of children. Cliques and crowds take on more importance as adolescents “hang out” together. And dating and romantic relationships become part of
most adolescents’ lives. Peers are children or adolescents who are about the same age or
maturity level. Age grading would occur even if schools were not age graded and adolescents were left alone to determine the composition of
their own societies. After all, one can learn to be good fighter only among ages-mates: the bigger guys will bully you and the little one are no
challenge.
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1. Peer Group Function
One of the most important functions of the peer group is to provide a source of information about the world outside family. From the peer
group, adolescents receive feedback about their abilities. Adolescents learn whether what they do is better than, as good as, or worse than
what other adolescents do. Learning this at home is difficult because siblings are usually older or younger.
2. Friendship
Earlier we indicated that peer individuals who are about the same age or maturity level. Friends are a subset of peers who engage in
mutual companionship, support, and intimacy. Thus, relationship with friends is much closer and more involved than is the case with the peer
group. Some adolescents have several close friends, others one, and yet others none.
The functions that adolescents’ friendships serve can be categorized in six ways:
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3
John W. Santrock, Adolescence, New York: McGraw Hill, 2005, Tenth Edition, p. 351.
4
J.M. Gottman, J.G. Parker, Conversation of Friends, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987, p. 102.
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a. Companionship. Friendship provides adolescents with a familiar
partner, someone who is willing to spend time with them and join in collaborative activities.
b. Stimulation. Friendship provides adolescents with interesting
information, excitement, and amusement. c.
Physical support, friendship provides resources and assistance. d.
Ego support. Friendship provides the expectation of support, encouragement, and feedback that helps adolescents to maintain an
impression of themselves as competent, attractive, and worth-while individuals.
e. Social comparison. Friendship provides information about where
adolescents stand vis-à-vis others and whether adolescents are doing okay.
f. Intimacy affection. Friendship provides adolescents with a warm,
close, trusting relationship with another individual, a relationship that involves self-disclosure.
However, the quality of friendship varies. Some friendships are deeply intimate and long-lasting, others more shallow and short-lived.
Some friendships run smoothly, others can be conflicted. One recent study focused on conflict with parents and friends.
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Parent-adolescent conflicts were more likely to be characterized by a combination of daily
hassle topics, neutral or angry affect afterward, power-assertive outcomes, and win-lose outcomes. Friend conflicts were more likely to
involve a combination of relationship topics, friendly affect afterward, disengaged resolutions, and equal or no outcomes.
Not only does the quality of friendships have important influences on adolescents, but friend’s character, interests, and attitudes also
5
R. Adam and B. Laursen, The Organization and dynamics of Adolescent Conflict with Parents and Friends Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2001, pp. 97-110.
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matter.
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According to Dishion’s and his colleagues’ research, they have found that delinquents adolescents often have delinquent friends, and
they reinforce each other’s delinquent behavior.
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Other research has indicated that nonsmoking adolescents who become friends with
smoking adolescents are more likely to start smoking themselves.
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By the same token, having friends who are into school, sports, or religion is
likely to have a positive influence on the adolescent.
3. Adolescent Groups
