Abstract
Youth in early adolescence are highly concerned with being popular in the peer group, but the desire to be popular can have maladaptive consequences for individuals. In fact, qualitative work suggests that youth with high popularity goals who are nonetheless unpopular have negative experiences with their peers. However, little quantitative work has examined this possibility. The purpose of the current study was to examine if popularity goals were linked with physical (e.g., being hit) and relational (e.g., being excluded) victimization and peer rejection, particularly for individuals who strived for popularity but were viewed by their peers as unpopular. Late elementary and early middle school participants (N = 205; 54% female) completed self-reports of popularity goals and peer nominations of popularity and peer rejection. Teachers reported on students’ experiences of relational and physical victimization. Peer nominated popularity and gender were moderators of the association between popularity goals and negative peer experiences. Consistent with hypotheses, girls who were unpopular but wanted to be popular were more likely to experience peer rejection and relational victimization. Unexpectedly, boys who were unpopular but did not desire to be popular were more likely to be rejected and relationally victimized. The findings suggest that intervention and prevention programs may benefit from addressing the social status goals of low status youth in a gender-specific manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1998). Peer power: Preadolescent culture and identity. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Allen, J. P., Schad, M. M., Oudekerk, B., & Chango, J. (2014). What ever happened to the “cool” kids? Long‐term sequelae of early adolescent pseudomature behavior. Child Development, 85(5), 1866–1880. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12250.
Asher, S. R., & Hymel, S. (1986). Coaching in social skills for children who lack friends in school. Children & Schools, 8(4), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/8.4.205.
Bowker, J. C., Rubin, K. H., Buskirk-Cohen, A., Rose-Krasnor, L., & Booth-LaForce, C. (2010). Behavioral changes predicting temporal changes in perceived popular status. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31(2), 126–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2009.10.002.
Caravita, S. C. S., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2012). Agentic or communal? and bullying in middle childhood and early adolescence. Social Development, 21, 376–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2011.00632.x.
Casper, D. M., & Card, N. A. (2017). Overt and relational victimization: A meta‐analytic review of their overlap and associations with social–psychological adjustment. Child Development, 88(2), 466–483. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12621.
Cillessen, A. H. (2011). Toward a theory of popularity. In A. H. Cillessen, D. Schwartz & L. Mayeux (Eds.), Popularity in the peer system (pp. 273–299). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Cillessen, A. H., & Marks, P. E. (2011). Conceptualizing and measuring popularity. In A. H. Cillessen, D. Schwartz & L. Mayeux (Eds.), Popularity in the peer system (pp. 25–56). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Cillessen, A. H., & Mayeux, L. (2004). From censure to reinforcement: Developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status. Child Development, 75(1), 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00660.x.
Cillessen, A. H. N., Mayeux, L., Ha, T., de Bruyn, E. H., & LaFontana, K. M. (2014). Aggressive effects of prioritizing popularity in early adolescence. Aggressive Behavior, 40(3), 204–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21518.
Cillessen, A. H., & Rose, A. J. (2005). Understanding popularity in the peer system. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(2), 102–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00343.x.
Closson, L. M. (2009). Status and gender differences in early adolescents’ descriptions of popularity. Social Development, 18(2), 412–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00459.x.
Closson, L. M., Hart, N. C., & Hogg, L. D. (2017). Does the desire to conform to peers moderate links between popularity and indirect victimization in early adolescence?. Social Development, 26(3), 489–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12223.
Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Coppotelli, H. (1982). Dimensions and types of social status: A cross-age perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 557–570. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.18.4.557.
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66(3), 710–722. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1995.tb00900.x.
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1996). Children’s treatment by peers: Victims of relational and overt aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 8(2), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400007148.
Crick, N. R., Ostrov, J. M., & Werner, N. E. (2006). A longitudinal study of relational aggression, physical aggression, and children’s social-psychological adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(2), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-9009-4.
Crick, N. R., Werner, N. E., Casas, J. F., O’Brien, K. M., Nelson, D. A., Grotpeter, J. K., & Markon, K. (1999). Childhood aggression and gender: A new look at an old problem. Gender and Motivation (pp. 75–141). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review, 108(3), 593–623. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.108.3.593.
Cullerton-Sen, C., & Crick, N. R. (2005). Understanding the effects of physical and relational victimization: The utility of multiple perspectives in predicting social-emotional adjustment. School Psychology Review, 34(2), 147–160.
Dawes, M., & Xie, H. (2014). The role of popularity goal in early adolescents’ behaviors and popularity status. Developmental Psychology, 50(2), 489–497. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032999.
Dawson, J. F., & Richter, A. W. (2006). Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression: Development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 917–926. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.917.
Dijkstra, J. K., Cillessen, A. H., Lindenberg, S., & Veenstra, R. (2010). Same-gender and cross-gender likeability: Associations with popularity and status enhancement: The TRAILS study. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(6), 773–802. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431609350926.
