Peer Groups Cliques Adolescent Groups versus Children’s Groups

Cliques Allegiance to cliques can exert powerful control over the lives of adolescents. Group identity often overrides personal identity. Clique leaders may place members in positions of considerable moral conflict by asking teens to choose between their “code” and that of their parents. One study has found correlational data linking clique membership to self-esteem.

Adolescent Groups versus Childhood Groups Children groups are usually made up of friends or neighbourhood acquaintances. Adolescent groups tend to include a broader array of members. Adolescent groups are more likely to have a mixture of individuals from different ethnic groups than are peer groups in childhood. Children groups are not as formalized as many adolescent groups.

Friendships Harry Stack Sullivan’s Perspective Findings on Friendship

Harry Stack Sullivan’s Perspective Sullivan believed that all people have a number of basic social needs that must be fulfilled for our emotional well-being. Developmentally, friends become increasingly depended on to satisfy these needs during adolescence. The need for intimacy intensifies during early adolescence, motivating teenagers to seek out close friends. If teens fail to forge such close friendships, they experience painful feelings of loneliness and reduced sense of self-worth.

Findings on Friendship Research supports many of Sullivan’s ideas. Adolescents report disclosing intimate and personal information to their friends more often than younger children. Adolescents say they depend more on friends than on parents to satisfy their needs for intimacy, companionship, and reassurance of worth. The quality of friendship is more strongly linked to feelings of well-being during adolescence than during childhood.