THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP ALTERNATIVES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FRIEND INLUFENCE

In the social world of adolescents, friends play an integral role in shaping adjustment. Little is known about what differentiates those who influence from those who are influenced. The current study examined the role of relationship alternatives to determine whether a relative lack of friends increases susceptibility to influence over adjustment outcomes in a sample of adolescents (N=794). Findings suggest that partners with relatively fewer friends were susceptible to influence from partners with relatively more friends over social anxiety and prosocial behavior. Both partners influenced each other’s academic engagement over time. Multiple group analyses indicated that patterns of susceptibility to influence did not differ between partners with fewer relationship alternatives who had no other friends and those who had one or two other friends. The findings of the current study highlight the role of a relative lack of relationship alternatives in susceptibility to friend influence.