PREDICTION OF POSITIVE PEER RELATIONS FROM OBSERVED PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS

The nature of 7-year-old children's (n = 140) positive peer relations was examined using a multi-method, multi-agent approach. A confirmator y 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. Simi lar pathways were found for boys and girls. Once it was established th at stable constructs could be developed to measure positive peer relat ions, earlier parent-child characteristics were examined to assess the ir utility in predicting children's positive :I friendships. Parental scaffolding and warmth were measured at 18 months and 5 years of age. Structural equation modeling suggests that positive parent interaction s were positively related to later peer relations, but this relationsh ip was significant only for boys. Possible explanations for this sex d ifference are discussed.