Interpersonal processes in friendship: A comparison of abused and nonabused children's experiences

Although parental maltreatment has been presumed to have deleterious effects on children's abilities to form close relationships, observations of abused children with their best friends have rarely been conducted. Sixteen 9- to 14-year-old physically abused children and 32 matched nonabused children were observed during a 1.5-hr sequence of unstructured and structured tasks. Coding focused primarily on intimacy, conflict, and affective expression. Abused children and their friends displayed less overall intimacy than nonabused children and their friends, although peak levels of intimacy were similar for the 2 groups. Dyads containing an abused child were more conflictual than dyads without abused children, especially during game-playing activities. Abused boys and their friends also displayed more negative affect during game playing than did dyads of nonabused friends. Abused girls and their friends displayed less positive affect than other friendship dyads during activities involving primarily conversation and discussion. Several effects of gender and context not specific to abuse were also obtained.