Friends' influence of adolescents' adjustment to school.

Adolescents may be influenced both by their friends' behaviors and by the features of their friendships. To examine both types of influence, seventh and eighth graders (N = 297) were asked in the fall of a school year to report their involvement and disruption at school. The students also described the positive and negative features of their best friendships. Teachers reported on the students' involvement, disruption, and grades. These assessments were repeated in the following spring. Students whose friends in the fall described themselves as more disruptive increased in self-reported disruption during the year. Girls' self-reported disruption was more influenced by that of their very best friend than was boys'. Students whose very best friendships had more positive features increased in their self-reported involvement during the year. Students whose friendships had more negative features increased in their self-reported disruption, but only if their friendships also had many positive features. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings, and the adequacy of different methods for estimating friends' influence, were discussed.

[1]  G. Botvin,et al.  Correlates and predictors of smoking among black adolescents. , 1992, Addictive behaviors.

[2]  G. Elliott,et al.  At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent , 1990 .

[3]  Kathryn R. Wentzel,et al.  Does Being Good Make the Grade? Social Behavior and Academic Competence in Middle School. , 1993 .

[4]  A. Vinokur,et al.  Social support and undermining in close relationships: their independent effects on the mental health of unemployed persons. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[5]  D. Kandel,et al.  Processes of adolescent socialization by parents and peers. , 1987, The International journal of the addictions.

[6]  D. Abwender,et al.  Social anxiety and peer relationships in early adolescence: A prospective analysis. , 1992 .

[7]  H. S. Sullivan.  The interpersonal theory of psychiatry , 1953 .

[8]  P J Bush,et al.  Perceived vs. actual friends' use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine: Which has the most influence? , 1992, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[9]  Herbert J. Walberg,et al.  Peer group influence on educational outcomes: A quantitative synthesis. , 1981 .

[10]  D. Buhrmester.  Intimacy of friendship, interpersonal competence, and adjustment during preadolescence and adolescence. , 1990, Child development.

[11]  M. Windle.  A longitudinal study of stress buffering for adolescent problem behaviors. , 1992 .

[12]  E. Dubow,et al.  The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: the role of social support and social problem-solving skills. , 1989, Child development.

[13]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Obtaining support from friends during childhood and adolescence. , 1989 .

[14]  R. Felner,et al.  Major life events, hassles, and adaptation in adolescence: confounding in the conceptualization and measurement of life stress and adjustment revisited. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  D. Wayne Osgood,et al.  Influence and Similarity Among Friends: An Integrative Model Applied to Incarcerated Adolescents , 1989 .

[16]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  Adjustment of young adolescents in two-parent nuclear, stepfather, and mother-custody families. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[17]  W. Downs.  Using panel data to examine sex differences in causal relationships among adolescent alcohol use, norms, and peer alcohol use , 1985, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[18]  A. M. Cauce,et al.  Social networks and social competence: Exploring the effects of early adolescent friendships , 1986, American journal of community psychology.

[19]  M. Pagel,et al.  Social networks: we get by with (and in spite of) a little help from our friends. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[20]  D. Kandel.  Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships , 1978, American Journal of Sociology.

[21]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Changes in peer and parent influence during adolescence: Longitudinal versus cross-sectional perspectives on smoking initiation. , 1986 .

[22]  E. Dubow,et al.  A two-year longitudinal study of stressful life events, social support, and social problem-solving skills: contributions to children's behavioral and academic adjustment. , 1991, Child development.

[23]  R. Felner,et al.  A prospective study of life stress, social support, and adaptation in early adolescence. , 1992, Child development.

[24]  J. Graham,et al.  Social influence processes affecting adolescent substance use. , 1991, The Journal of applied psychology.

[25]  D. Kandel,et al.  Parental and Peer Influences on Adolescents' Educational Plans: Some Further Evidence , 1981, American Journal of Sociology.

[26]  R. Kessler,et al.  Supportive interactions, negative interactions, and depressed mood , 1990, American journal of community psychology.

[27]  B. Laursen,et al.  Interpersonal conflict during adolescence. , 1994, Psychological bulletin.

[28]  J. Billy,et al.  The influence of male and female best friends on adolescent sexual behavior. , 1985, Adolescence.

[29]  R. Diaz,et al.  Children's knowledge of a best friend: Fact or fancy? , 1982 .

[30]  J. Udry,et al.  Autism and Accuracy in Adolescent Perceptions of Friends' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior , 1986 .

[31]  L. A. Fisher,et al.  Influence and Selection In the Friend-adolescent Relationship: Findings from Studies of Adolescent Smoking and Drinking1 , 1988 .

[32]  S. West,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. , 1994 .

[33]  K. Bauman,et al.  Mediators in the Relationship Between Parental and Peer Characteristics and Beer Drinking by Early Adolescents1 , 1991 .

[34]  Karl E. Bauman,et al.  On the measurement of friend behavior in research on friend influence and selection: Findings from longitudinal studies of adolescent smoking and drinking , 1986, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[35]  G. Spivack,et al.  The Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scales , 1966 .

[36]  F. Schwartz.  Supporting or Subverting Learning: Peer Group Patterns in Four Tracked Schools1 , 1981 .

[37]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Children's Perceptions of Friendships as Supportive Relationships. , 1986 .

[38]  E. Vernberg.  Psychological adjustment and experiences with peers during early adolescence: Reciprocal, incidental, or unidirectional relationships? , 1990, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[39]  I. Goodyer,et al.  Recent friendships in anxious and depressed school age children , 1989, Psychological Medicine.

[40]  S. Feldman,et al.  Depressive Affect and Restraint in Early Adolescents: Relationships with Family Structure, Family Process and Friendship Support , 1988 .

[41]  J. Weisz,et al.  Social Cognition and Behavior Correlates of Preadolescent Chumship. , 1982 .

[42]  K. Keefe,et al.  Perceptions of normative social pressure and attitudes toward alcohol use: changes during adolescence. , 1994, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[43]  Irwin G. Sarason,et al.  Social support: An interactional view. , 1990 .

[44]  M. Barrera,et al.  Effects of social support and conflict on adolescent children of alcoholic and nonalcoholic fathers. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[45]  W. Bukowski,et al.  Popularity and friendship: Issues in theory, measurement, and outcome. , 1989 .

[46]  D. Buhrmester,et al.  Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. , 1992, Child development.

[47]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Expectancies, values, and achievement in junior high school. , 1990 .