PARENT AND CHILD REPRESENTATIONS OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS - LINKAGES BETWEEN FAMILIES AND PEERS

The current study was designed to explore the similarities between soc ial-cognitive representations of relationships of mothers and their ch ildren. Fourth and fifth graders (n = 42) and their mothers participat ed. Each participant independently responded to a series of hypothetic al social dilemmas involving peer and family contexts. Results indicat ed that maternal and child cognitions are related, but the relations a re highly dependent upon the component of social cognition (e.g., attr ibutions, anticipation of consequences, or goals) as well as the type of dilemma (e.g., ambiguous provocation, mild rejection, or conflict r esolution) and the social context (e.g., family or peers). Results are discussed in terms of the role of parent and child cognitions as poss ible mediators of family-peer linkages.