Friendships in Childhood and Adolescence

Highly readable and comprehensive, this volume explores the significance of friendship for social, emotional, and cognitive development from early childhood through adolescence. The authors trace how friendships change as children age and what specific functions these relationships play in promoting adjustment and well-being. Compelling topics include the effects of individual differences on friendship quality, ways in which certain friendships may promote negative outcomes, and cutting-edge research approaches. Examining what clinicians, educators, and parents can do to help children who struggle with making friends, the book reviews available interventions and identifies important directions for future work in the field.

Catherine L. Bagwell, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Her primary research interests are peer relationships in childhood and adolescence and the developmental significance of friendship. She is investigating the importance of having friends, friendship quality, and the characteristics of friends. Dr. Bagwell's interest in the peer relations of children with disruptive behavior disorders led to her second area of research, on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the social and emotional correlates and outcomes that are associated with this disorder. Michelle E. Schmidt, PhD, is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She also serves as Director of Academic Leadership Programs. Her primary research interests include friendship, peer relationships, and peer victimization. Along with Dr. Bagwell, she is investigating the importance of having friends, friendship quality, and the characteristics of friends. Dr. Schmidt is also involved in two large studies of peer victimization--one in a group of high-risk public schools and the other in an independent school--studying children and adolescents from prekindergarten through the high school years.

I. The Nature of Friendship 1. What Is Friendship? 2. Studying Friendship II. The Normative Experience of Friendship 3. The Developmental Significance of Friendship in Childhood 4. The Developmental Significance of Friendship in Adolescence III. Individual Differences in the Experience of Friendship 5. The Individuals within a Friendship 6. Friendship Quality IV. Implications and Looking Forward 7. Friendship and Culture, with Emily C. Jenchura 8. Friendship Intervention 9. The Significance of Friendship