ABSTRACT
The adolescent years have traditionally been treated (and still are by many authors) as an area of interest distinct from the rest of childhood. Relationships during this era have often been examined as entities separate from and largely discontinuous with those that went before, despite 'the glaring obvious proposition that the groundwork for transition in adolescence must have been laid in childhood' (Coleman, 1995). I have included a chapter on adolescence in this book as my small contribution to the growing trend to break down this barrier and in an attempt to provide a more complete, balanced and integrated view of friendships throughout the pre-adult years.
