Attachment and representations of peer relationships

Three studies explored the connection between attachment and peer-related representations. Children heard stories in which a peer with ambiguous intent caused a negative event. Study 1 examined three aspects of peer-related representations in 3 1/2-year-olds: representations of(a) peer intent, (b) behavioral responses to the event, and (c) peer feelings, Children's representations of the mother's response to the event were also examined. Study 2 examined the connection between attachment and the same aspects of peer-related representations in kindergarten and Ist-grade children. The proposition implicit in attachment theory that it is children's representations of peer relationships that in part account for the connection between child-parent attachment and relations with peers was also tested. Study 3 focused on representations of pea intent in connection with self-reported maternal and paternal rejection in 5th graders.