Differential effects of early attachment on social competence with friends, acquaintances, and unfamiliar peers, a meta-analysis

grantor: University of TorontoOnly recently has the important distinction between children's friendships and peer relationships in general attracted research attention. This conceptual blurring has characterized many studies investigating the relation between early attachment quality and social competence. According to attachment theory, the quality of an infant's attachment relationship has profound implications for later close relationships. Yet most of the research to date has measured children's social competence when interacting with acquaintances or even with unfamiliar peers. This meta-analysis compared studies relating attachment quality to social competence with either friends, acquaintances, or unfamiliar peers. Although a small but statistically significant effect size estimate was found for the relation of attachment to social competence across all studies, no differences were found among studies using friends, acquaintances, or unfamiliar peers. Possible factors contributing to this unexpected result are discussed.M.A