Developmental trends and gender differences in the relation between understanding of friendship and asociality.

The relation between understanding of friendship and asociality was examined in 91 girls and 104 boys ranging in age from 9 to 17 years. Consistent with previous research, older children had higher understanding of friendship scores than younger children, and girls had higher understanding of friendship scores than boys. The relation between understanding of friendship and asociality was significant only for boys. Difficulty in understanding components of friendship appears to be one correlate of boys' delinquent tendencies.