Different forms of relationships and contact with peers open up different educational opportunities for children and young people. In these, numerous educational and socialisation processes are triggered, which have a serious influence on further development. Starting with the question of what leisure activities today's children and adolescents engage in, this volume empirically and structurally traces the distinction between friendships, cliques and youth cultures or youth scenes. These peer orientations are discussed as a function of different social dimensions, with special consideration of gender, migration and social class. This provides the opportunity to examine not only the positive influencing factors but also the negative components of peer relationships and their significance for the development of children and young people.