Children's conceptions of friendship: A multimethod study of developmental changes.

84 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders were administered 3 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 (e.g., being considerate of others' feelings) increased in saliency with age, whereas characteristics referring to overt behaviors (e.g., sharing secrets) remained constant. Several substantive differences were found among the 3 measures. Ss recognized the importance of different friendship expectations before spontaneously reporting them in the interview. The recognition tasks yielded a more complete set of friendship expectations than the interview did. Ss of all ages differentiated between expectations for friends and acquaintances, but the degree of differentiation increased with age. Results support J. J. LaGaipa's (1979) hypothesis that children begin to differentiate among relationships prior to adolescence. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's knowledge of a best friend: Fact or fancy?

40 4th and 8th graders were questioned about a best friend's personality (e.g., what the friend worries about), the friend's preferences (e.g., favorite sports), and other characteristics that were more external to the friend (e.g., the friend's birthdate). Accuracy of knowledge was determined by comparing Ss' responses with their friend's self-reports. Also assessed were Ss' frequency of contact with the friend, their attraction to the friend, the duration of their friendship, and their cognitive level as judged by the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices. Results indicate that 8th graders knew more than 4th graders about a friend's personality characteristics and preferences, suggesting that the intimacy of best friendships increases with age. Cognitive level, frequency of contact, and the duration of a friendship predicted significant portions of the variance in external knowledge. Frequency of contact was the only significant predictor of intimate knowledge; cognitive level and attraction to the friend were marginally significant predictors. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of referential communication skills: How familiarity with a listener affects a speaker's production of redundant messages.

Investigated the development of sensitivity to the needs of a listener in 20 1st graders and 20 4th graders. Of interest was whether Ss would vary their production of redundant messages (saying more than the minimal necessary to be informative) as a function of sharing common experiences with a listener. Ss were asked to give messages to a fictitious listener (represented by a drawing) who was supposed to be either a stranger or a friend. Results show that both 1st and 4th graders were more likely to give redundant messages to an unfamiliar listener than to one with whom they shared common experiences. Fourth graders, however, gave a different type of redundant message, one more sensitive to a listener's needs. Fourth graders included several differentiating features in their messages, whereas 1st graders included both differentiating and nondifferentiating features. It is concluded that there were developmental differences in the type of messages given but not in the production of redundancy. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age changes and changes over time in prosocial intentions and behavior between friends.

During the fall of the school year, 86 1st and 4th graders named their best friends and rated their liking for each child of the same sex in their grade. Ss' intentions to share with or help their friend, as well as Ss' actual behavior, were assessed. In both the fall and the spring, age changes were found that suggested an increase in compromise or mutual accommodation between friends. Fourth graders not only showed more prosocial intentions and prosocial behavior toward their friends than 1st graders did, they also assumed that their friends would expect a more moderate amount of prosocial behavior and would be more satisfied with their decisions about how much to share and help. Changes in intentions and behavior between fall and spring were significant only for 1st graders. First graders' intentions to share and help were less positive in the spring than in the fall. Their actual sharing also decreased over time. The changes appeared to reflect less stability in younger Ss' friendships and relations among strength of friendship, prosocial intentions, and prosocial behavior. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Girlfriend, boyfriend: Age and sex differences in intimate friendship.

Investigated changes in intimate friendship with same- and opposite-sex friends in preadolescence and adolescence, using the Intimacy Scale. Ss were Israeli children from the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grades (60 boys and 60 girls from each grade), who rated their friendship with a same- or opposite-sex best friend. There was a significant age difference in overall intimacy with same-sex friends. Frankness and spontaneity, knowing and sensitivity, attachment, exclusiveness, and giving and sharing were factors that changed with age. Trust and loyalty, and taking and imposing did not. Opposite-sex friendship revealed a significant increase in intimacy with age. Boys and girls did not differ in reported opposite-sex friendship in the 5th and 7th grades, whereas girls in the 9th and 11th grades reported higher intimacy than did boys. This sex-by-age pattern of interaction was particularly evident for attachment and for trust and loyalty. Girls were higher in knowing and sensitivity, giving and sharing, and taking and imposing. The implications for further differentiation among types of peer relations and interrelation of dyadic friendship and cognitive growth are discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and change in childhood and adolescent friendships.

