Although hypotheses about the consequences of peer relationships for children's development have served as the foundation for much of the research into children and adolescent peer relationships, direct assessment of the impact of such relationships on children's personality, social behavior, or cognition has rarely been done. This book discusses key issues and current evidence on the contributions of peer relationships to children's development. The chapters are: (1) "Toward a Further Understanding of Peer Relationships and Their Contributions to Child Development" (Gary W. Ladd); (2) "Popularity and Friendship: Issues in Theory, Measurement, and Outcome" (William M. Bukowski and Betsy Hoza); (3) "Behavioral Manifestations of Children's Friendships" (Willard W. Hartup); (4)"Social Conflict and Development: Peers and Siblings" (Carolyn U. Shantz and Cathy J. Hobart); (5) "Social and Emotional Development in a Relational Context: Friendship Interaction from Early Childhood to Adolescence" (Jeffrey G. Parker and John M. Gottman); (6) "Strategic Uses of Peer Learning in Children's Education" (William Damon and Erin Phelps); (7) "The Selection of Friends: Changes Across the Grades and in Different School Environments" (Joyce L. Epstein); (8) "The Role of Peer Groups in Adolescents' Adjustment to Secondary School" (B. Bradford Brown); (9) "Infant-Mother Attachment, Sociability, and Peer Competence" (Michael E. Lamb and Alison Nash); (10) "Early Predictors of Childhood Friendship" (Michael Lewis and Candice Feiring); (11) "Families and Peers: Another Look at the Nature-Nurture Question" (David C. Rowe); (12) "Adolescents' Interpersonal Relationships in Social Context" (James Youniss and Jacqueline Smollar); (13) "Peers' Influence on Adjustment and Development: A View from the Intervention Literature" (Wyndol Furman and Leslie A. Gavin); (14) "Peers' Contributions to Children's Social Maladjustment: Description and Intervention" (Joseph M. Price and Kenneth A. Dodge); (15) "Children's Strategies for Interpersonal Negotiation with Peers: An Interpretive/Empirical Approach to the Study of Social Development" (Robert L. Selman and Lynn Hickey Schultz); and (16) "Contributions of Peer Relationships to Children's Development" (Thomas J. Berndt). (KDFB)