The friendship features of preschool children: Links with prosocial behavior and aggression

This study assessed features of young children friendships and determined whether the features reported were associated with prosocial and aggressive behavior Teachers completed the friendship features questionnaires (FFQ) on the mutual friendships in their class identified by the 98 children who were interviewed (M age = 3.91 years). Four subscales (support, conflict, exclusivity/intimacy, and asymmetry) were differentiated from the 36-item questionnaire. Teacher reports of friendship features showed moderate inter-rater reliability and were associated with teacher reports of aggression and prosocial behavior and peer reports of acceptance and rejection. Friendship support was positively correlated with prosocial behavior friendship conflict was positively correlated with overt aggression and peer rejection, and friendship exclusivity/intimacy was positively associated with relational aggression and negatively with peer acceptance. Findings are consistent with research on school age children friendship features and their behavioral correlates.