Friends, Lovers and Groups

'In your hands you have a book that focuses on a hot issue in adolescent research today - which peers are important in young people's lives and how they affect and are affected by them. Taken from Engels, Stattin and Kerr, Introduction and Overview Everyone agrees that peers are important in adolescence. Recently, there have been some noteworthy advances in research on adolescent peer relationships and this volume, written by leading experts, presents four key areas of these innovative studies: Firstly, the discovery of a deviancy training mechanism of peer influence is examined, in which antisocial pairs have been observed to reward each other with approval for deviant or antisocial talk, and this has been linked to escalations in antisocial behaviour. The second area is the study of romantic partners as important peer relationships in adolescence. This is a newly emerging field of research with only a dozen or so studies published to date. The text then looks at the application of behavioural genetic analytical techniques to understand peer selection and influence processes. This line of research will also shed a new light on social environmental influences on adolescent problem behaviours. The final area covers the use of designs that capture both in-school and out-of-school peers in order to understand their relative influence on problem behaviour. As the first of the Hot Topics in Developmental Research series, a three-part developmental psychology range, this volume presents the work of highly prestigious chapter authors edited by Rutger Engels, Håkan Stattin and Margaret Kerr. This invaluable research tool is essential reading for researchers, final year undergraduates and postgraduates in developmental and health psychology, and child psychologists. Contributors Roy F. Baumeister, USA Ginette C. Blackhart, USA Sander M. Bot, The Netherlands William Bukowski, Canada Antonius H. N. Cillessen, USA Thomas J. Dishion, USA Rutger C. M. E. Engels, The Netherlands Wyndol Furman, USA Isabela Granic, The Netherlands Martin J. Ho, USA Margaret Kerr, Sweden Jeff Kiesner, Sweden Brett Laursen, USA Caroline Lisboa, Brazil Sabina M. Low, USA Lara Mayeux, USA Karen S. Mooney, USA Sarah E. Nelson, USA Richard J. Rose, USA Ron H. J. Scholte, The Netherlands Rainer K. Silbereisen, Germany Håkan Stattin, Sweden Peter Titzmann, Germany