Dodge, K. A., Coie, J. D., & Lynam, D. (2006). Aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Series eds.) and N. Eisenberg (Vol. ed.), Handbook of Child Psychology. Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 719–788). New York: Wiley..
Duffy, A. L., Penn, S., Nesdale, D., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2017). Popularity: Does it magnify associations between popularity prioritization and the bullying and defending behavior of early adolescent boys and girls?. Social Development, 26(2), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12206.
Frey, K. S., Nolen, S. B., Edstrom, L. V. S., & Hirschstein, M. K. (2005). Effects of a school-based social–emotional competence program: Linking children's goals, attributions, and behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26(2), 171–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2004.12.002.
Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 549–576. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530.
Graham, S. (2006). Peer victimization in school: Exploring the ethnic context. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(6), 317–321. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00460.x.
Godleski, S. A., Kamper, K. E., Ostrov, J. M., Hart, E. J., & Blakely-McClure, S. J. (2015). Peer victimization and peer rejection during early childhood. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44(3), 380–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.940622.
Harter, S. (2012). The Construction of the self: developmental and sociocultural foundations. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Hawley, P. H. (1999). The ontogenesis of social dominance: A strategy-based evolutionary perspective. Developmental Review, 19(1), 97–132. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.1998.0470.
Hawley, P. H., Little, T. D., & Card, N. A. (2007). The allure of a mean friend: Relationship quality and processes of aggressive adolescents with prosocial skills. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31(2), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025407074630.
Hong, J. S., & Espelage, D. L. (2012). A review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological system analysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(4), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.003.
Juvonen, J. (1991). Deviance, perceived responsibility, and negative peer reactions. Developmental Psychology, 27(4), 672 https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.27.4.672.
Kiefer, S. M., Matthews, Y. T., Montesino, M., Arango, L., & Preece, K. K. (2013). The effects of contextual and personal factors on young adolescents’ social goals. The Journal of Experimental Education, 81(1), 44–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2011.630046.
Kiefer, S. M., & Ryan, A. M. (2008). Striving for social dominance over peers: The implications for academic adjustment during early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(2), 417–428. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.2.417.
Kiefer, S. M., & Wang, J. H. (2016). Associations of coolness and social goals with aggression and engagement during adolescence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 44, 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2016.02.007.
Killen, M., Crystal, D. S., & Watanabe, H. (2002). Japanese and American children’s evaluations of peer exclusion, tolerance of differences, and prescriptions for conformity. Child Development, 73(6), 1788–1802. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00506.
LaFontana, K. M., & Cillessen, A. H. (2002). Children’s perceptions of population and unpopular peers: A multimethod assessment. Developmental Psychology, 38(5), 635–647.https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.38.5.635.
LaFontana, K. M., & Cillessen, A. H. (2010). Developmental changes in the priority of perceived status in childhood and adolescence. Social Development, 19(1), 130–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00522.x.
Lease, A. M., Kennedy, C. A., & Axelrod, J. L. (2002). Children’s social constructions of popularity. Social Development, 11(1), 87–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00188.
Lereya, S. T., Copeland, W. E., Costello, E. J., & Wolke, D. (2015). Adult mental health consequences of peer bullying and maltreatment in childhood: two cohorts in two countries. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(6), 524–531. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00165-0.
Li, Y., & Wright, M. F. (2014). Adolescents’ social status goals: Relationships to social status insecurity, aggression, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(1), 146–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9939-z.
Lopez, C., & DuBois, D. L. (2005). Peer victimization and rejection: Investigation of an integrative model of effects on emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment in early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_3.
McDougall, P., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Long-term adult outcomes of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence: Pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. American Psychologist, 70(4), 300. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039174.
McQuade, J. D., Achufusi, A. K., Shoulberg, E. K., & Murray‐Close, D. (2014). Biased self‐perceptions of social competence and engagement in physical and relational aggression: The moderating role of peer status and sex. Aggressive Behavior, 40(6), 512–525. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21552.
McQuade, J. D., Murray-Close, D., Shoulberg, E. K., & Hoza, B. (2013). Working memory and social functioning in children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(3), 422–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.03.002.
Meisinger, E. B., Blake, J. J., Lease, A. M., Palardy, G. J., & Olejnik, S. F. (2007). Variant and invariant predictors of perceived popularity across majority-black and majority-white classrooms. Journal of School Psychology, 45(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.09.005.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.4.674.
Moore, C. C., Shoulberg, E. K., & Murray‐Close, D. (2012). The Protective Role of Teacher Preference for At‐Risk Children's Social Status. Aggressive Behavior, 38(6), 481–493. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21446.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus User’s Guide. Seventh Edition Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Nakamoto, J., & Schwartz, D. (2010). Is Rosepeer victimization associated with academic achievement? A meta‐analytic review. Social Development, 19(2), 221–242.
