Chapter 8: Friends & Peers

Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.Dept of Psychology

University of West Florida

Friends & Peers

• What’s the difference?– Friends?

–Peers?

Friends & Peers• The course of friendship& peer relations

across adolescence:– Increase in time with peers relative to family– Peer groups become more diverse and

differentiated– Closer friendships are formed– Hierarchies of social groups are established

Friends & Peers

• Families and friends:– Children look to families for emotional support– Adolescents look to closer friends for emotional

support

• Sources of support:– Adolescents look to parents for conversations

about school and career– They look to peers for other key topics (romance,

interpersonal problems)

Friends & Peers• Patterns of change:– Late childhood Parents

– Early adolescence Same sex friend/parents

– Middle adolescence Same sex friend> parents

– Emerging adulthood Romantic partner> parents

Friends & Peers• Parent—Adolescent Relationships – Secure attachment with parents related to secure

friendships– Indirect influence of parents on adolescents’

friends and peer group:• Location of residence• School chosen for attendance

– Authoritative parenting style positively related to higher quality peer relationships

Friends & Peers

• Friendships sustain adolescents’ emotional lives– Seek out friends who share emotional orientation– Moods tend to be more positive with friends– Friends are more open to sharing emotional states– Moods tend to be more positive over weekends

(duh?)

• What would trigger negative emotional state with friends?

Friends & Peers• Traditional culture, family, & friends– Narrow socialization—less access to peers– Gender-based differences:• Females tend to stay closer to mothers and women of

mother’s age• Females have little or no access to male peers• Males have greater access to same-sex peers

– Overall, greater reliance on family

• What function does limited access to peers serve in traditional cultures?

Friends & Peers• Adolescents’ friendships differ from those in

childhood by the presence of intimacy– Shared disclosure of personal themes– Shared vulnerabilities– Based on perspective taking & self reflection– Seek to see the other’s motives, ideas, and

perspectives– Generally, females use disclosure and males use

activities to support emotional closeness

Friends & Peers• Intimacy (cont’d)• Narrow socialization for females and broader

socialization for males likely responsible for gender differences

• What might disrupt an intimate friendship?

Choosing Friends• Friendships based on:– Shared preferences

– Shared motivations and interests

– Level of tolerance for risk behavior

• How has the internet changed the patterns of friendships?

Friendship Influence & Peer Pressure

• Friends’ influence greater than peers’• Influence protective & risk behaviors• Estimates of friends’ and peers’ influence

likely exaggerated:– Self reports tend to be overestimates– Adolescents likely associate with others like

themselves (selective association)

Friendship Influence & Peer Pressure• Some evidence of elevated risk behaviors in

presence of peers & friends– Gardner & Steinberg (2005)• Experimentally tested whether having peers present

would increase the level of risk behavior for adolescents and adults• Adolescents with peers present were more likely to

take risks than adults• Risky decision making and risky behavior decreased

with age ( 13 years-37+)– Presence of peers does impact decision-making

• How have we used this in our state?

Friendship Influence: Nurturance and Support

• Informational Support—advice, etc.• Instrumental support—assist with tasks and

activities• Companionship—proximal presence• Esteem Building—celebration and

encouragement• Positive support better psychological

adjustment•

Friendship Influence: Nurturance and Support

• Emerging Adulthood– Greater and more intense affiliation with friends

than earlier and later– Tend to be clustered around shared interests

• How might social networking sites impact friends’ influence, nurturance and support for emerging adults?

Cliques & Crowds• Cliques--typically same sex and age; spend available time

together; often will schedule same classes; not all (>half) kids belong to cliques;

• • Liaisons--individuals who, while not belonging to particular

cliques, often link cliques by having friends in several cliques

• • Isolates--few friends; not obviously connected to the larger

peer community;• • Crowd--larger peer community; multiple cliques; "If clique

activities are coaching sessions, crowd events are the game itself."

Cliques & Crowds

• Roles of cliques and crowds change with maturity– Crowds typically function best for the early and

mid adolescents; – Emerging adults who typically are beyond the

need for these groups as mirrors of self.

Cliques & Crowds• What are friends for if not to “dis?”

– Sarcasm and ridicule • Establish dominance hierarchy• Boundaries for ingroup/outgroup designation• Establish standards for clique membership

Cliques & Crowds• Relational Aggression– Relationship & Reputation Sabotage– Substitute for physical aggression– Targets tend to manifest:• Isolation• Depressive behaviors• Suicidal ideation and attempts

– More prevalent among females than males

Developmental Changes in Crowds• Increased differentiation of crowds within a

school population

• Increased influence through middle adolescence – Unclear whether kids change as a result of crowd

influence or whether kids select crowds that match themselves

Developmental Changes in Crowds• Perceptions of characteristics of crowds serve

as stereotypes (all emos are suicidal)• Minority crowds as diverse as majority crowds

but majority individuals typically do not see the diversity

• Crowds within traditional cultures tend to be less age graded with fewer divisions– Rural Kyrgyz village: Fan Club as local crowd

Popularity/Unpopularity: Peer Status Groups• Two factors: Social Preference & Social Impact– Social Preference • positively related to cooperation, support,

attractiveness• negatively related to disruption and aggression

– Social Impact• Active and salient behaviors whether positive or

negative

– Rated high to low on each dimension

Popularity/Unpopularity: Peer Status Groups

• Peer status groups:– Popular—high preference & high impact– Average/amiable—positive preference, mid-level

impact– Rejected—low preference & high impact– Neglected—low preference & low impact– Controversial—rejected (disruptive, aggressive) &

popular (social leaders)

Bullying

• Characteristics of Bullies– Aggressive– Pattern of aggressive behavior across time– Power imbalance between bully and victim

• Peaks in early adolescence• Impact on victims– Isolation– Somatic problems

• Cyberbullying—likely relational aggression

Youth Culture• Defined by what sets the youth apart from

children and adults• Defined by markers– Image– Demeanor– Argot

• Socializing influences– Broader or narrower socializing forces– Pluralistic society– Participation varies across subcultures

• Based on the peer status group, which of the group or groups would have belonged to in early adolescence (13-15years)?

• How would you define your peer status now?

• What do you think has caused any change or maintained the status quo?