This comprehensive, authoritative handbook covers 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.

Table of Contents:
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’s Peer Relationships: Legacies and Lessons for Our Time?, Gary W. LaddII. 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’s 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. GestIII. 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 António José SantosIV. 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 Kätlin 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. DietzV. Distal Correlates of Children’s 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, Håkan Stattin and Margaret Kerr 24. Peer Interactions and Relationships from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Xinyin Chen, Janet Chung, and Celia HsiaoVI. Proximal Correlates of Children’s Social Skills and Peer Relationships 25. Genetic Factors in Children’s 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’s Peer Relationships Hildy Ross and Nina HoweVII. 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. BukowskiVIII. 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