Two studies examined the stability of existing friendships and the formation of new friendships during a school year. In Study 1, the friendships of 16 female and 33 male 1st graders and 31 female and 32 male 4th graders were assessed in the fall and again in the spring. In Study 2, the friendships of 25 female and 34 male 4th graders and 32 female and 22 male 8th graders were assessed in the fall and the spring. In both studies, most friendships present in the fall remained constant in the spring. Although the stability of friendships generally increased between 1st and 4th grade, it did not increase regularly between 4th and 8th grade. The formation of new friendships varied consistently with age. First and 4th graders made more new friends during the year than they lost; 8th graders lost more old friends than they gained. Sex differences in friendship stability were not consistent, but several findings suggest that girls tend more often than boys to limit the size of their friendship groups. The importance of examining stability and change in friendships simultaneously, and the significance of individual differences in friendship stability are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Close relationships, individual differences, and early literacy learning

We hypothesized that the emotional investment and mutuality characteristic of friendship dyads, compared to nonfriend dyads, would support conflicts and resolutions, as well as reflection on emotions and literate language. We also tested a process model by which temperament influenced interactions leading to the expression of conflicts and resolutions, which, in turn, lead to use of emotional and literate language in friend and nonfriend dyads. Dyads of kindergarten children were observed in either friend or nonfriend dyads across the school year. While rates of conflicts were similar, friends, compared to nonfriends, more frequently resolved conflicts and generated more emotional and literate language. Our process model of literate language was also supported. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Children's understanding of indebtedness as a feature of reciprocal help exchanges between peers.

Examined age differences in children's understanding of indebtedness as a function of helper cost and relationship. 120 children from the 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades responded to 3 high-cost and 3 low-cost vignettes describing a hypothetical reciprocal exchange between 2 friends or 2 acquaintances. Fifth graders reported a diminished obligation to reciprocate following the receipt of low-cost help, whereas the obligation to reciprocate remained high for 3rd and 1st graders. Low-cost help also minimized any negative feelings resulting from a peer's inability to reciprocate for 5th and 3rd graders but not 1st graders. All children reported that it was more important for an acquaintance to reciprocate assistance than it was for a friend. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of adolescent peer networks.

Structural aspects of school-based peer networks of adolescents in 6th to 12th grade were mapped in 3 school systems. Female students were more connected to the peer network than were male students, and peer networks became more exclusive with increasing grade. The results also suggest that numeric minorities usually are less connected to school peer networks than the majority group. There was mixed evidence for hierarchical organization of the peer network. Best friends were highly embedded in friendship groups, but neither friendship group nor best friendship was highly embedded in social crowd. Adolescents name friends who are not in their friendship group and usually do not name everyone in the friendship group as a friend. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attributions for failure and success in different aspects of reading.

Investigated the attributions of 82 3rd graders and 82 6th graders for their success and failure in different reading situations with an extended set of causes (as a function of age and achievement differences). Ss were split into good and poor readers on the basis of a median split on the Reading Comprehension subtest of the California Test of Basic Skills. Ss reading achievement was then assessed in 2 reading situations (evaluation of reading performance and reading for meaning). Ss were asked to rate the degree to which each of 6 causes (ability, paying attention, studying, luck, task difficulty, and assistance from others) was responsible for their success or failure. Findings show that 6th graders' locus of control scores varied across situations, while 3rd graders' scores did not. Studying and paying attention were salient to Ss as causes. Age and achievement interacted, with low-achieving 3rd graders giving higher ratings to causes more clearly beyond their control than high-achieving 3rd graders, whereas low- and high-achieving 6th graders did not differ. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in functions of three relations during adolescence.

Three functions of interpersonal relations (attempt at behavior control, intimacy, and nurture) were assessed in friendship, mother–child, and father–child relations of adolescents to examine age, relational, sex, and mother–father differences. 60 female and 60 male 4th, 7th, and 10th graders and undergraduates rated 8 statements that portrayed interpersonal interactions for each relationship to indicate how closely the statements described Ss' actual interpersonal relations. Parents exerted greater control than friends across grades. Intimacy in friendship was lower than in parent–child relations at 4th grade, but it surpassed the parent level by 10th grade. Nurturance remained relatively consistent and high across grades for parents, whereas it increased with increasing age of adolescents in friendship. Female friendship involved higher intimacy than male friendship. Only males perceived fathers to be more nurturant than mothers. Results are interpreted in terms of their consistency with the Piagetian/relational framework of social development and their implications for research concerning parental and peer conformity in adolescent socialization. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Close friend and group influence on adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use.

The relative influence of adolescents' closest friends and their friendship group on their cigarette smoking and alcohol use was investigated in a short-term, longitudinal study of 1,028 students in the 6th, 8th and 10th grades in 2 school systems. The amount of influence over the school year was modest in magnitude and came from the closest friend for initiation of cigarette and alcohol use. Only the friendship group use predicted transition into current cigarette use, whereas only the close friend use predicted transition into current alcohol use. Both group and close friends independently contributed to the prediction of adolescents' drinking to intoxication. No difference in the amount of influence, was found between stable and unstable close friendships or friendship groups; neither grade nor gender of the adolescents related to the amount of influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations between needs of friends and fiancés.

This study was undertaken to investigate complementarity and similarity of needs in mate and friendship selection. The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) was administered to 29 clusters of 6 Ss each. A cluster consisted of an engaged couple and a male and female friend of each fiancé. Evidence for similarity of needs in mate and friendship selection, but no consistent evidence for complementarity was found. Engaged couples were significantly alike on 8 of the 15 EPPS needs. In friendship pairings, females select female friends who are like themselves, males select male friends with few similar needs. The male fiancé selects the same type of woman as a friend and as a future spouse, but the female fiancée picks a male friend and a fiancé who are dissimilar. These findings indicate that different processes are involved in the formation of like-sex and opposite-sex pairs fulfilling different interpersonal roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of headings by children for text search.

