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. 2005 May-Jun;76(3):747-60.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00875.x.

The two faces of adolescents' success with peers: adolescent popularity, social adaptation, and deviant behavior

Joseph P Allen  1 , Maryfrances R Porter, F Christy McFarland, Penny Marsh, Kathleen Boykin McElhaney
Affiliations

The two faces of adolescents' success with peers: adolescent popularity, social adaptation, and deviant behavior

Joseph P Allen et al. Child Dev. 2005 May-Jun.

Abstract

This study assessed the hypothesis that popularity in adolescence takes on a twofold role, marking high levels of concurrent adaptation but predicting increases over time in both positive and negative behaviors sanctioned by peer norms. Multimethod, longitudinal data, on a diverse community sample of 185 adolescents (13 to 14 years), addressed these hypotheses. As hypothesized, popular adolescents displayed higher concurrent levels of ego development, secure attachment, and more adaptive interactions with mothers and best friends. Longitudinal analyses supported a popularity-socialization hypothesis, however, in which popular adolescents were more likely to increase behaviors that receive approval in the peer group (e.g., minor levels of drug use and delinquency) and decrease behaviors unlikely to be well received by peers (e.g., hostile behavior with peers).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Interaction of Popularity and Peer Valuing of Misconduct in Predicting Relative Changes in Drug Use from Age 13 to Age 14
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction of Popularity and Peer Valuing of Misconduct in Predicting Relative Changes in Minor Deviant Behavior from Age 13 to Age 14
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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