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Peer Relationships: Promoting Positive Peer Relationships During Childhood

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Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion

Introduction

As children begin elementary school, opportunities for peer interactions significantly increase (Parker, Rubin, Erath, Wojslawowicz, & Buskirk, 2006). Friendships and other peer relationships become more important and more supportive than when children were younger (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987). As children progress through elementary school, the peer group tends to reorganize into subgroups such as clusters or cliques. Peer interactions become less supervised, while the pool of available peers increases. The contexts in which interactions occur also broaden to include schools, extracurricular activities, phone conversations, and more recently, social media opportunities. Increased contact with peers provides opportunity for children to learn appropriate social interactions, form friendships, and identify with peer groups. Children are also exposed to negative aspects of peer relationships, such as exclusion or bullying.

Successful development of peer relationships is...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, George Washington University, 2125 G St., NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Cynthia A. Rohrbeck & Laura Schaffner Gray

Authors
  1. Cynthia A. Rohrbeck
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  2. Laura Schaffner Gray
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Correspondence to Cynthia A. Rohrbeck .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, New London, CT, USA

    Thomas P. Gullotta

  2. University of Connecticut, West Hartford, USA

    Martin Bloom

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Rohrbeck, C.A., Gray, L.S. (2014). Peer Relationships: Promoting Positive Peer Relationships During Childhood. In: Gullotta, T.P., Bloom, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_137

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_137

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