Abstract
The objective of the current research was to test the hypotheses arising from the epigenetic view of social development and from the wider perspective offered by the social network model with three interactional systems, that is, child–parent, child–sibling, and child–peer. They were tested in two prospective longitudinal studies using a multi-informant and multi-method strategy. Study 1 was conducted among 83 children and their parents and Study 2 among 190 children. Attachment security with parents was assessed when the children were 4 years of age, relationships with siblings at 5 years of age, and relationships with peers at 6 years of age. Attachment to parent was found to explain a limited part of variations in later social relationships with siblings and peers. The sibling interactional system had a consistent and enduring effect on later peer relationships. With regard to the two theoretical backgrounds under consideration, neither was able to account for equivocal findings displayed in the two studies as well as in previous research. The wonderful story of social development seems to be a very complex process for which new models are needed.
Highlights
Over the past few decades, a large number of studies have been devoted to examining the ontogeny of children’s social development, that is, the associated risk or protective factors and the processes leading to positive social relationships (Caspi & Shiner, 2006)
The objective of the current study was to test the hypotheses arising from the epigenetic view of social development and from the wider perspective offered by the social network model with three interactional systems, that is, child–parent, child–sibling, and child–peer
In line with previous empirical findings related to the two theoretical backgrounds, equivocal results were found in the two studies
Summary
Over the past few decades, a large number of studies have been devoted to examining the ontogeny of children’s social development, that is, the associated risk or protective factors and the processes leading to positive social relationships (Caspi & Shiner, 2006). One of the most important theoretically driven hypotheses is the epigenetic view that the quality of children’s relationships with their primary caregiver, and in particular their attachment security, lays the groundwork for their involvement in subsequent familial and extrafamilial relationships (Cassidy, 2008; Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006; Thompson, 2006). Another theoretical perspective is the social network model, which offers a wider perspective in which child–parent attachment is seen as a subset of a larger social system that shapes social development. These effects were tested in two 3-wave, longitudinal prospective, multi-informant, and multi-method studies in which attachment security with parents was assessed at 4 years of age, relationships with siblings at 5 years of age, and relationships with peers at 6 years of age
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