Conflict and childhood friendship in Taiwan and Canada.

Abstract

The present study assessed cross-cultural differences in friendship characteristics among children from collectivist and individualist cultures. Same-sex dyads of Grade 3 and Grade 4 students in a middle-class suburb of Toronto, Canada and students from a middle-class suburb of Taipei, Taiwan reported on the presence of companionship, conflict, help, security, and closeness in their friendships. The analysis revealed that long-term stability rates for friendships were not significantly different between nations or between boys and girls. Companionship was a significant predictor of friendship continuation among students in Taiwan. Friends in Taiwan reported significantly less conflict in their relationships than did friends in Canada. There was also greater agreement among friends in Taiwan than in Canada on the presence of conflict in the friendship relationship. RésuméLa présente étude a porté sur les différences transculturelles des particularités de l'amitié chez des enfants appartenant à des cultures collectiviste et individualiste. Des dyades de même sexe, composées d'élèves de 3 e et 4 e année d'une banlieue de classe moyenne de la Toronto, au Canada, et d'élèves d'une banlieue de classe moyenne de Taipei, à Taïwan, ont rapporté la présence de camaraderie, de conflit, d'aide, de sécurité et d'intimité dans leurs relations d'amitié. L'analyse des données recueillies a révélé que l'indice de stabilité à long terme de l'amitié ne présentait pas de différences significatives entre les pays ou entre garçons et filles. La camaraderie était un prédicteur important du maintien de l'amitié chez les élèves de Taipei. Les dyades d'amis provenant de Taïwan ont rapporté moins de conflits dans leurs relations d'amitié que ne l'ont fait celles du Canada. On a aussi noté un accord plus marqué quant à la présence de conflit dans les relations d'amitié chez les amis provenant de Taïwan que chez ceux provenant du Canada.

Four Children and One Toy: Chinese and Canadian Children Faced With Potential Conflict Over a Limited Resource

“…Orlick, Zhou, and Partington (1990) similarly observed kindergarten Chinese children engaged in lower levels of conflict and exhibited more cooperation than their North American peers. Finally, Benjamin, Schneider, Greenman, and Hum (2001) found that elementary‐age children from Taiwan reported less conflict in their friendships than did Canadian children.…”

“They can even make waiting in line fun”: A quantitative content analysis of autistic children's friendship conceptualizations

“…However, given extant research that has pointed to some gender‐related distinctions in children's friendship experiences and responses to transgressions (e.g., Macevoy & Asher, 2012), this seems a worthwhile avenue for future research in larger‐scale studies. Similarly, there could be cultural differences in some aspects of children's friendship (Benjamin, Schneider, Greenman, & Hum, 2001); however, these could not be analyzed given our small sample. Cultural variations will be important to examine in future studies.…”

Adolescent Social Networks and Physical, Verbal, and Indirect Aggression in China: The Moderating Role of Gender

“…Firstly, Chinese children tend to "see the world as a network of relationships" (Hsu, 1981), which is consistent with the collectivistic culture and Confucian dynamic in China. Hence, they make more efforts to avoid conflicts, make more agreements and maintain more relationships than their counterparts in the West (Woan et al, 2001). Secondly, a Chinese sample represents a more suitable sample when using the stochastic actor-based model.…”