Abstract: 571 elementary school children from the third grade to the fifth are investigated in June 2003. The relationships among social preference, friendship quality, self-perceived social competence and loneliness are examined, the mediator effect of self-perceived social competence between peer relationship and loneliness is also tested. The results indicated that, the relationships among social preference, friendship quality, self-perceived social competence and loneliness are significant, and the gender differences is significant; self-perceived social competence has mediator effect between peer relationship and loneliness; in separate analyses, there are not only indirect relation between loneliness and social preference or friendship quality through the mediator effect of self-perceived social competence, but also direct relation; in integrate analysis, there are direct and indirect relations between loneliness and friendship, there are only indirect relation between loneliness and social preference.

Key words: social preference, friendship quality, self-perceived social competence, loneliness, mediator effect