutual ratings averaging at least 4. Frequency and concordance analyses indicated differences across the five definitions. In addition, the friendships identified by each of the five definitions were similarly moderate in their stability. Explanations for, and the possible implications of, these differences are discussed.
This paper discussed a stage theory of childhood, preadolescent, and adolescent concepts of role-relationships and social reasoning in friendship. It was hypothesized that these concepts develop through levels of perspective-taking, within which individuals view and structure interpersonal relationships. At level one, relationships are based on one person's subjective evaluation of interpersonal acts and on that person's perception of the consequences of others' actions for his own expectations. At level two, relationships are based on situation or context-specific, reciprocal expectations of both parties. At level three, relationships are based on the generality or temporal continuity of mutual expectations of each party across situations or contexts. At level four, relationships are based on the underlying deeper meaning each party gives to the other's behavior and on the underlying understanding each party has of the complexity of the other's values and belief...
Developmental changes and gender differences in adolescents' perceptions of friendships
Journal of Adolescence, 2009
This five-wave study aims to investigate the development of adolescents' perceptions of support, negative interaction, and power in best friendships from ages 12 to 20 years. Furthermore, gender differences and linkages between the three dimensions are explored. A total of 593 early adolescents (53.6% boys) and 337 middle adolescents (43.3% boys) participated. A multigroup multivariate accelerated growth curve showed an increase of support for both boys and girls. Negative interaction was found to temporarily increase and then decrease for boys, while remaining stable for girls. Power temporarily increased for boys and decreased for girls. Results indicated that (1) friendships become more supportive during adolescence, (2) power issues are more prominent in friendships of boys and more powerful peers are perceived as more supportive by boys but not by girls, and (3) friendships of boys show a lagged development towards more equality. Ó
Children's Friendship Development: A Comparative Study
Children
Establishing friendships is an important developmental goal of early childhood, but little research has addressed ways in which parents support the friendship development of their young children with disabilities. The purpose of this survey study was to explore the support strategies that parents use to facilitate their children's friendships. Forty mothers of preschoolage children completed surveys. Both groups of mothers (parents of children with and without disabilities) reported using similar strategies to support their children's friendship development. However, mothers of children with disabilities engaged directly in the children's play far more frequently than did mothers of typically developing children. Share Mirar esta página en español Home Journal Contents Issue Contents Please help us keep ECRP free to readers around the world by making a financial contribution to the journal. Every little bit helps!