Effects of social setting on the friendship formation of young children differing in developmental status

This study examined the effects of social setting on the friendship formation of preschool-aged children differing in developmental status. Normally developing children (ND), children with communication disorders (CD), and children with developmental (cognitive) delays (DD) participated in a series of short-term play groups. Each of the 21 play groups consisted of children similar in developmental status (ND, CD, or DD play groups; specialized social settings) or contained primarily ND children with a small number of either CD or DD children (mainstreamed social settings). All children initially were unacquainted with one another and were carefully matched on a variety of family demographic and child characteristic measures. Results revealed that high proportions of unilateral friendships were established for all developmental status groups, but proportions were smaller when employing an index of reciprocal friendships. The proportions of unilateral and reciprocal friendships varied in accordance with a child's developmental status, but were not affected by social setting. In mainstreamed settings, the friendship choices of ND children were affected by peers' developmental status. Moreover, children with reciprocal friends were more socially interactive overall than children without reciprocal friends. The implications of these results for arranging social settings that support friendship formation for children with and without disabilities are discussed.