Childhood peer relationships in context.pdf

Journal of School Psychology 41 (2003) 285–292Commentary Childhood peer relationships in context Susan M. Sheridan*, Eric S. Buhs, Emily D. Warnes Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 239 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345, USA Received 21 January 2003; accepted 21 January 2003Gifford-Smith and Brownell (2003) have provided an extensive critical review of the current state of the art in peer relations research. Their thorough review of the basic research in these areas clearly illustrates the complexity of the task of understanding these aspects of children’s social development and how they navigate the interrelated relational ecologies. Our purpose is to extend the discussion by suggesting implications for intervention work and related research.A contextual perspective for bridging peer relations research and intervention Among the many issues raised by Gifford-Smith and Brownell, the importance of recognizing the role that context plays in children’s peer relationships is perhaps most striking. This tenet is so essential that it serves as an organizing principle guiding our discussion of peer relationship interventions with children. As such, we propose that a contextual perspective provides a useful heuristic. Within this perspective, children’s peer relationships and their social skillfulness are considered in relation to specific social contexts within which they participate. The social norms and demands of these contexts are central to understanding the roles children’s peer relationships play in adjustment. They are also central in assessing children’s social skillfulness within different settings and relationship types. Elements of context relevance theory (Sailor, Goetz, Anderson, Hunt, Gee, 1988) highlight the importance of context in designing effective social skills interventions. According to this theory, social skills should be acquired in the context in which they are used (e.g., the classroom, playground,