Self-nominated peer crowds, school achievement, and psychological adjustment in adolescents: Longitudinal analysis

Abstract

We assessed the extent to which identification with peer crowds in the first year of high school predicted scholastic achievement, teacher-rated adjustment, and self-reported emotional experience in the third year of high school. Unlike previous studies, we controlled for initial levels of our criterion variables. Crowds were found to predict most of the outcome variables in the second year and many of the significant differences remained in the third year, even after controlling for students’ initial levels of the criterion variables. These findings are discussed with reference to the importance of social networks and the impact that peer networks, over time, have on students’ scholastic achievement and psychological adjustment.