Friends like these: Peer relationships in childhood and adolescents

Dr Siân Jones – Teaching Fellow in Psychology, Oxford Brookes University

Psychologist in the Pub
Friends like these: Peer relationships in childhood and adolescents.
From a young age, friendships and belonging matter to children. They learn quickly about the rules of the groups they belong to, and when to abide by the rules. They learn about who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’, about what counts as being a good bad friend. In this talk, focusing on 7-14 year-olds, I will explore how children learn to navigate the complex social world of the playground. I’ll look at the role of humour and emotion in children’s friendship groups, and at what happens when harmonious peer group relations break down. How might children’s friendship groups help to maintain or resist bullying?