Differences in attraction to same- and other-sex peers as a function of sex, age, individual characteristics (i.e., aggression), and context were examined in a longitudinal study of early adolescent boys and girls (N = 217) that covered the transition from elementary school (Time 1) to middle school (Times 2 and 3). Consistent with T. Moffitt's (1993) concept of the "maturity gap," attraction to aggressive peers, especially attraction to aggressive boys among girls, increased with age and upon entry to middle school, as did attraction to peers who stood out in the peer group in easily observable ways. Attraction to peers who presented features associated with good classroom-based behavior decreased. These patterns are discussed in terms of the developmental needs served by associating with particular peers.

In this short-term longitudinal study, Canadian young adolescents' peer relationships were assessed as students moved from Grade 6 in small elementary schools to Grade 7 in a middle-level school offering Grades 7 through 12. Sociometric nominations were conducted in May of Grade 6, monthly during the fall term, and in May of Grade 7. Peer rejection was stable; peer acceptance was less stable during the transition than subsequently. Girls experienced greater instability in reciprocated friendships than did boys, although girls and boys had similar numbers of reciprocated friendships overall. During the fall term of Grade 7, students lost old reciprocated friendships and formed new reciprocated friendships with previously unfamiliar peers. Girls were more likely than boys to nominate previously unfamiliar peers as friends. Girls from the large elementary school, as compared with other girls, established reciprocated friendships with peers who were unfamiliar from elementary school earlier in the fall term.

Using a sample of 138 early adolescents and their parents, we examined the hypothesis that family and friendship measures would moderate each other's associations with measures of children's perceptions of their adjustment and well-being. Family environment was assessed by asking parents to complete the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale II. A sociometric nomination procedure and the Friendship Quality Scale were completed by the subjects as assessments of reciprocity and quality in their best friendship relations. The Perceived Competence Scale for Children was used to assess children's adjustment. Stronger associations were observed between the family measures and the adjustment measures in children without a close friendship than in children with such a relationship. Also, friendship was more strongly linked to outcome measures for children from low adaptive and low cohesive families than for children in more adaptive and cohesive families. These findings indicate that experiences in the family and friendship domains interact in their associations with children's impressions of their adjustment during early adolescence.

Using a sample of 138 early adolescents and their parents, we examined the hypothesis that family and friendship measures would moderate each other's associations with measures of children's perceptions of their adjustment and well-being. Family environment was assessed by asking parents to complete the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale II. A sociometric nomination procedure and the Friendship Quality Scale were completed by the subjects as assessments of reciprocity and quality in their best friendship relations. The Perceived Competence Scale for Children was used to assess children's adjustment. Stronger associations were observed between the family measures and the adjustment measures in children without a close friendship than in children with such a relationship. Also, friendship was more strongly linked to outcome measures for children from low adaptive and low cohesive families than for children in more adaptive and cohesive families. These findings indicate that experiences in the family and friendship domains interact in their associations with children's impressions of their adjustment during early adolescence.

Sociometry has had a prominent place in the research literature on children's social development. It has been used widely in the study of peer relations as both a technique for measuring the positive and negative forces among children and as a conceptual scheme for understanding the basic processes of the peer system. Beginning with Moreno's landmark publications (for example, Moreno, 1934), sociometry has been used by social developmentalists interested in peer relations as a powerful empirical and conceptual tool. In spite of sociometry's rich conceptual and methodological heritage, however, some issues regarding the use of sociometric measures remain unresolved and, in some cases, unexamined.In this chapter we address two of these unresolved issues: (1) how the two sociometric constructs-acceptance and rejection-are related to each other and to other sociometric constructs and ( 2 ) whether nomination and rating scale measures index the same constructs. The main focus of the second issue concerns which sociometric construct is measured by the mean received liking-disliking rating measure. These issues are fundamental to the study of children's experience within the peer group in that they involve the nature of sociometric constructs and the techniques by which these constructs are measured.