Parents on the Sidelines: The Role of Parental Directing in Chinese Adolescents’ Friendship Dynamics Related to Academic Achievement, Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract

Adolescents’ peer interactions strongly influence their school behavior, raising the question of whether parents can still direct adolescents’ friendship choices or whether they are mostly on the sidelines. Chinese cultural values emphasize the importance of having “good” friends, raising questions about adolescents’ adherence to parental direction of friendships. This study examined friendship dynamics among seventh and eighth graders in central China ( n = 1,454, 46.7% girls), focusing on achievement, aggression, and prosocial behavior. Social network analysis revealed that Chinese students tended to select friends who were more similar to them in achievement, aggression, and prosocial behavior. Interestingly, they avoided aggressive peers but were attracted to high-achieving and prosocial peers. Despite parental emphasis on friendship quality, the study found no parental direction in adolescent friendship selection. These findings underscore the central role of peer characteristics in friendship dynamics, while highlighting the limited impact of parental directing on Chinese adolescents’ friendship selection.