Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jul-Aug;85(4):1677-93.
doi: 10.1111/cdev.12235. Epub 2014 Feb 22.

Time with peers from middle childhood to late adolescence: developmental course and adjustment correlates

Chun Bun Lam  1 , Susan M McHale, Ann C Crouter
Affiliations

Time with peers from middle childhood to late adolescence: developmental course and adjustment correlates

Chun Bun Lam et al. Child Dev. 2014 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

This study examined the developmental course and adjustment correlates of time with peers from age 8 to 18. On seven occasions over 8 years, the two eldest siblings from 201 European American, working- and middle-class families provided questionnaire and/or phone diary data. Multilevel models revealed that girls' time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers increased beginning in middle childhood, but boys' time increased beginning in early adolescence. For both girls and boys, time with same-sex peers peaked in middle adolescence. At the within-person level, unsupervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted problem behaviors and depressive symptoms, and supervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted better school performance. Findings highlight the importance of social context in understanding peer involvement and its implications for youth development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Developmental course of unsupervised time with mixed- or opposite-sex peers (UMO) and same-sex (USS) peers
Figure 2
Figure 2
Developmental course of supervised time with mixed- or opposite-sex peers (SMO) and same-sex (SSS) peers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1991.
    1. Albert D, Steinberg L. Peer influences on adolescent risk behavior. In: Bardo MT, Fishbein DH, Milich R, editors. Inhibitory control and drug abuse prevention: From research to translation. New York: Springer; 2011. pp. 211–226.
    1. Angold A, Costello EJ, Erkanli A. Comorbidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 1999;40:57–87. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00424. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arndorfer C, Stormshak EA. Same-sex versus other-sex best friendship in early adolescence: Longitudinal predictors of antisocial behavior throughout adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2008;37:1059–1070. doi: 10.1007/s10964-008-9311-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Battin-Pearson S, Newcomb MD, Abbott RD, Hill KG, Catalano RF, Hawkins JD. Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five theories. Journal of Educational Psychology. 2000;92:568–582. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.92.3.568. - DOI

Publication types