The major purpose of the proposed research is to examine patterns of interactions between parents and their sociometrically rated popular, rejected, and neglected children in a laboratory analogue setting. Thirty popular, 30 neglected, and 30 rejected children will be observed with their mothers and fathers during the completion of a puzzle task and during a free play session. Observations will focus on the instructional strategies parents use to assist their children in the completion of the puzzle, and subsequently, the types of play interactions parents initiated with their children. Children's responses to parental behaviors will be recorded. Parents will be asked to assess their own styles or parenting and their children's personalities. Using detailed sequential analyses on the observations, it is hoped that a conceptual link can be drawn between parental modes of functioning and sociometric status within the peer group. Likewise, it is hoped that the relationship between perceived parental modes of functioning and observed patterns of interactions will be determined.