The prominence of peer interactions, relationships, and networks in adolescence and early adulthood

Adolescence is a period with opportunities and challenges for personal growth, social commitment, and identity development. The peer context allows adolescents to acquire skills and exhibit behaviors that enable them to become emotionally independent from parents. This chapter describes the major developments underlying the increasing prominence of peers in adolescents' behavioral and psychosocial adjustment. It focuses on how adolescents strive for status and affection. The chapter discusses how adolescents are connected to their peers, in positive and negative ways, and how peers influence and select each other. It also discusses how social norms and social comparisons in the peer context affect adolescents' adjustment. The chapter then provides an interdisciplinary overview of the prominence of peers, with special attention to social network research. It gives attention to peer relationships among young adults and emphasizes that the predominant focus of the relevant literature has been adolescence and not early adulthood.