This study examined third- through fifth-grade children’s social identification (i.e., positive affects and emotions) with their friendship group as a process by which friendship group norms might affect children’s behaviors. A confirmatory factor analysis supported a unidimensional model of social identification. Reciprocated friendship group nomination was positively associated with social identification; fifth graders reported a higher level of social identification than third graders. Sex and perceived popularity were not related to social identification. The authors hypothesized that the effect of friendship group norms on children’s intent to conform to those norms would be greater when they strongly identify with their group. This hypothesis was supported with regard to trend and misbehavior norms but not academic norms.
Agnew, R. ( 1991). The interactive effects of peer variables on delinquency . Criminology, 29, 47-72.
2.
Aiken, L.S., & West, S.G. ( 1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Bandura, A. ( 1977). Social learning theory. Oxford, UK: Prentice Hall.
4.
Berndt, T.J. ( 1982). The features and effects of friendship in early adolescence . Child Development, 53, 1447-1460.
5.
Berndt, T.J. ( 1996). Transitions in friendship and friends’ influence . In J. A. Graber, J. Brooks-Gunn, & A. C. Petersen (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context (pp. 57-84). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Berndt, T.J. ( 1999). Friends’ influence on students’ adjustment to school. Educational Psychologist, 34, 15-28.
7.
Berndt, T.J., Hawkins, J.A., & Jiao, Z. ( 1999). Influences of friends and friendships on adjustment to junior high school. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 13-41.
8.
Brittain, C.V. ( 1963). Adolescent choices and parent-peer crosspressures. American Sociological Review, 28, 385-391.
9.
Bronfenbrenner, U. ( 1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10.
Brown, B.B., & Lohr, M.J. ( 1987). Peer-group affiliation and adolescent self-esteem: An integration of ego-identity and symbolic-interaction theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 47-55.
11.
Brown, B.B., Eicher, S.A., & Petrie, S. ( 1986). The importance of peer group ("crowd") affiliation in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 9, 73-96.
12.
Brown, R., Condor, S., Mathews, A., Wade, G., & Williams, J. ( 1986). Explaining intergroup differentiation in an industrial organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 59, 273-286.
13.
Cairns, R.B., Cairns, B.D., Neckerman, H.J., Gest, S.D., & Gariépy, J. (1988). Social networks and aggressive behavior: Peer support or peer rejection? Developmental Psychology , 24, 815-823.
14.
Cameron, J.E. ( 2004). A three-factor model of social identity. Self and Identity, 3, 239-262.
15.
Card, N.A., Hodges, E.V.E., Little, T.D., & Hawley, P.H. ( 2005). Gender effects in peer nominations for aggression and social status. International Journal of Behavioral Development , 29, 146-155.
16.
Crockett, L., Losoff, M., & Petersen, A.C. (1984). Perceptions of the peer group and friendship in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 155-181.
17.
Ellis, W.E., & Zarbatany, L. ( 2007). Peer group status as a moderator of group influence on children’s deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. Child Development, 78, 1240-1254.
18.
Gest, S.D., Davison, A.J., Rulison, K.L., Moody, J., & Welsh, J.A. ( 2007). Features of groups and status hierarchies in girls’ and boys’ early adolescent peer networks. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 118, 43-60.
19.
Gifford-Smith, M.E., & Brownell, C.A. (2003). Childhood peer relationships: Social acceptance, friendships, and peer networks. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 235-284.
20.
Graham, J.A., Cohen, R., Zbikowski, S.M., & Secrist, M.E. ( 1998). A longitudinal investigation of race and sex as factors in children’s classroom friendship choices. Child Study Journal, 28, 245-265.
21.
Hallinan, M.T. ( 1981). Recent advances in sociometry. In S. R. Asher & J. M. Gottman (Eds.), The development of children’s friendships (pp. 91-115). New York: Cambridge University Press.
22.
Hartup, W.W. ( 1983). Peer groups. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Socialization, personality and social development (Vol. 4, pp. 103-196). New York: Wiley.
23.
Haynie, D.L. ( 2001). Delinquent peer revisited: Does network structure matter ? American Journal of Sociology, 106, 1013-1057.
24.
Hogg, M.A., Abrams, D., Otten, S., & Hinkle, S. ( 2004). The social identity perspective: Intergroup relations, self-conception, and small groups. Small Group Research, 35, 246-276.
25.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55.
26.
Kandel, D.B. ( 1973). Adolescent marijuana use: Role of parents and peers. Science, 181, 1067-1069.
27.
Kiesner, J., Cadinu, M., Poulin, F., & Bucci, M. ( 2002). Group identification in early adolescence: Its relation with peer adjustment and its moderator effect on peer influence. Child Development, 73, 196-208.
28.
Kindermann, T.A. ( 2007). Effects of naturally existing peer groups on changes in academic engagement in a cohort of sixth graders. Child Development, 78, 1186-1203.
29.
Kwon, K., & Lease, A.M. ( 2007). Clique membership and social adjustment in children’s same-gender cliques: The contribution of the type of clique to children’s self-reported adjustment. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 53, 216-242.
30.
Luhtanen, R., & Crocker, J. ( 1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one’s social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 18, 302-318.
31.
Mounts, N.S., & Steinberg, L. ( 1995). An ecological analysis of peer influence on adolescent grade point average and drug use. Developmental Psychology , 31, 915-922.
Newcomb, T.M. ( 1950). Social psychology. Fort Worth, TX : Dryden Press.
34.
Parkhurst, J.T., & Hopmeyer, A. ( 1998). Sociometric popularity and peer-perceived popularity: Two distinct dimensions of peer status. Journal of Early Adolescence , 18, 125-144.
35.
Ryan, A.M. ( 2001). The peer group as a context for the development of young adolescent motivation and achievement. Child Development, 72, 1135-1150.
36.
Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. ( 1964). Reference groups: Explorations into conformity and deviance of adolescents. New York: Harper & Row.
37.
Sim, T., & Koh, S. ( 2003). Domain conceptualization of adolescent susceptibility to peer pressure. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 58-80.
38.
Tajfel, H. ( 1978). Differentiation between social groups. London: Academic Press.
39.
Tajfel, H., Billig, M.G., Bundy, R.P., & Flament, C. ( 1971). Social categorization and intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 149-178.
40.
Tarrant, M., MacKenzie, L., & Hewitt, L. ( 2006). Friendship group identification and multidimensional self-concept in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 627-640.
41.
Terry, D.J., & Hogg, M.A. ( 1996). Group norms and the attitude-behavior relationship: A role for group identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 776-793.
42.
Tremblay, R.E., Mâsse, L.C., Vitaro, F., & Dobkin, P.L. ( 1995). The impact of friends’ deviant behavior on early onset of delinquency: Longitudinal data from 6 to 13 years of age. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 649-667.
43.
Turner, J.C. ( 1991). Social influence. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.
44.
Urberg, K., A., Değirmencioğlu, S.M., & Pilgrim , C. (1997). Close friend and group influence on adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Developmental Psychology, 33, 834-844.
45.
Xie, H., Farmer, T.W., & Cairns, B.D. ( 2003). Different forms of aggression among inner-city African-American children: Gender, configurations, and school social networks. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 355-375.
