This comprehensive, authoritative Handbookcovers the breadth of theories, methods, and empirically based findings on the ways in which children and adolescents contribute to one another's development. Leading researchers review what is known about the dynamics of peer interactions and relationships from infancy through adolescence. Topics include methods of assessing friendship and peer networks; early romantic relationships; individual differences and contextual factors in children's social and emotional competencies and behaviors; group dynamics; and the impact of peer relations on achievement, social adaptation, and mental health. Salient issues in intervention and prevention are also addressed. This book will be invaluable to researchers, practitioners, and students in developmental, clinical, school, and educational psychology; counseling; and related disciplines. It may also serve as a text in graduate-level courses such as Peer Relations, Social Development, and Child and Adolescent Development.

Kenneth H. Rubin, PhD, is Professor of Human Development and Director of the Center for Children, Relationships, and Culture at the University of Maryland. His research interests include children’s peer and family relationships and their social and emotional development. Dr. Rubin is the recipient of a Killam Research Fellowship (Canada Council) and an Ontario Mental Health Senior Research Fellowship, is past president of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, and has published 11 books and over 240 peer-reviewed chapters and articles. He is a Fellow of the Canadian and American Psychological Associations and the Association for Psychological Science. William M. Bukowski, PhD, is Professor and University Research Chair in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is also the Director of the interuniversity Centre for Research in Human Development, based in Quebec. His research program focuses on the factors that influence the features and effects of peer relations in early adolescence. Dr. Bukowski is past editor of the International Journal of Behavioral Development. Brett Laursen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of Graduate Training at Florida Atlantic University. His research focuses on parent-child and peer relationships during childhood and adolescence and the influence of these relationships on individual social and academic adjustment. Dr. Laursen is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 7, Developmental) and a Fellow and Charter Member of the Association for Psychological Science. He is currently editor of the Methods and Measures section of the International Journal of Behavioral Development. A Docent Professor of Social Developmental Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, he is also a member of the Finnish Center of Excellence in Learning and Motivation Research.

I. Introduction: History and Theory 1. Critical Issues and Theoretical Viewpoints, Willard W. Hartup 2. Trends, Travails, and Turning Points in Early Research on Children\u2019s Peer Relationships: Legacies and Lessons for Our Time?, Gary W. Ladd II. Social Behaviors, Interactions, Relationships, and Groups: What Should be Measured, How, and Why? 3. Children's Behaviors and Interactions with Peers, Richard A. Fabes, Carol Lynn Martin, and Laura D. Hanish 4. Methods for Investigating Children\u2019s Relationships with Friends, Thomas J. Berndt and Melissa A. McCandless 5. Sociometric Methods, Antonius H. N. Cillessen 6. Assessment of the Peer Group: Identifying Naturally Occurring Social Networks and Capturing Their Effects, Thomas A. Kindermann and Scott D. Gest III. Infancy and Early Childhood 7. The Beginnings of Peer Relations, Dale F. Hay, Marlene Caplan, and Alison Nash 8. Peer Interactions and Play in Early Childhood, Robert J. Coplan and Kimberley A. Arbeau 9. Social–Emotional Competence in Early Childhood, Linda Rose-Krasnor and Susanne Denham 10. Friendship in Early Childhood, Carollee Howes 11. Structural Descriptions of Social Transactions among Young Children: Affiliation and Dominance in Preschool Groups, Brian E. Vaughn and Ant\u00f3nio Jos\u00e9 Santos IV. Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence 12. Friendship as Process, Function, and Outcome, William M. Bukowski, Clairneige Motzoi, and Felicia Meyer 13. The Behavioral Basis of Acceptance, Rejection, and Perceived Popularity, Steven R. Asher and Kristina L. McDonald 14. Social Exclusion in Childhood and Adolescence, Melanie Killen, Adam Rutland, and Noah Simon Jampol 15. Conflict in Peer Relationships, Brett Laursen and Gwen Pursell 16. Aggression and Peer Relationships in School-Age Children: Relational and Physical Aggression in Group and Dyadic Contexts, Nicki R. Crick, Dianna Murray-Close, Peter E. L. Marks, and Nazanin Mohajeri-Nelson 17. Avoiding and Withdrawing from the Peer Group, Kenneth H. Rubin, Julie C. Bowker, and Amy E. Kennedy 18. Bullies, Victims, and Bully–Victim Relationships in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence, Christina Salmivalli and K\u00e4tlin Peets 19. Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Experiences, Wyndol Furman and W. Andrew Collins 20. Informal Peer Groups in Middle Childhood and Adolescence, B. Bradford Brown and Erin L. Dietz V. Distal Correlates of Children\u2019s Peer Relationships 21. Sex Differences in Peer Relationships, Amanda J. Rose and Rhiannon L. Smith 22. Race and Ethnicity in Peer Relations Research, Sandra Graham, April Z. Taylor, and Alice Y. Ho 23. Neighborhood Contexts of Peer Relationships and Groups, H\u00e5kan Stattin and Margaret Kerr 24. Peer Interactions and Relationships from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Xinyin Chen, Janet Chung, and Celia Hsiao VI. Proximal Correlates of Children\u2019s Social Skills and Peer Relationships 25. Genetic Factors in Children\u2019s Peer Relations, Mara Brendgen and Michel Boivin 26. Temperament, Self-Regulation, and Peer Social Competence, Nancy Eisenberg, Julie Vaughan, and Claire Hofer 27. Child–Parent Attachment Relationships, Peer Relationships, and Peer-Group Functioning, Cathryn Booth-LaForce and Kathryn A. Kerns 28. Family Influences on Children\u2019s Peer Relationships Hildy Ross and Nina Howe VII. Childhood Peer Experiences and Later Adjustment 29. Peers and Academic Functioning at School, Kathryn R. Wentzel 30. Peer Reputations and Psychological Adjustment, Mitchell J. Prinstein, Diana Rancourt, John D. Guerry, and Caroline B. Browne 31. The Role of Friendship in Child and Adolescent Psychosocial Development, Frank Vitaro, Michel Boivin, and William M. Bukowski VIII. Translation and Policy 32. Deviant by Design: Peer Contagion in Development, Interventions, and Schools, Thomas J. Dishion and Timothy F. Piehler 33. Social Skills Training to Improve Peer Relations, Karen L. Bierman and C. J. Powers