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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Dev. Psychol.
Sec. Social and Emotional Development
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fdpys.2024.1435727
This article is part of the Research Topic The Importance of Peers: Making the Most of Peer Relationships in Childhood and Adolescence View all 4 articles

Adolescent Close Friendships, Self-Perceived Social Acceptance, and Peer-Rated Likeability as Predictors of Well-Being in Young Adulthood

Provisionally accepted
Emily N. Shah Emily N. Shah 1,2*David E. Szwedo David E. Szwedo 2*Joseph P. Allen Joseph P. Allen 3
  • 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States
  • 2 James Madison University, Harrisonburg, United States
  • 3 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Links between interpersonal relationships and physical and psychological functioning have been well established in the literature. During adolescence, success or distress in peer relationships may have distinct effects on different aspects of well-being. The present study aims to examine the ways in which different adolescent peer relationship contexts (i.e., close friendship quality, social acceptance, and likability from peers) can predict outcomes relevant to adult well-being (i.e., social anxiety, depression, aggression, social integration, romantic insecurity, job satisfaction, and physical health). Further, the study considers how different developmental stages of adolescence may impact links between peer relationships and well-being outcomes. Peer relationship contexts were assessed in early (ages 13-14) and late (ages 17-18) adolescence.Markers of well-being were measured in young adulthood (ages 28-30). A path analysis was used to examine whether the developmental timing of adolescent peer relationship contexts could predict well-being in young adulthood. Results suggest that, across adolescence, broader perceived social acceptance may be a more robust predictor of adult well-being compared to close friendship quality and peer likability. When examined at early and late adolescence separately, early adolescent social acceptance and late adolescent close friendship quality best predicted outcomes of adult well-being. Implications and considerations for future research are discussed.

    Keywords: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt, Adolecence, Friendship, social acceptance, popularity, peer relationships

    Received: 20 May 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shah, Szwedo and Allen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Emily N. Shah, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701, North Carolina, United States
    David E. Szwedo, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.