ABSTRACT
Over the past 20 years, peer relationships in childhood have assumed an increasingly important role in the study of children's social development. Social maladjustment in children is of particular concern to many investigators because of a number of studies linking it with later adjustment problems and psychopathology in adolescence and adulthood (see Parker & Asher, 1987, for a comprehensive review of this area). Two patterns of social maladjustment are frequently described: aggression and social withdrawal. Aggression (also labeled Conduct Problems, Undercontrolled, or Externalizing behavior) is a broad factor that includes physical and verbal aggression, disruptiveness, and attention-seeking. Social Withdrawal (also labeled Personality Problems, Overcontroiled, or Internalizing behavior) is an equally broad factor that includes shyness, anxiety, over sensitivity, and social isolation. These two patterns of behavior have been consistently identified as broad, independent factors underlying ratings of maladjusted childhood behavior provided by teachers, parents, and clinicians (see Achenbach, 1980; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1978; Kohn, 1977; Quay, 1986; and Ross, 1980, for comprehensive reviews of this literature).
