The extent to which peer influences on substance use in adolescence systematically vary in strength based on qualities of the adolescent and his or her close friend was assessed in a study of 157 adolescents (Age: M = 13.35, SD = 0.64), their close friends and their parents assessed longitudinally with a combination of observational, analogue, sociometric, and self-report measures from early to mid-adolescence. The degree to which adolescents changed their levels of substance use in accord with their peers' baseline levels of use was predicted by a range of theoretically-salient factors including: observed teen lack of autonomy and social support in prior interactions with mothers, low teen refusal skills, and the level of social acceptance of their close friend. Findings suggest the importance of both internal factors (e.g., autonomy and relatedness struggles) and external factors (e.g., social status of friends) in explaining why vulnerability to peer influence processes may be much greater for some adolescents than others.

This study examined online communication on social networking web pages in a longitudinal sample of 92 youths (39 male, 53 female). Participants' social and behavioral adjustment was assessed when they were ages 13-14 years and again at ages 20-22 years. At ages 20-22 years, participants' social networking website use and indicators of friendship quality on their web pages were coded by observers. Results suggested that youths who had been better adjusted at ages 13-14 years were more likely to be using social networking web pages at ages 20-22 years, after statistically controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and parental income. Overall, youths' patterns of peer relationships, friendship quality, and behavioral adjustment at ages 13-14 years and at ages 20-22 years predicted similar qualities of interaction and problem behavior on their social networking websites at ages 20-22 years. Findings are consistent with developmental theory asserting that youths display cross-situational continuity in their social behaviors and suggest that the conceptualization of continuity may be extended into the online domain. Keywordsonline; social networking; adolescents; friendship; peer relationships Explosive growth has occurred in online social communication (Madden, 2006), with youths disproportionately affected by this new technology (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2009). As online use increases, so too do debates about how internet-based interaction may compare with historical face-to-face ways of communicating (Bargh & McKenna, 2004;Tyler, 2002). One argument posits that internet interaction is often of lower quality than is face-toface interaction, because constraints inherent in the online medium hinder relationships. Furthermore, use of online communication may be positively correlated with adjustment problems because (a) socially inept youths are drawn to online interaction and (b) the almost inevitably poor quality of online communication increases maladjustment. An alternative argument postulates that the internet is merely a new medium for youths to display the same long-standing patterns as they do using modes other than online forms of communication, such that there is correspondence between face-to-face and online interaction styles and friendship quality. In contrast to the first argument, use of online communication may be negatively correlated with adjustment problems, because socially competent youths treat the online environment as yet another place in which to interact with existing friends and broaden their social circle. © 2010 American Psychological AssociationCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amori Yee Mikami, 102 Gilmer Hall Box 400400, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400. Mikami@virginia.edu. NIH Public Access Developmental Context of Social CommunicationCharacterizations of youths' social relationships in the internet medium, as well as the investigation of continuity between face-to-face and online social ...

The broader context of relational aggression in adolescent romantic relationships was assessed by considering the ways such aggression emerged from prior experiences of peer pressure and was linked to concurrent difficulties in psychosocial functioning. Longitudinal, multi-reporter data were obtained from 97 adolescents and their best friends at age 15 and from adolescents and their romantic partners at age 18. Teens' relational aggression and romantic partners' victimization were predicted from levels of best friends' pressuring behaviors toward teens in an observed interaction as well as from best friends' ratings of how much pressure teens experienced from their peer group. Romantic partner relational aggression and teen victimization were predicted by pressure from teens' peer group only. Adolescents' romantic relational aggression and victimization were also associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms and increased alcohol use. Results are discussed in terms of the connection of relational aggression in romantic relationships to the broader task of establishing autonomy with peers in psychosocial development.

This study examined associations between characteristics of teenagers’ relationships with their mothers and their later socializing behavior and peer relationship quality online. At age 13, teenagers and their mothers participated in an interaction in which mothers’ and adolescents’ behavior undermining autonomy and relatedness was observed, and indicators of teens’ depressive symptoms and social anxiety were assessed. At age 20, youth self-reported on their online behaviors, youths’ social networking webpages were observationally coded to assess peer relationship quality online, and symptoms of depression and social anxiety were reassessed. Results suggested that problematic mother-teen relationships were predictive of youths’ later preference for online communication and greater likelihood of forming a friendship with someone met online, yet poorer quality in online relationships. Findings are discussed within a developmental framework suggesting the importance of considering youths’ family interactions during early adolescence as predictors of future online socializing behavior and online interactions with peers.

Adolescent-era predictors of adult romantic life satisfaction were examined in a multi-method, prospective, longitudinal study of 165 adolescents followed from ages 13 to 30. Progress in key developmental tasks, including establishing positive expectations and capacity for assertiveness with peers at age 13, social competence at ages 15 and 16, and ability to form and maintain strong close friendships at ages 16 to 18, predicted romantic life satisfaction at ages 27 to 30. In contrast, several qualities linked to romantic experience during adolescence (i.e., sexual and dating experience, physical attractiveness) were unrelated to future satisfaction. Results suggest a central role of competence in non-romantic friendships as preparation for successful management of the future demands of adult romantic life.The fundamental importance of a satisfying romantic life in adulthood is well established. The presence of functional romantic relationships has been linked to both adult mental health outcomes (e.g., lower levels of anxiety and depression (Horn, Xu, Beam, Turkheimer, & Emery, 2013;Wade & Pevalin, 2004)) as well as to greater short-and long-term physical health, and even to reduced risk of early mortality (Hughes & Waite, 2009). Although selection effects account for some of these findings, with healthier individuals more likely to have stable relationships, there is little question as to the centrality of romantic functioning to adult well-being (Horn, et al., 2013). This central role of romantic relationship functioning in adulthood suggests the importance of identifying its precursors at earlier stages of development.Research to date has begun to identify factors in early-and mid-adolescence, such as family relationship quality, attachment experiences, and early peer competence that predict romantic relationship quality into late adolescence and the early twenties (Oudekerk, Allen, Hessel, & Molloy, 2015;Seiffge-Krenke, 2003;Simpson, Collins, & Salvatore, 2011). However, although identifying predictors into late adolescence and early adulthood is an important step, the implications of these predictions for longer-term romantic satisfaction are unclear given the developmental changes that continue to take place in romantic relationship functioning after the late adolescent and early adult period (Cohen, Kasen, Chen, Hartmark,