Children's Social Interaction with Older, Younger, and Same-Age Peers

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Abstract
Characteristics of children's social interaction with younger, older, and same-age peers are explored in this review in an attempt to discover those behaviours that are more likely than others to occur in different relative-age partnerships. It is hypothesized that symmetric behaviour functions (e.g., friendship) are most commonly seen in the interaction of children of similar ages, whilst asymmetric functions (e.g., leadership) are most frequent in interactions between individuals of different ages. It is, indeed, apparent that friendships most commonly occur between individuals of similar ages. Aggression occurs primarily with age-mates, but is also frequently directed toward younger peers. Some types of prosocial behaviour (e.g., nurturance, prosocial dominance, helping) are more frequently displayed with younger peers than with age-mates, while behaviours associated with fairness and morality may be more prevalent in the interaction of age-mates. Instruction and leadership behaviours are most frequently displayed by older children interacting with younger peers. The interactions of children who differ in developmental status thus differ from those between age-mates, and may have different implications for child socialization.