Relative likeability and relative popularity as sources of influence in children’s friendships

The present study contrasts two forms of peer status as sources of friend influence: Relative likeability and relative popularity. Participants included 310 children (142 boys, 168 girls), ages 9 to 12, in stable reciprocated friendships. Peer nominations were collected at two time points, 8 to 14 weeks apart. After removing overlapping variance through residualization, partners in each friend dyad were categorized into roles on the basis of relative (to the partner) popularity and relative (to the partner) likeability. Dyadic analyses compared more- and less-liked friends and more- and less-popular friends in terms of their influence over physical aggression, relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement. Higher initial relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement among more-liked partners predicted greater increases in the same among less-liked partners, but not the reverse. Unexpectedly, physical aggression among less-liked partners predicted increases in physical aggression among more-liked partners. More popular friends did not influence less popular friends on any of these variables, although (also unexpectedly) less-popular friends influenced the academic achievement of more-popular friends. Taken together, the findings suggest that during the pre- and early adolescent years, relative influence within a friendship tends to be apportioned on the basis of likeability, not popularity.