Perceptions of intimacy and friendship reciprocity moderate peer influence on aggression

Abstract

Previous research has shown that close friends' influence can exacerbate adolescents' aggressive behavior, but results of studies which examine whether friendships of greater or lesser qualities moderate peer influence effects are inconsistent. The present study tested whether the perception of the positive friendship quality of intimate exchange and friendship reciprocity moderated best friend influence on participant aggression over time. The 243 participants were approximately 12 years old and ethnically diverse. Neither intimate exchange nor reciprocity significantly moderated friend influence on aggression in a simple way, but the interaction of intimate exchange and friendship reciprocity predicted peer influence on participants' aggression over time. Specifically, highly intimate, nonreciprocal best friendships and less intimate, reciprocal best friendships showed greatest influence when friends' proportion of peer nominations for aggression was high. Reciprocity and intimacy should be considered when predicting peer influence on aggression.

Externalizing symptoms anticipate declining support and increasing negativity between adolescent friends

“…Unstandardized estimates for simple slopes are reported. *p = 0.02, two-tailed Casper, & Card, 2015). Inconsistent findings may be due to differences in measures assessed or sample characteristics.…”

“…*p = 0.02, two-tailed Casper, & Card, 2015). Unstandardized estimates for simple slopes are reported.…”

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“…his/her peers 10 . We find that some network properties play a moderating role on peer selection and socialization of adolescent alcohol consumption, drug use, tobacco use, aggression and delinquent behaviour 10,12,13 . However, the role of network properties on the socialization and selection process has not been addressed in the obesity literature and the authors feel that this an important gap in the literature that will assist in understanding how network properties interact with weight-related behaviours.…”

“…A better understanding of the role of friendship networks on weight-related behaviours is important in order to learn how to modify these behaviours, especially that, unlike genetics, weight-related behaviours are somewhat modifiable. Network properties and weight-related behaviours have not been examined in detail similarly to socially linked issues such as alcohol consumption, drug use, and tobacco use [10][11][12][13] . Brechwald and Prinstein, in 2011, had addressed more detailed questions regarding peer socialization process and network properties 14 ; one of these questions is the role of network properties to the relationship between the individual and structure du réseau local.…”

“…One of the hypotheses is that network properties act as moderators on social influence and selection 10 . The moderating role of some network properties on social influence and selection has been addressed on multiple behaviours among adolescents, including alcohol consumption, drug use, tobacco use, aggression and delinquent behaviour [10][11][12][13] . Network density was found as an important moderator on delinquency peer association, individuals were found to be more similar in delinquency to their peers in denser networks 21 .…”