The importance of peer group (“crowd”) affiliation in adolescence

Abstract

Many researchers have speculated about the role peer groups play in adolescent development, but few have examined teenagers' own perspective on the importance of group affiliations. The two studies reported here, involving 1,300 7th to 12th graders in three Midwestern U.S. communities, assessed teenagers' valuation of belonging to a “crowd” as well as the reasons they cited to support or oppose crowd affiliation. The importance of crowd affiliation declined across age. Younger adolescents generally favored membership, emphasizing the crowd's ability to provide emotional or instrumental support, foster friendships and facilitate social interaction. Older respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the conformity demands of crowds and felt their established friendship networks obviated the need for peer group ties. The importance of crowd affiliation was not related to the strength of respondents' sense of identity but did vary significantly with their willingness to conform to peers and the centrality of their position in peer groups or the type of crowd to which they belonged. Findings emphasized that adolescent peer groups can serve multiple functions, whose salience shifts with age.

Mediating effects of teacher enthusiasm and peer enthusiasm on students’ interest in the college classroom

“…Numerous studies have shown that young adolescents consider their peers as more significant in their lives and are less attached to their parents as they grow older although crowd affiliation declines as adolescents grow older, being more interested in their personal identity (Brown, Eicher & Petrie, 1986). Therefore, in general, peer influence on students' motivation in the college classroom has been less explored, and the specific concept of peer enthusiasm in the classroom has not been studied in field of peer influence or classroom climate.…”

“…For instance, the peer group can refer to an individual's relatively close group of friends who interact rather regularly, or to a clique (Brown, 1990). In some articles, peer group and crowd have been used interchangeably (Brown, Eicher, & Petrie, 1986). In Ntoumanis and…”

Gender/Racial Differences in Jock Identity, Dating, and Adolescent Sexual Risk

“…For example, Brown and colleagues have constructed a developmental model of peer group affiliation that locates adolescents within a complex network of social crowds (e.g., druggies/burnouts, brains, preppies, nerds) that are both relational and reputational in nature (Brown et al, 1986;Brown et al, 1994). Although the constellation of crowds varies somewhat, virtually all extant models of adolescent crowd affiliation have prominently featured the "jock" crowd, sometimes in isolation and sometimes as part of a larger elite or "popular" group.…”

Bullying Experiences Among Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The bullying literature on typically developing youth indicates that peer victimization experiences are related to poor parent-child relationships (Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel, & Haynie, 2007;Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). Because peers have such a critical socialization role during childhood and adolescence (Brown, Eicher, & Petrie, 1986), peer relationships are likely implicated in the consideration of risks and protective processes related to victimization. Researchers have found that poor peer relationships place youth at risk for victimization, while having close friends protects against victimization within the general population (Delfabbro et al, 2006;Forero, McLellan, Rissel, & Bauman, 1999;Nansel et al, 2001;Pellegrini & Bartini, 2000;Pellegrini, Bartini, & Brooks, 1999;Williams & Guerra, 2007).…”