Examined the development of text search strategies in 144 4th, 6th, and 8th graders who were assigned to reading booklets with or without headings embedded in the reading material. Both younger and older Ss demonstrated evidence of efficient use of headings as locational aids when explicitly instructed on how to use them, and spontaneous use of headings as a search strategy was observed in half of the 4th and 6th graders and in most of the 8th graders. Ss at all levels read faster when asked to search for a specific fact than when asked to read the story line by line, indicating their awareness of when to skim. Findings suggest that by the 4th grade, children may have the cognitive skills to benefit from headings but may use these skills only in structured situations. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in word recognition strategies

Attempted to determine when children develop adultlike strategies in word recognition and use the entire configuration as a basis for a response rather than individual letters. A total of 144 kindergartners, 1st-6th graders, and undergraduates were asked to choose an alternative which most resembled a stimulus trigram, quadrigram, or quingram. Ss could respond on the basis of individual letter position and overall word shape. There was a clear developmental trend such that, with increasing age, Ss were more likely to choose alternatives with the same shape as the stimulus. There was also a tendency to choose response alternatives with the same 1st letter as the stimulus through 4th grade, followed by a decreasing tendency to rely on the 1st letter starting with the 5th grade. Results are considered supportive of E. J. Gibson's (see record 1972-22179-001) hypothesis of a developmental change with increasing age and schooling in feature analysis and extraction. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill Friendship Questionnaires.

This research established the psychometric properties of 2 friendship questionnaires; the McGill Friendship Questionnaire–Respondent's Affection (MFQ–RA) taps respondents' feelings for a friend and friendship satisfaction, and the McGill Friendship Questionnaire–Friend's Function (MFQ–FF) taps respondents' assessments of the degree to which a friend fulfills 6 friendship functions (stimulating companionship, help, intimacy, reliable alliance, self-validation, and emotional security). Ss were 227 junior-college students (aged 16–21 yrs). Factor analysis supported the subscale structure of each questionnaire. The subscales showed high internal consistency, covaried with the duration of being a best friend and with a self-esteem subscale regarding close friends, but not with other self-esteem measures. Women reported higher positive feelings for their friend than did men and evaluated the friend higher on friendship functions. Finally, positive feelings and satisfaction covaried with each friendship function subscale. It is concluded that the MFQ–RA and the MFQ–FF, though brief and easy to administer, provide reliable and valid assessments of friendship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhanced co-orientation in the perception of friends: A social relations analysis.

Newcomb's (1953) idea of co-orientation (interdependence between two persons' attitudes or perceptions) is used as a framework within which interpersonal perception between friends and acquaintances is examined. The principal question is whether co-orientation effects are stronger for friendship dyads than for acquaintance dyads. More specifically, the study examines the degree to which consensus, assimilation, self–other agreement, and assumed similarity differ. The social relations model is used to analyze a data set that included 16 living groups with 119 friend dyads and 1,668 acquaintance dyads. Results indicate that co-orientation effects are more pronounced in friendship dyads. The increment in co-orientation effects is largely due to similarities in the unique or idiosyncratic perceptions that people have of friendship pairs as well as the unique agreement about others that friends have with one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Friendships in Middle School: Influences on Motivation and School Adjustment.

In this 2-year longitudinal study (n=242), the authors examined relations of having a reciprocated friend and characteristics of a reciprocated friend to students' social and academic adjustment to middle school. With respect to having a friend, 6th-grade students without friends showed lower levels of prosocial behavior, academic achievement, and emotional distress than did students with reciprocated friendships. Not having a friend in 6th grade also was related to emotional distress 2 years later. Evidence that motivational processes mediate relations between friends' and individuals' prosocial behavior was obtained. For students with reciprocated friendships (n=173). friends' prosocial behavior predicted change in individuals' prosocial behavior in 8th grade by way of changes in goals to behave prosocially. Implications for studying friendship influence in middle school are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of causal attributions about recall performance to assess metamemory and predict strategic memory behavior in young children.

27 1st graders and 24 2nd graders were exposed to a memory task in which their recall performance varied as a function of their incidentally elicited sorting behavior. When asked what had affected their recall, only some Ss at each grade identified sorting as a causal factor, although all had used sorting. Attributions about sorting could not be accounted for by differential memory for sorting behavior or by differential use of sorting on previous trials. Causal attributions, but neither previous sorting nor nonattributional verbal reports about sorting behavior, predicted use of a sorting strategy in a standard, study-recall task 1 wk later. Ss who had attributed recall to sorting tended not to use rehearsal strategies on the subsequent task, suggesting that causal attributions reflected their views about what were the most important influences on recall. Ss' ability to assess their recall performance and their insight into possible mechanisms by which sorting affects recall are discussed as avenues for future research into how children acquire their ideas about factors that affect memory. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)