`Another gem from Judy Dunn! This very readable and interesting book asks some searching questions about how relationships change with age, how one sort of relationship influences others and how thought processes shape or control our interactions with other people.... The result is a challenging (and sometimes provocative) account of what we know today, together with a look forward to likely developments in the years to come. The book is a must for anyone interested in either the social development of children or the meaning of interpersonal relationships' - Michael Rutter, Institute of Psychiatry, London

How and why do children of the same family have strikingly different relationships with their mother and father, with each other and with their friends? Dunn provides a careful examination of current research in the area; she examines how these differences in close relationships originate, whether they are linked to one another and whether troubled parent-child relationships can result in children having difficulties making friends in later life.

The author also considers whether it is possible to specify at what stage of development particular relationships are likely to have effects on other relationships; the influence of cultural concepts on the perception and conduct of close relationships; children's social understanding and its impact on relationships; and differences in children's temperament and attachment behaviour.