The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds
Unlike prior studies that examined one source of peer influence at a time, this study [from Researchers at Florida Atlantic University] tested both best friend influence and popularity-driven classroom norms together, in the same longitudinal model. That allowed researchers to show what each source of influence actually does on its own, rather than treating all peer pressure as one undifferentiated force.
While popular peers dominate the visible, public-facing parts of adolescent life, best friends operate in a far more private space, and their influence lands differently.
Best friends, not popular peers, were the primary drivers of emotional problems, difficulty understanding one’s own feelings, and problem behaviors like rule-breaking and minor delinquency. If a child’s closest friend struggles with anxiety, that child is measurably more likely to move in the same direction over the following months. Among older students in 7th and 8th grade, academic performance followed a similar pattern, with friends pulling each other’s achievement levels closer together over time.
The distinction between these two types of influence isn’t just academically interesting. It has direct consequences for how adults try to help struggling kids, and where those efforts tend to fall short.
If a child is growing more anxious, emotionally shut down, or behaviorally disruptive, the closer look should be at their best friendship, not the social atmosphere of the whole classroom.
Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.com/two-types-of-peer-pressure-shaping-teens/