Research and Clinical Interests

My major research interest is the peer relationships of children and adolescents, especially the peer relations of children at risk for long-term maladjustment. I have a specific interest in learning about children’s friendships, especially the friendships of children and adolescents with different forms of child psychopathology. Some of my work in this area is descriptive, focusing on individuals displaying such risk factors as shyness accompanied by anxiety and various types of aggression. One project in this area is a study of Internet use by early adolescents with social anxiety/social phobia and the development of a mostly on-line intervention for them. Another ongoing project is an exploration of the friendships of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I am also interested in the interpersonal relationships of normal children and adolescents undergoing stressful transition experiences such as the transition to a new school experience. I conduct much of this relationship research together with colleagues in other countries, and am interested in how the supportive functions of family and peer relationships work in different cultures.

The variable of interpersonal competition has become prominent in my recent work. I take issue with the contention that competition is always harmful. I am trying to learn more about how different forms of competition affect the relationships, adjustment, and health of children, adolescents, and adults in different cultures.

Over the past 25 years, I have developed, led, and evaluated group interventions to enhance the interpersonal relationships of children and adolescents with internalizing and externalizing disorders. The cognitive-behavioural focus of these interventions has been my frame of reference since graduate school. I have written a number of quantitative reviews of the scientific literature on interventions for children and adolescents and on children’s peer relations; I regard these as an ongoing contribution to practice.

My research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Spencer Foundation, Canadian Institute for Health Research, NATO Scientific Affairs Division, Health Canada, Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Heritage Canada, Ontario Ministry of Education, the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerca Scientifica (Italy) and the German-American Academic Foundation.