Changes in Peer Relationships in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Changes in peer relationships in middle childhood and adolescence

One very important characteristic of human development is peer relationships.  According to The developing person through the life span “Peers are increasingly important in middle childhood. Teenage children learn from their friends, but their egocentrism buffers them from peer acceptance or rejection.  School-age children, in contrast, are well aware of their classmates’ opinions, judgments and accomplishments” (Berger, 2011 p. 364).   There are many changes that happen in peer relationships during middle childhood and adolescence that are important to a child’s social and emotional growth. During this period children begin searching for independence and clearly wants to separate themselves from anything that was related to them being a child so they may seek out friends that share the same common interest as them which in turn may cause them to ignore friends that they once spent most of their time playing with in their earlier years.  Peer relationships during middle childhood and adolescence begin to shift to settings outside the home and school because as children get older that start to participate in organized activities such as sports or games, hanging out and talking with children they can relate to socially (Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003).  Another change in peer relationships during this stage is the way they communicate with each other.  As children become older they begin to communicate with one another via computer by using email, instant messaging and on-line chatting (Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003). 

References

Berger, K. S. (2011). The developing person through the life span (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Gifford-Smith, M. E., & Brownell, C. A. (2003). Childhood peer relationships: social acceptance, friendships, and peer networks. Journal of School Psychology, 41(4), 235-284. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(03)00048-7