Family and Peers: Linking Two Social Worlds [Hardcover]

Why is it that relationships with family members predict the quality of children's relationships outside the family? A wealth of research has documented that various aspects of family relationships are predictably related to the quality of children's interactions and relationships with peers. Understanding what account for these effects is important both for theories of children's relationships and intervention efforts to ameliorate children's peer relationship difficulties. This volume advances the field by discussing several mechanisms that may account for continuities across family and peer relationships.

A variety of theoretical perspectives are represented in the book. For example, both learning and biological explanations are considered. Authors also note two key considerations in investigating family and peer relationships. First, it is necessary to consider the cultural context. The function and meaning of family and peer relationships may differ depending on what roles are played by these relationships in different cultural contexts. Second, it is necessary to consider the child's age. Developmental issues, such as concerns with establishing greater independence at the entrance to adolescence, will impact both family and peer relationships.

KATHRYN A. KERNS is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Kent State University./e

JOSEFINA M. CONTRERAS is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Kent State University./e

ANGELA M. NEAL-BARNETT is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Kent State University./e

Introduction by Kathryn A. Kerns, Jeffery E. Aspelmeier and Patricia L. Tomich
Emotion Regulation Processes: Explaining Links between Parent-Child Attachments and Peer Relationships by Josefina M. Contreras and Kathryn A. Kerns
The Ecology of Premature Autonomy in Adolescence: Biological and Social Influences by Thomas J. Dishion, Francois Poulin, and Nani Medici Skaggs
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