Keywords

peer relationships, social skills, development, adolescence

Abstract

Peer relationships are of central importance for healthy psychosocial development and functioning during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Peers provide unique opportunities for social-cognitive growth and the development and maintenance of social skills. They also serve as important sources of emotional and social support, can foster positive feelings about the self and others, and function protectively against the effects of interpersonal stressors (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Without peer relationships, individuals might miss out on developmentally formative opportunities and experiences, such as acquiring certain socially competent skills and behaviors and forming intimate best friendships (Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009). It is also likely that loneliness will ensue, which is a strong predictor of psychological distress, across cultures, and across the lifespan (e.g., Cacioppo, Hawkley, & Thistead, 2010; Heinrich & Gullone, 2006; see Asher & Weeks, Chapter 16, this volume).

Original Publication Citation

Bowker, J. C., Nelson, L. J.,*Markovic, A. K., & *Luster, S. S. (2014). Social withdrawal in adolescence and emerging adulthood. In R. J. Coplan & J. C. Bowker (Eds.), A handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone, pp. 167-183. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2013-12-06

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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