Group status was examined as a moderator of peer group socialization of deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. In the fall and 3 months later, preadolescents and early adolescents provided self-reported scores for deviant behavior and group membership, and peer nominations for overt and relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference. Using the social cognitive map, 116 groups were identified involving 526 children (282 girls; M age=12.05). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that high group centrality (visibility) magnified group socialization of relational aggression, deviant behavior, and prosocial behavior, and low group acceptance magnified socialization of deviant behavior. Results suggest group influence on behavior is not uniform but depends on group status, especially group visibility within the larger peer context.

The goal of this study was to examine relations between different forms of social withdrawal (shyness, unsociability) and indexes of adjustment in Chinese and Canadian children. Participants were fourth- to eighth-grade students in urban China (n = 787) and Canada (n = 1,033). Data on social withdrawal and adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including peer nominations, child self-reports, teacher ratings, and school records. Multigroup tests indicated that relations between shyness and adjustment did not differ in Chinese and Canadian children. However, relations between unsociability and adjustment variables were significantly different across the countries, with unsociability more strongly associated with adjustment difficulties in China than in Canada. Results are discussed in terms of historical and cultural backgrounds related to values of group orientation and individuality.

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This study tested claims that gender differences in intimacy are attributable to genderdifferentiated experiences in the peer culture (i.e., male and female 'worlds'). Participants were 188 Canadian preadolescents (10-12 years, 106 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding the intimacy of their same-sex best friendship, intimate support received from peers, and two dimensions of culture-gender composition of the friendship network and participation in communal (i.e., intimacy-promoting) and agentic (intimacy-repressing) activities. Consistent with the 'two worlds' explanation (a) communal activity participation related positively and team sports negatively to same-sex friendship intimacy, but the latter only for boys, and (b) having other-sex friends predicted same-sex friendship intimacy for boys but not girls. The two worlds explanation, though supported, requires revision to accommodate findings that male and female preadolescents' activity participation overlapped considerably, intimate friendships were not limited to intimate contexts, agentic activities potentiated both agentic and communal goals, and peer cultural variables predicted intimacy better for boys than girls.It has become common, of late, to attribute gender differences in interactional style to experience in gender-differentiated peer cultures rather than to parental or other

Personality and gender differences in close same-sex friendship needs and experiences were investigated in two samples. Participants were 312 university students (217 women, M age 1/4 19.5) and 491 preadolescents (269 girls, M age 1/4 11.87). Participants completed several questionnaires yielding scores for communion and agency (personality), communal and agentic friendship needs, actual communal and agentic provisions of a best friendship, and affective functioning (satisfaction with the best friendship, loneliness). Findings revealed that close friendship serves both communal (connection) and agentic (social prominence) needs. Agency and/or communion predicted friendship needs and experiences and affective correlates of failure to meet friendship needs (friendship satisfaction, loneliness). Thus, friendship is not a homogeneous experience, but is shaped by the dispositions of the individuals who comprise it. Gender differences emerged in communal and agentic friendship needs and experiences; however, consensus among male and female participants regarding the functions of close friendship fails to support strong claims regarding gender-differentiated “worlds.”