ERIC Number: EJ1372712
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2578-4218
EISSN: EISSN-2578-4226
Chinese Children's Heterogeneous Friendship Quality Trajectories: Relations with School Adjustment
Liu, Yuling; Huebner, E. Scott; Tian, Lili
School Psychology, v37 n5 p410-419 Sep 2022
Friendships affect children's development and adjustment. This longitudinal study examined the possible heterogeneity and gender differences in the trajectories of children's friendship quality, as well as the relations between distinct friendship quality trajectories and school adjustment. A total of 3,779 Chinese elementary school students (45.5% girls, M[subscript age] = 9.94 years, SD = 0.72 at Time 1) completed measures of relevant constructs on five occasions at 6-month intervals. Latent class growth modeling revealed four heterogeneous developmental trajectory classes of friendship quality: high-increasing (49.6%), moderate-decreasing (5.1%), moderate-increasing (31.9%), and low-stable (13.4%). Girls were more likely than boys to fall into the higher friendship quality trajectory classes in reference to the low-stable class. Children in the high-increasing class and low-stable class showed the best and the worst school adjustment, respectively. The identification of four heterogeneous developmental trajectories of friendship quality with differential school adjustment outcomes highlights the importance of intervention programs tailored to specific groups for promoting children's friendship quality and school adjustment.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Students, Friendship, Gender Differences, Heterogeneous Grouping, Student Adjustment, Interpersonal Competence, Change, Development
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A