This study assessed the hypothesis that popularity in adolescence takes on a twofold role, both marking high levels of concurrent psychosocial adaptation, but also predicting increases over time in both positive and negative behaviors sanctioned by peer norms. This hypothesis was tested with multi-method, longitudinal data obtained on a diverse community sample of 185 adolescents. Sociometric popularity data were examined in relation to data from interview-based assessments of attachment security and ego development, observations of mother-adolescent interactions, and repeated self-and peer-report assessments of delinquency and alcohol use. Results indicated that 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 in behaviors that receive approval in the peer group (e.g., minor levels of drug use and delinquency) and decrease in behaviors unlikely to be well-received by peers (e.g., hostile behavior with peers). The Two Faces Of Adolescents' Success With Peers: Adolescent Popularity, Social Adaptation, and Deviant BehaviorAt no other stage of the lifespan is peer socialization as fraught with tension, ambiguity, and strain as during adolescence. Extrapolations from childhood research suggest that popularity in adolescence should be a positive marker of adaptation to be encouraged and promoted (Parker & Asher, 1987;Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). Yet, adolescents who are popular, and hence well-socialized into their peer groups, would also appear vulnerable to being socialized into the increasing levels of delinquent and drug-using behavior that become normative in peer groups during this period. As compared to research in childhood, far less research has been conducted on popularity in adolescence. Yet, becoming popular is a prime goal for many adolescents and requires adaptation to a far broader and less supervised peer group than is found in the contained classrooms and geographically limited neighborhoods of childhood (Brown & Klute, 2003;Collins & Laursen, 2004). The potential dual role of popularity in adolescence--as both a marker of adaptation but also as a risk factor for increases in deviant behavior--has never previously been examined.Correspondence concerning this study should be sent to the first author at Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400 (Email: allen@virginia.edu).. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptChild Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2006 August 22. Published in final edited form as:Child Dev. 2005 ; 76(3): 747-760. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptSelf-report research has linked perceived acceptance by one's peers in adolescence to better academic performance and to lower levels of substance abuse (Diego, Field, & Sanders, 2003). Unfortu...

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with peers, even after accounting for predictions from qualities of the mother-teen relationship. Growth curve analyses revealed links of insecurity to increasing patterns of externalizing behavior and higher and stable patterns of depressive symptoms across adolescence. Implications for a developing theory of the connections of the attachment system to multiple domains of functioning in adolescence are discussed.

Adolescents' susceptibility to peer influence was examined as a marker of difficulties in the general process of autonomy development that was likely to be related to deficits across multiple domains of psychosocial functioning. A laboratory-based assessment of susceptibility to peer influence in interactions with a close friend was developed and examined in relation to corollary reports obtained from adolescents, their mothers, and close peers at ages 13 and 14. As hypothesized, observed susceptibility to peer influence with a close friend predicted future responses to negative peer pressure, but it was also related to broader markers of problems in functioning, including decreases in popularity, and increasing levels of depressive symptoms, over time. Susceptibility to peer influence was also linked to higher concurrent levels of substance use, externalizing behavior, and sexual activity. Results are interpreted as reflecting the central role of establishing autonomy with peers in psychosocial development.

A diathesis-stress interaction model is used to describe multifinality in adolescent internalizing and risky behavioral outcomes. Problematic behavior associated with adolescent insecure preoccupation (a diathesis) was expected to interact with the level of maternal autonomous discourse (a stressor) to predict specific adolescent outcomes. Assessments of adolescent preoccupied attachment organization, observations of maternal displays of autonomy in mother-adolescent interactions, and adolescent reports of internalizing symptoms and risky behaviors were obtained at age 16. As predicted, maternal autonomy in the mother-adolescent relationship helped to explain multifinality in dysfunctional symptoms among preoccupied adolescents. Adolescent preoccupation was more strongly linked to internalizing behavior when mothers demonstrated low levels of autonomy in interactions with their adolescents and more strongly linked to risky behavior when mothers displayed extremely high levels of autonomy. Implications for autonomy processes in increasing our understanding of how adolescent insecure-preoccupation relates to profiles of specific problems during adolescence are discussed as is the importance of exploring the role of attachment in different contexts.

Although success in managing evolving peer relationships is linked to critical adolescent outcomes, little is known about the specific factors that lead to success or failure in peer relationship development across adolescence. This longitudinal study examines the role of adolescents' level of ego development as a predictor of the future course of several facets of friendship development in early adolescence. Ego development was assessed in a community sample of adolescents at age 13. Several facets of adolescent friendship were also assessed at 13 and then reassessed 1 year later, including adolescent intimate behavior during a supportive interaction with their best friends, adolescent reports of psychological security in their friendships, and peer-rated popularity. As predicted, ego development not only explained concurrent levels of peer functioning but also predicted markers of change over time in each of the assessed domains of peer functioning. Implications for ego development in increasing our understanding of individual differences in adolescent friendship development are discussed.Keywords ego development; adolescence; peer relationships; friendships; development As children enter into adolescence, the nature of their peer relationships undergoes significant change as teens spend increasingly more time in the company of their same-age friends (Larson & Richards, 1991). Adolescent friendships then gradually deepen in terms of levels of commitment, intimacy, and acceptance of differences among friends (Berndt & SavinWilliams, 1993;Buhrmester, 1990;Shulman, Laursen, Kalman, & Karpovsky, 1997). Functioning in these evolving friendships has been linked with both negative sequelae ranging from depression to deviance and positive outcomes including prosocial behavior and academic achievement (e.g., Dishion & Owen, 2002;Granic & Dishion, 2003;Laird, Jordan, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 2001;Mounts & Steinberg, 1995;Prinstein & La Greca, 2002, 2004Wentzel & Erdley, 1993). We know little, however, about the specific factors that might explain why Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Penny Marsh, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195-1525; e-mail: pennym@u.washington.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript some adolescents succeed whereas others struggle to develop increasingly supportive, adaptive friendships during adolescence (Kelly & de Arma, 1989;Kinney, 1993). This study examines the hypothesis that adolescents' capacities to manage impulses, affect, and cognitions regarding self and others-assessed in terms of adolescent ego level-will be predictive of several distinct dimensions of adolescent friendship development.Ego development as described by Loevinger (1976) reflects the individual's impulsivity, mental preoccupations, and ways of thinking and feeling about the self and others, all of which may influence qualities of deepening social relationships. In early stages of ego d...