Work

Time With Peers From Middle Childhood to Late Adolescence: Developmental Course and Adjustment Correlates

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined the developmental course and adjustment correlates of time with peers from age 8 to 18. On seven occasions over 8 years, the two eldest siblings from 201 European American, working- and middle-class families provided questionnaire and/or phone diary data. Multilevel models revealed that girls' time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers increased beginning in middle childhood, but boys' time increased beginning in early adolescence. For both girls and boys, time with same-sex peers peaked in middle adolescence. At the within-person level, unsupervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted problem behaviors and depressive symptoms, and supervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted better school performance. Findings highlight the importance of social context in understanding peer involvement and its implications for youth development.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12235

Authors: Chun Bun Lam, Susan M McHale, Ann C Crouter

Institutions: Education University of Hong Kong, Pennsylvania State University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development