| Abstract: | The nature of 7-year-old children's (n = 140) positive peer relations was examined using a multi-method, multi-agent approach. A confirmatory factor analysis suggested three factors clustered by reporting agent and method: teachers' perceptions of the child's positive attributes, observation of the child-peer interaction in three play settings, and observation of the child-peer interaction in a teaching context. Similar pathways were found for boys and girls. Once it was established that stable constructs could be developed to measure positive peer relations, earlier parent-child characteristics were examined to assess their utility in predicting children's positive friendships. Parental scaffolding and warmth were measured at 18 months and 5 years of age. Structural equation modeling suggests that positive parent interactions were positively related to later peer relations, but this relationship was significant only for boys. Possible explanations for this sex difference are discussed. |