Nelson, D. A., & Crick, N. R. (1999). Rose-colored glasses: Examining the social information-processing of prosocial young adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(1), 17–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431699019001002.
Parkhurst, J. T., & Hopmeyer, A. (1998). Sociometric popularity and peer-perceived popularity: Two distinct dimensions of peer status. Journal of Early Adolescence, 18, 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431698018002001.
Pellegrini, A. D., & Long, J. D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20(2), 259–280. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151002166442.
Prinstein, M. (2017). Popular. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Prinstein, M. J., Boergers, J., & Vernberg, E. M. (2001). Overt and relational aggression in adolescents: Social–psychological adjustment of aggressors and victims. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30(4), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3004_05.
Prinstein, M. J., Brechwald, W. A., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). Susceptibility to peer influence: Using a performance-based measure to identify adolescent males at heightened risk for deviant peer socialization. Developmental Psychology, 47(4), 1167–1172. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023274.
Puckett, M. B., Aikins, J. W., & Cillessen, A. N. (2008). Moderators of the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity. Aggressive Behavior, 34(6), 563–576. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20280.
Puhl, R. M., Latner, J. D., O’brien, K., Luedicke, J., Forhan, M., & Danielsdottir, S. (2016). Cross‐national perspectives about weight‐based bullying in youth: nature, extent and remedies. Pediatric Obesity, 11(4), 241–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12051.
Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.98.
Rose, A. J., & Swenson, L. P. (2009). Do perceived popular adolescents who aggress against others experience emotional adjustment problems themselves?. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 868–872. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015408.
Rose, A. J., Swenson, L. P., & Carlson, W. (2004). Friendships of aggressive youth: Considering the influences of being disliked and of being perceived as popular. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88(1), 25–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2004.02.005.
Rose, A. J., Swenson, L. P., & Waller, E. M. (2004). Overt and relational aggression and perceived popularity: Developmental differences in concurrent and prospective relations. Developmental Psychology, 40(3), 378–387. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.3.378.
Rudolph, K. D., Troop-Gordon, W., & Granger, D. A. (2010). Peer victimization and aggression: Moderation by individual differences in salivary cortiol and alpha-amylase. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38(6), 843–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9412-3.
Sandstrom, M. J. (2011). The power of popularity: Influence processes in childhood and adolescence. In A. H. N. Cillessen, D. Schwartz & L. Mayeux (Eds.), Popularity in the peer system (pp. 219–244). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Schwartz, D., Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1993). The emergence of chronic peer victimization in boys' playgroups. Child Development, 64(6), 1755–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb04211.x.
Shoulberg, E. K., Sijtsema, J. J., & Murray-Close, D. (2011). The association between valuing popularity and relational aggression: The moderating effects of actual popularity and physiological reactivity to exclusion. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110(1), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.03.008.
Sugimura, N., Berry, D., Troop-Gordon, W., & Rudolph, K. D. (2017). Early social behaviors and the trajectory of peer victimization across the school years. Developmental Psychology, 53(8), 1447–1461. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000346.
van den Broek, N., Deutz, M. H., Schoneveld, E. A., Burk, W. J., & Cillessen, A. H. (2016). Behavioral correlates of prioritizing popularity in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(12), 2444–2454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0352-7.
Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Munniksma, A., & Dijkstra, J. K. (2010). The complex relation between bullying, victimization, acceptance, and rejection: Giving special attention to status, affection, and sex differences. Child Development, 81(2), 480–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01411.x.
Vitoroulis, I., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Meta-analytic results of ethnic group differences in peer victimization. Aggressive Behavior, 41, 149–170. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21564.
Waasdorp, T. E., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2015). The overlap between cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(5), 483–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.12.002.
Wentzel, K. R. (1999). Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: Implications for understanding motivation at school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 76–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.1.76.
Wentzel, K. R. (2000). What is it that I’m trying to achieve? Classroom goals from a content perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1021.
Acknowledgements
We thank the participating students and teachers for making this research possible. Thank you to Renee Benoit for her help compiling references.
Authors' contributions
N.L.B. participated in the coordination of the project, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript; E.S. received funding for the project, participated in project coordination, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript; J.M. received funding for the project, participated in the coordination of the project, and helped draft the manuscript; A.M.C. received funding for the project, participated in the design and coordination of the project, and helped draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by a James M. Jeffords Center fellowship and a Child and Adolescent Training and Research Inc. Grant to the second author and a Child and Adolescent Training and Research Inc. Grant to second, third, and fourth authors.
Data Sharing Declaration
This manuscript’s data will not be deposited.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Vermont. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
A parent or guardian provided informed consent for each participant and participants 11 years of age and older provided written assent.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Breslend, N.L., Shoulberg, E.K., McQuade, J.D. et al. Social Costs for Wannabes: Moderating Effects of Popularity and Gender on the Links between Popularity Goals and Negative Peer Experiences. J Youth Adolescence 47, 1894–1906 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0810-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0810-0