School and peer influences on development

School & Peers' influence on development

It's impossible to think of life without friends. A normal, pulsating individual capable of loving and being loved in return must have had at least one stable friendship or peer group during his or her lifetime. Whereas adults may have developed the maturity or grown bigger in their perspective of life to accept that friends may not always be around, children and teenagers may find the same situation extremely sad and agonizing. On the other hand, many parents are worried about the possible concerns that may arise from their children's attachment to their peers, especially deviant peer groups. Behavioral experts agree that friendships can do both harm and good in a child's social development. Many of their studies have outlined the developmental significance of friendships and the influence of peers on different aspects of socialization. This paper discusses a few of them and how these evidences can help parents formulate a plan to address concerns about their children's peer orientation and problematic peer relationships.

Friendships and peer acceptance during the early grade school years are thought to help in the development of social competence, self-esteem, and school adjustment (Bernt, 1996; Hartup, 1996; Ladd, 1990; in Schwartz et al., 2000). Interactions with friends can provide opportunities for children to develop social skills and self-regulatory capacities that are especially helpful to compensate for whatever deficits they bring into their peer groups, such as harsh family environments, negativity, or non-assertiveness (Price, 1996, in Schwartz et al., 2000, Schwartz et al., 2000). These mechanisms are perceived to be important in light of children who are at risk of being bullied, as they can help develop attributes and interactive styles that minimize maltreatment by other kids (Schwartz et al., 2000). Further, friends themselves may have a protective role in bullying as a child at risk is unlikely to be victimized if surrounded by supportive peers (Schwartz et al., 2000).

When children begin their transition into adolescence, peer influence becomes more pronounced as kids spend more unsupervised time with their friends (Fuligni, Barber, Eccles, & Clements, 2001). From 12 years until mid-adolescence, peer influence peaks (Brendt, 1979 in Fuligni et al., 2001), presumably because at this age, group acceptance and popularity can have a big impact in their self-image. Studies show that a teenager's social functioning can be severely affected by a weak sense of self, coupled with a low popularity rating in school (McElhaney, Antonishak, & Allen, 2008). Social dysfunction can manifest in externalizing factors such as aggression, hostility, and social withdrawal, all of which are costly in terms of future socio-emotional adjustment (McElhaney et al., 2008). When kids are socially withdrawn, this can be interpreted as disinterest or "aloofness," which then leads to disliking and peer rejection (Ladd, 2006). Peer rejection, in turn may lead to anxiety and distress (Ladd, 2006). These observations show that the socialization process in adolescence can be a cyclic, complex interplay of temperamental attributes, sense of self, and peer acceptance/rejection.

Friendships during the volatile teenage years can have a moderating effect on the risk factors outlined above. In particular, teens who perceive themselves as socially confident because of healthy interactions with their peers can have good social functioning outcomes regardless of their popularity rating in school (McElhaney et al., 2008). Friendships outside school such as in church or at work can also contribute to positive social outcomes as they may compensate for any social insecurity felt in school (McElhaney et al., 2008). Hence, popularity in school or the lack thereof is not the sole predictor of social success during adolescence. A teenager's ability to thrive in his/her social circle may have more to do with innate qualities such as companionship than looks or talents, attributes that are commonly associated with popularity.

Whereas peer relationships can clearly have a positive role in social development, there are certain types of peer orientation that can also be detrimental. There are some teenagers who are extremely orientated to their peers to the extent that they break parents' rules, sacrifice school performance, undermine their talents, and even hide positive areas of their lives in order to maintain their peer relationships (Fuligni et al., 2001). This is the type of peer orientation that parents commonly object to and for good reason. Extremely peer oriented teenagers often feel that they have to stand out and hence seek problem behavior-oriented peer groups such as those that regularly skip class, abuse alcohol, and use drugs (Fuligni et al., 2001). Studies also show that Junior High students who are extremely oriented toward peers tend to display problem behavior and poor school adjustment during Senior High (Fuligni et al., 2001).

For parents who may be concerned about their child's troubled peer relationships or peer orientation, much can be learned from these documented evidences on child social development. Parents must understand that problems such as bullying, deviant behavior, association with problematic peer groups, and the like are often processes that evolve over time and involve an interplay between many early risk and protective factors (Schwartz, et al. 2000, Fuligni et al., 2001). While some of these factors are temperamental in nature (e.g. non-assertiveness, submissiveness), many of them are also parental control related. For instance there is evidence to suggest that maternal over-protectiveness can be a factor in the bullying of submissive and passive victims (Olweus, 1993 in Schwartz et al., 2000). Similarly, excessive parental control during the teenage years can drive adolescents to place greater importance on their peer relationships rather than their parents (Deveraux, 1970, in Fuligni et al., 2001). On the other hand, a complete lack of parental control or support can also lead adolescents to seek more advice from their peers and thus be more influenced by them rather than their parents (Bonfrenbenner, 1967; Condry and Simon, 1974; and Steinberg, 1987; in Fuligni et al., 2001). Hence, parents must try to exert a developmentally appropriate level of control on their children and learn to adjust their relationship with them to accommodate their child's increasing level of maturity.