Peers have both positive and negative influences on children; therefore,
considerable attention has focused on assessing peer relationships and
friendships through childhood and adolescence. The present article
provides an overview of the main methods of assessing peer relationships.
The adaptive nature of children's peer relations has been assessed
through
four main methodologies: (1) asking the children themselves about
elements of peer relations and friendships; (2) asking children about their
perceptions of others within the peer group; (3) asking adults (i.e. parents
and teachers) about the peer relations skills of children in their care;
and
(4) directly observing children during interactions with peers. Each of
these approaches is described, with attention to relative strengths and
weaknesses and their suitability for assessing peer relations in early
childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence.
Irony processing in Adolescents: an ERP study