Ch 9: Peers, Romantic Relationships, and Lifestyles Flashcards
What is the role of a “friend” for an adolescent?
- Provide support, advice, and comfort
- Help cope with stress
- Help develop AD identity and independence
- Develop intimacy
- Develop social skills
What are the benefits for ADs with close friendships?
- Less anxiety and depression
- Higher self-esteem
- More socially competent
- Better in school
- Better connections with adults
- Altruistic
- Self-confident
Benefits are especially high for female adolescents.
How does the definition of friendship change from childhood to adolescence?
Early- and mid- childhood definition: “A friend plays with me”
Late-childhood: “Friends share, care, cooperate, and are honest”
Adolescence: “Friends are also loyal, intimate, and help me through problems”
What two factors influence who becomes our friends in AD?
1) Similarity: friends become more similar as we go through AD
2) Geography: friends are “physically proximate”
Do an adolescent’s friends influence their behaviour, or does an adolescent CHOOSE friends who feel and act the same way they do?
Both alternatives have support—adolescents who smoke/do poorly in school/are depressed choose friends who are similar to them.
However, peer pressure is very real.
What is “peer pressure” and when is it most influential?
The positive AND negative influence of peers
Peer pressure is most influential between 11 and 15, after which its influence declines—its influence is lowest 18+
Who is most influenced by peer pressure?
Adolescents lacking self-confidence and who have non-supportive parents
Is peer pressure “monolithic” (exerts influence across all spheres of life)?
No
For example, athletic friends may pressure in athletics, but not in music, clothes, etc.
Is peer pressure always bad?
Peer pressure is not always bad, sometimes the peer agrees with the AD’s parents
- In deeper areas (morals, vocations, education), parental pressure and peer pressure are often in the same direction.
- In “surface areas” (music, clothes), peer pressure is more likely to go against parental pressure.
Do girls or guys face more peer pressure?
Overall, girls encounter more peer pressure than boys
- For boys, peer pressure is greater for substance use and sex
- For girls, peer pressure is greater in social activities (partying), clothing, grooming, and dating.
Why do adolescents conform to peer pressure?
To remain liked and to be accepted.
Should parents worry about peer pressure?
Yes and no
Generally, parents have more influence over many of the ‘deeper’ aspects of life (morals, school, etc.)
The double influence (parent and friend) is especially powerful!
The 5 Powers (that friends exert to pressure each other)
1) Coercive power → if an adolescent does not do something, punishment will follow (uncommon)
2) Reward power → an adolescent is rewarded by friends for doing something
3) Referent power → adolescents conform to the suggestions of friends they admire (they emulate people they look up to)
4) Expert power → an adolescent conforms if they see a friend as an expert in a particular area
5) Legitimate power → an adolescent conforms to someone in authority (not really a good explanation of peer pressure)
Reward, referent, and expert power are the most common.
Why is opposite-sex friendships rarer during adolescence?
Males and females have different expectations of friends (females: feelings and support, males: activities and achieving goals)
Romantic feelings may interfere
What is used to research AD popularity, and what is its criticism?
Sociometry –> where teens are asked who were the most or least liked peers
Criticism: some adolescents have no friends at school—their friends are outside of school
Is popularity important?
YES
Popularity outranks good grades on the values hierarchy!
