| Description |
In most studies of friendship change, only one member of the friendship dyad's perception is examined, thus limiting our understanding of whether individuals perceive such losses in similar manners. The purpose of this study was to explore the congruence of children's perceptions of their friendship losses. The data were gathered in 1997 and 1998; the participants included 220 fourth, sixth, and eighth-grade students. The data analyzed were derived from interviews conducted with these children following the administration of two friendship lists (administered three months apart). The interviews focused on friendships that changed between administration of the two lists. The focal data included whether the individuals presumably involved in the friendship agreed that; (a) the friendship existed at the time of the first friendship list (time one), (b) that it existed or not at the time of the second friendship list, and (c) if it did not exist according to the second list, how they characterized the friendship history and the reason for its demise. Comparisons were made within friendship dyads, and across the three grade levels. Based upon social-cognitive theory (e.g., Selman) it was expected that the dyad's perceptions of the friendship history would be more congruent for children with greater social-cognitive maturity than for children with less social-cognitive maturity. Results did not strongly support the hypothesis. However, trends were observed in the predicted direction for male dyads. Also, results provided some valuable, unanticipated information about the congruence of children's perceptions of their friendships and friendship losses. |
