DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGES IN ANTECEDENTS AND OUTCOMES OF PEER CONFLICT AMONG PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

In this study the authors tried to answer the following questions: What are the antecedents of peer conflict? How are peer conflicts brought to a close? How do the antecedents and outcomes of peer conflict change as children grow older? A longitudinal observational study was carried out on children who had just entered a kindergarten. Peer interaction during two hours of free play was recorded on videotape once a week throughout the three year period. From 81 observation sessions, 36 were chosen for analyses. All episodes of peer conflict were identified and classified according to their causes and outcomes. The results showed that the causes and outcomes of peer conflict changed as children grew older. However, the changes were greater in outcomes than in causes. In many cases very young children did not protest or resist the offensive acts of other children, and those offensive acts did not result in overt conflict. The outcome of peer conflict changed from simple resistance or submission by one side to mutually satisfactory endings, as children got older.