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. 2018 Sep;47(9):1813-1829.
doi: 10.1007/s10964-018-0830-9. Epub 2018 Mar 13.

Is Inspiring Group Members an Effective Predictor of Social Dominance in Early Adolescence? Direct and Moderated Effects of Behavioral Strategies, Social Skills, and Gender on Resource Control and Popularity

Marjolijn M Vermande  1 , Patricia A Gilholm  2 , Albert H A Reijntjes  3 , Dave J Hessen  4 , Elisabeth H M Sterck  5   6 , Anne M Overduin-de Vries  6
Affiliations

Is Inspiring Group Members an Effective Predictor of Social Dominance in Early Adolescence? Direct and Moderated Effects of Behavioral Strategies, Social Skills, and Gender on Resource Control and Popularity

Marjolijn M Vermande et al. J Youth Adolesc. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Dominance in the peer group is important for adolescents. Resource Control Theory posits that both coercive and prosocial (positively assertive) strategies are associated with dominance. Combining Resource Control Theory with Socioanalytic Theory on personality, we hypothesized that inspiring group members would be an additional effective strategy. This study examined whether the three behavioral strategies and two types of social skills (social competence and manipulation) predicted dominance (resource control and popularity). Participants were 619 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 13.1; 47% female) in the first grade of secondary school. They completed peer reports (behavioral strategies and dominance) and self-reports (social skills). Only inspirational and coercive strategies substantially predicted dominance. Main effects of social skills emerged. Moderation between strategies and social skills was only observed for girls (e.g., coercive strategy use was associated with more popularity for girls with higher levels of social manipulation skills). This study furthered our understanding of the predictors of dominance in adolescence by including inspirational behavior and examining prosocial and antisocial skills.

Keywords: Inspirational behavior; Popularity; Resource control; Resource control strategies; Social dominance; Social skills.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Simple slopes of coercive strategies on popularity at high and low levels of social manipulation for girls and boys
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simple slopes of prosocial strategies on popularity at high and low levels of social manipulation for girls and boys
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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