Children's Descriptions of Their Peer Interactions: Useful Information for Clinical Child Assessment

Abstract

In two studies, children responded to 8 open-ended questions and 32 behavioral-rating items concerning the quality and quantity of their peer interactions in home and school settings. In Study 1, the responses of 33 emotionally disturbed children were compared with teacher and staff behavioral ratings, parent ratings, two other self-rating instruments, and with the responses of a control group of 33 nondisturbed children. In Study 2, 173 children in a normative sample were interviewed and their responses compared with sociometric ratings. A factor analysis of children's descriptions revealed three factors — Positive Interactions, Negative Interactions, and Extensiveness of Peer Network. Emotionally disturbed children scored less favorably than nondisturbed children on all three dimensions, and rejected children in the normative sample reported more negative interactions than did peer-accepted or neglected children. Reports of negative interactions were strongly correlated with teacher, staff, and parent reports of behavioral problems in Study 1 and moderately correlated with negative sociometric status in Study 2. Reports of positive interactions were significantly correlated with parent reports of social competence in Study 1 and with positive sociometric nominations in Study 2.

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