Friendships in Childhood and Adolescence.

Anyone interested in learning about children's friendships will benefit from this incredibly well-organized resource. Bagwell (Univ. of Richmond) and Schmidt (Moravian College) trace the development of friendships across the child and adolescent years to explore the social and emotional significance of friendships. They emphasize not only that friendships are important, but also that a child's development influences the nature of his/her friendships and the nature of the friendship provides a context that influences development itself. The authors explore topics such as what draws particular individuals toward one another, how friendships vary in quality or function, and the ways some friendships support adjustment and well-being while others promote negative outcomes. A six-domain model for the assessment of friendship experiences is presented and serves to organize and integrate the current literature concerning friendships. These domains are employed to provide coherent summaries of both the normative nature of friendships and the more idiographic aspects of the dark side of friendship experiences, including the absence of friendships altogether. Cultural differences in the function and roles of friendships are considered. The authors close by exploring potential interventions to assist children who may be having difficulties establishing friendship relationships. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. R. B. Stewart Jr. Oakland University