Abstract
The initiation of romantic relationships is a normative developmental task among female adolescents. Friendships with other females may change as part of this task. Using structured interviews, this study collected data from 102 white females (ages 17 to 19) about their history of close peer relationships during high school. Trajectories of involvement (time spent) with close peers were examined using individual growth modeling. Females who increased time with romantic partners more rapidly also decreased time with friends more rapidly. Although most spent more time with partners than with friends at some time, the timing of this change and patterns of involvement with close peers varied. One-fourth of females spent more time with partners than with friends early in high school, but spent less time with friends than others did. Another one-half spent more time with partners than with friends later in high school, gradually increasing time with partners and reducing time with friends. Other females never spent more time with partners than with friends, and maintained high involvement with friends and little involvement with partners.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aneshensel, C. S., and Gore, S. (1992). Development, stress, and role restructuring: Social transitions of adolescence. In Eckenrode, J. (ed.), The Social Context of Coping. Plenum Press, New York.
Blyth, D. A., and Foster-Clark, F. S. (1987). Gender differences in perceived intimacy with different members of adolescents' social networks. Sex Roles 17: 689–718.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1988). Interacting systems in human development. Research paradigms: Present and future. In Bolger, N., Caspi, A., Downey, G., and Moorehouse, M. (eds.), Persons in Context: Developmental Processes. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Bryk, A. S., and Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Burchinal, M., and Appelbaum, M. I. (1991). Estimating individual developmental functions: Methods and their assumptions. Child Dev. 62: 23–43.
Cate, R. M., Huston, T. L., and Nesselroade, J. R. (1986). Premarital relationships: Toward identification of alternative pathways to marriage. J. Soc. Clin. Psych. 4: 3–22.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Larson, R. (1984). Being Adolescent. Basic Books, New York.
Douvan, E., and Adelson, J. (1966). The Adolescent Experience. Wiley, New York.
Dunphy, D. C. (1963). The social structure of urban adolescent peer groups. Sociometry 26: 230–246.
Eaton, Y. M., Mitchell, M. L., and Jolley, J. M. (1991). Gender differences in the development of relationships during adolescence. Adolescence 26: 565–568.
Eder, D. (1985). The cycle of popularity: Interpersonal relations among female adolescents. Soc. Educ. 58: 154–165.
Furman, W., and Wehner, E. A. (1997). Adolescent romantic relationships: A developmental perspective. In Shulman, S., and Collins, W. A. (eds.), Romantic Relationships in Adolescence: Developmental Perspectives. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Gordon, M., and Miller, R. L. (1984). Going steady in the 1980s: Exclusive relationships in six Connecticut high schools. Sociol. Soc. Res. 68: 463–479.
Hartup, W. W. (1993). Adolescent and their friends. In Laursen, B. (ed.), Close Friendships in Adolescence: New Directions for Child Development. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Havighurst, R. J. (1972). Developmental Tasks and Education. Davis McKay, New York.
Hendry, L. B., Shucksmith, J., Love, J. G., and Glendinning, A. (1993). Young People's Leisure and Lifestyle. Routledge, New York.
Hinde, R. A., and Stevenson-Hinde, J. (1987). Interpersonal relationships and child development. Develop. Rev. 7: 1–21.
Johnson, M. P., and Leslie, L. (1982). Couple involvement and network structure: A test of the dyadic withdrawal hypothesis. Soc. Psych. Q. 45: 34–43.
Larson, R. W., Richards, M. H., Moneta, G., Holmbeck, G., and Duckett, E. (1996). Changes in adolescents' daily interactions with their families from age 10 to 18: Disengagement and transformation. Develop. Psychol. 32: 744–754.
Lempers, J. D., and Clark-Lempers, D. S. (1993). A functional comparison of same-sex and opposite-sex friendships during adolescence. J. Adolesc. Res. 8: 89–108.
Littell, R. C., Milliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., and Wolfinger, R. D. (1996). SAS System for Mixed Models. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.
Miller, K. E. (1990). Adolescents' same-sex and opposite-sex peer relations: Sex differences in popularity, perceived social-competence, and social cognitive skills. J. Adolesc. Res. 5: 222–241.
Park, M. R., Stan, C. M., and Eggert, L. L. (1983). Romantic involvement and social network involvement. Soc. Psych. Q. 46: 116–131.
Phinney, V. G., Jensen, L. C., Olsen, J. A., and Cundick, B. (1990). The relationship between early development and psychosexual behaviors in adolescent females. Adolescence 25: 321–332.
Richards, M. H., Crowe, P. A., Larson, R., and Swarr, A. (1998). Developmental patterns and gender differences in the experience of peer companionship during adolescence. Child Dev. 69: 154–163.
Sameroff, A. J. (1983). Developmental systems: Context and evolution. In Mussen, P. H. (ed.), Handbook of Child Psychology (Vol. 1). Wiley, New York.
Samet, N., and Kelly, E. W. (1987). The relationships of steady dating to self-esteem and sex role identity among adolescents. Adolescence 22: 231–245.
Sharabany, R., Gershoni, R., and Hofman J. E. (1981). Girlfriend, boyfriend: Age and sex differences in intimate friendship. Dev. Psych. 17: 800–808.
Shulman, S. (1993). Close friendships in early and middle adolescence: Typology and friendship reasoning. In Laursen, B. (ed.), Close Friendships in Adolescence. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Singer, J. D. (1997). Using SAS PROC MIXED to fit multilevel models, hierarchical models, and individual growth models. Manuscript under review by The Journal of Education and Behavioral Statistics.
Skinner, E. A., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., and Connell, J. P. (1998). Individual differences and the development of perceived control. Manuscript in press with The Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development.
Sullivan, H. S. (1953). The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. Norton, New York.
Surra, C. A. (1985). Courtship types: Variations in interdependence between partners and social networks. J. Pers. Soc. Psych. 49: 357–375.
von Eye, A., Kreppner, K., Spiel, C., and Webels, H. (1995). Life events' spacing and order in individual development. In Kindermann, T. A., and Valsiner, J. (eds.), Development of Person-Context Relations. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Willett, J. B., Singer, J. D., and Martin, N. C. (1998). The design and analysis of longitudinal studies of development and psychopathology in context: Statistical models and methodological recommendations. Develop. Psychopathol. 10: 395–426.
Wright, L. S. (1982). Parental permission to date and its relationship to drug use and suicidal thoughts among adolescents. Adolescence 17: 409–418.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J. Stability, Change and Individual Differences in Involvement with Friends and Romantic Partners Among Adolescent Females. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 28, 419–438 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021612907073
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021612907073