ATTACHMENT AND REPRESENTATIONS OF PEER RELATIONSHIPS

Three studies explored the connection between attachment and peer-rela ted representations. Children heard stories in which a peer with ambig uous intent caused a negative event. Study 1 examined three aspects of peer-related representations in 3 1/2-year-olds: representations of(a ) peer intent, (b) behavioral responses to the event, and (c) peer fee lings, Children's representations of the mother's response to the even t were also examined. Study 2 examined the connection between attachme nt and the same aspects of peer-related representations in kindergarte n and Ist-grade children. The proposition implicit in attachment theor y that it is children's representations of peer relationships that in part account for the connection between child-parent attachment and re lations with peers was also tested. Study 3 focused on representations of pea intent in connection with self-reported maternal and paternal rejection in 5th graders.