Parent contributions to friendship stability during the primary school years.

The present study examines whether characteristics of parents predict the stability of a child’s best friendships across the primary school years. Participants included 1,523 Finnish children (766 boys) who reported involvement in a total of 1,326 reciprocated friendship dyads in the 1st grade (M = 7.16 years old). At the onset of the study, mothers and fathers completed questionnaires describing their own parenting (i.e., behavioral control, psychological control, and affection toward the child) and depressive symptoms. Child scores for peer status (i.e., acceptance and rejection) were derived from 1st grade peer nomination data. Discrete-time survival analyses predicted the occurrence and…