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The Importance of Peer Relations

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Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

As many researchers have noted recently, the study of children’s peer relations has not only had a long history but has been the focus of increasing attention as well (e.g., Asher, 1983; Hartup, 1983; Hymel & Rubin, 1985). For example, the proportion of published manuscripts concerning peer relations and social skills in one developmental journal reportedly doubled within the past decade to represent about 22% of the journal’s content (Rubin, 1983). As Hartup (1983) put it, “Although the winds of change were detectable..., no one could have anticipated the surge of interest in peer relations that marked the 1970s (p. 106).” In addition to the marked increase in research in this area, the motivation for studying children’s social status among their peers appears to have changed somewhat as well.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27706, USA

    Martha Putallaz & Susanne E. Dunn

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  1. Martha Putallaz
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  2. Susanne E. Dunn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Michael Lewis

  2. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Suzanne M. Miller

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© 1990 Plenum Press, New York

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Putallaz, M., Dunn, S.E. (1990). The Importance of Peer Relations. In: Lewis, M., Miller, S.M. (eds) Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7142-1_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7142-1_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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