title: Time with peers from middle childhood to late adolescence: developmental course and adjustment correlates.
abstract: This study examined the developmental course and adjustment correlates of time with peers from age 8 to 18. On seven occasions over 8 years, the two eldest siblings from 201 European American, working- and middle-class families provided questionnaire and/or phone diary data. Multilevel models revealed that girls' time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers increased beginning in middle childhood, but boys' time increased beginning in early adolescence. For both girls and boys, time with same-sex peers peaked in middle adolescence. At the within-person level, unsupervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted problem behaviors and depressive symptoms, and supervised time with mixed-/opposite-sex peers longitudinally predicted better school performance. Findings highlight the importance of social context in understanding peer involvement and its implications for youth development.
authors.affiliation: The Hong Kong Institute of Education.
authors.forename: Chun Bun
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McHale
authors.forename: Ann C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Crouter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment