Peer Group Status and Friendship in Adolescence i Peer Group Status and Friendship Forms in ...

246 Pages·2017·1.86 MB·English

Peer Group Status and Friendship Forms in Adolescence and
Their Social and Emotional Consequences
Author
Ferguson, Samantha
Published
2016
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
School
School of Applied Psychology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/1697
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
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Peer Group Status and Friendship in Adolescence

Peer Group Status and Friendship Forms in Adolescence and Their Social and
Emotional Consequences

Samantha Ferguson
Bachelor Psychological Science (Hons)
School of Applied Psychology
Menzies Health Institute of Queensland
Griffith University

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
June, 2016

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Peer Group Status and Friendship in Adolescence

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Peer Group Status and Friendship in Adolescence
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis
itself.
Samantha Ferguson
June, 2016
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PREFACE
This thesis represents four years of personal and professional development. Undertaking
this research has enriched my understanding of the multifaceted social lives of
Australian adolescents, and how their interactions within peer groups and dyads may
influence their social and emotional well-being. The topic for this thesis emerged from
an innate curiosity about the ways in which the fundamental human desire to belong
may manifest for adolescents as different dynamics in their relations with peers. This
curiosity, first recognised whilst completing my Honours research project for the
Bachelor of Psychological Science, stemmed from a desire to inform both basic and
applied research in the field. That is, whilst learning from adolescents who successfully
fulfil the desire to belong I was able to simultaneously identify the maladaptive
consequences for those in whom this goal is thwarted. Following successful completion
of my Honours year, I committed to contribute further to research in this field and was
fortunate to have this opportunity whilst undertaking the candidature for my PhD.
Throughout this thesis, belongingness is an overarching theme, providing a lens through
which to further understand how varying social and behavioural patterns may influence
adolescent well-being. With its integration of traditional ideologies and modern research
methods, this thesis and its associated publications, have contributed to research in the
field of adolescent peer relations. I hope that through this research, adolescent well-
being may be further empirically illuminated, via the examination of both social and
emotional contributors, in order to provide further insight into its complexities at this
distinctive developmental time.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This doctoral thesis was carried out under the supervision of Professor Melanie
Zimmer-Gembeck and Dr Amanda Duffy. Their abundance of support and guidance
have enabled this thesis to reach completion. I am humbled by the kindness and respect
my supervisors have demonstrated when contributing to this body of research, whilst
continuously helping me to improve my critical thinking skills as well as my writing,
methodology and statistical ability. This achievement would not have been possible
without their endless supply of encouragement, attention to detail, and tireless efforts.
As a result, the experience of completing this thesis has seen me grow as a person, and
as an academic. I would also like to thank Brett Laursen, whose contributions to Study 3
improved my professional development and benefitted the article overall. I also extend
my gratitude to the adolescents and their consenting families for their time, honesty, and
the enthusiasm with which they participated in this research. I would also like to
sincerely thank the administrative and teaching staff from the participating schools for
their contributions and vision towards this project.
Study 1 was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council
DP1096183. I would like to thank Professors Drew Nesdale and Geraldine Downey for
their early input on this project. For the many volunteers who contributed to data
collection, I extend my sincere appreciation. In particular to Dr Leanne McGregor, who
shared her experience and wisdom so selflessly to ensure the data collection process ran
efficiently. I would also like to thank Belinda Goodwin, Shawna Mastro, Kate
Greenhalgh, Cody White, Emma Harbeck, Sara Clear and a large number of staff and
volunteers who assisted with data collection.

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I would also like to thank my family and friends for their belief in my ability to
complete this project. I cannot count the number of times I felt overwhelmed by the
experience, and your encouragement, support, and unconditional love lifted me higher
than my doubts. I owe so much to you all. To my friend, mentor and hero, the journey
has been inspirational. You have listened to me, laughed and cried with me and been a
tower of support from the very first day. I offer my deepest gratitude for your friendship
and for your generosity of time, advice and support over the past four years. To my
beautiful daughter and mother who sacrificed many weekends with me so lovingly so
that I could stay on task, whilst providing me strength, inspiration, and love - thank you.
I hope you are as proud of me, as I you.
Last, I would like to acknowledge and thank my examiners for the time and
effort you have dedicated to reading this thesis and for providing me with valuable
feedback to improve my work as a researcher.

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ABSTACT
The importance of belonging to a peer group and having close friends during
adolescence, as throughout all of life, has been well-established. During adolescence,
experiences such as being with friends, acceptance by peers, and achieving popularity
have each been shown to be important, yet relatively distinct in their manifestations,
each with implications for belonging, and for concurrent and subsequent well-being.
The general purpose of the studies described in this thesis was to identify the ways that
these particular aspects of peer group relationships and close friendships contribute to
adolescent well-being, in the form of social and emotional loneliness, global self-worth,
life satisfaction and social competence.
Five studies were conducted to address two research aims. These aims were
founded on five models or theories, including the social process model (Boivin &
Hymel, 1997), the peer-socialisation model (Rose & Rudolph, 2006), gender schema
theory (Bem, 1981), resource control theory (Hawley, 1999) and a model founded on
deep and surface friendship structure (Hartup & Stevens, 1997). The first aim was to
investigate how social status, in the forms of popularity and peer acceptance, and gender
may modify the temporal impact of earlier relational aggression and victimisation on
later peer experiences, and then to consider how such behavioural strategies within the
peer group are associated with well-being. The second aim was to consider the role of
friendship in well-being, as well as its contributions in conjunction with social status.
These aims were fulfilled by collecting data from three samples of adolescents.
The first sample, analysed in Study 1, included 328 adolescents (9 to13 years; 49%
boys) who were followed with two waves of assessment over seven months. The second
sample, analysed in Studies 2, 4 and 5, included 317 adolescents (12 to17 years, 62%
boys). The third sample, analysed in Study 3, included 83 adolescents in the pilot (13 to
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16.5 years; 50.6% boys) and 415 adolescents in the primary study (12 to 17 years; 60%
boys). Data were collected via self-report and peer reports, and were analysed with both
variable-centred and person-centred methods.
In Study 1, path analyses showed that, in the direction of the social process
model (Boivin & Hymel, 1997), popularity protected relationally aggressive adolescents
from future relational victimisation, whereas greater social preference protected
relationally aggressive girls, in particular, from victimisation. Also, in the direction of
the peer-socialisation model (Rose & Rudolph, 2006), relational victimisation prompted
more relationally aggressive behaviour among popular girls, yet less relationally
aggressive behaviour among popular boys.
In Study 2, five resource control subtypes were formed, utilising a person-
centred approach, based on adolescents’ use of aggressive and/or prosocial strategies
within the peer group. These subtypes were then compared on measures of social and
emotional well-being, including social and emotional loneliness, global self-worth,
social competence and life satisfaction. Findings highlighted some benefits for prosocial
controllers, who utilised mainly prosocial strategies. Moreover, greater emotional
loneliness was reported by bistrategic controllers (i.e., those using both prosocial and
aggressive strategies) when compared to prosocial controllers.
Studies 3, 4, and 5 were designed to also investigate close friendships. In Study
3, items from existing friendship measures were compiled to guide the development of a
novel 26-item Adolescent Friendship Structure Inventory (AFSI). The AFSI was then
utilised in Study 4 to profile different friendship types, and to examine their
contributions to adolescent well-being. Results showed that adolescents in a model
friendship, defined as experiencing frequent positive social exchanges (e.g., spending
time together), high levels of intensity (e.g. intimate self-disclosure), and infrequent
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