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.