Handbook of Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups

The definitive handbook on peer relations has now been significantly revised with 55% new material. Bringing together leading authorities, this volume presents cutting-edge research on the dynamics of peer interactions, their impact on multiple aspects of social development, and the causes and consequences of peer difficulties. From friendships and romance to social withdrawal, aggression, and victimization, all aspects of children's and adolescents' relationships are explored. The book examines how individual characteristics interact with family, group, and contextual factors across development to shape social behavior. The importance of peer relationships to emotional competence, psychological well-being, and achievement is analyzed, and peer-based interventions for those who are struggling are reviewed. Each chapter includes an introductory overview and addresses theoretical considerations, measures and methods, research findings and their implications, and future directions.

New to This Edition
*Chapters on topics largely new to the field: neuroscience, social media, social inequality, prosocial behavior with peers, and sociological approaches.
*Expanded coverage of applied issues: chapters on interventions for socially withdrawn children, activity programs that promote positive youth development, and policy initiatives.
*Chapters on same- and other-sex peer relationships, peer influence, educational environments, evolutionary models, the self-concept, personality, and animal studies.
*Increased attention to variations in peer relations due to culture, gender, and race.
*Many new authors and topics reflect a decade's worth of theoretical and methodological advances, including the growing use of complex longitudinal methods. 

William M. Bukowski, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and holds a University Research Chair in early adolescent development. From 2008-2016 he was Director of the Centre for Research in Human Development, a multidisciplinary and multi-university research center housed at Concordia University. He is a recipient of the John P. Hill Memorial Award from the Society for Research in Adolescence and is a Charter Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development. Dr. Bukowski's research examines the features and effects of school-age children’s and early adolescents’ experiences with their peers.

Brett Laursen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of Graduate Training at Florida Atlantic University. He is also Docent Professor of Social Developmental Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Dr. Laursen is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 7, Developmental), a Fellow and Charter Member of the Association for Psychological Sciences, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Örebro University, Sweden. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Development. Dr. Laursen’s research focuses on friendship and romantic relationships during childhood and adolescence and their influence on individual social and academic adjustment.

Kenneth H. Rubin, PhD, is Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology and Founding Director of the Center for Children, Relationships, and Culture at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a Fellow of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations, the Association of Psychological Science, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD). Dr. Rubin is a recipient of Distinguished Contribution awards from the Society for Research in Child Development and the ISSBD, the Developmental Psychology Mentor Award from the American Psychological Association, and the Pickering Award for Outstanding Contribution to Developmental Psychology in Canada, among other honors. His research focuses on peer and parent-child relationships and the origins and developmental course of social and emotional adjustment and maladjustment in childhood and adolescence.