Abstract
There is a critical gap in our understanding of how peer relationships contribute to positive youth development. To address this gap the current study uses longitudinal social network data to examine if fun youth were socially desirable, inclusive of peers, and positive agents of social influence during the transition to adolescence. Participants were 210 students (47% female; Mage = 11.55 years at the outset) from 8 classes in 3 schools in a small Lithuanian city. Each child received a fun score consisting of nominations from classmates as “someone who is fun to be around”. Participants also nominated up to five classmates as friends. Fun students received more friendship nominations than their peers and they maintained higher levels of social desirability over time. Fun youth appeared to be inclusive of their peers in that fun youth did not appear to have preferences to befriend only those like themselves. The friends of fun youth were positively influenced such that they were perceived to be more fun over time. The findings suggests that fun youth may promote positive social change within peer groups.
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Funding
G.K. and R.Z. received funding from the European Regional Development Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-17-0009) under a grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT). Dawn DeLay received funding for preparation of the manuscript from the Mykolas Romeris University Research Council (Service Agreement No 1ST-123).
Data Sharing and DeclarationThe data that support the findings of this study are available from Mykolas Romeris University but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available upon reasonable request and with permission of Rita Žukauskienė.
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D.D. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, ran study analyses, and drafted the manuscript; G.K. participated in the design, assisted in analyses and editing of the manuscript; R.Z. participated in project coordination and contributed to editing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Ethical approval for the current study was obtained by Mykolas Romeris University. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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DeLay, D., Kaniušonytė, G. & Žukauskienė, R. The Social Dynamics of Fun: Can Fun Youth Bring Peers Together and Positively Influence Their Friends?. J. Youth Adolescence 53, 386–396 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01876-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01876-6