Being in “Bad” Company

Theories of susceptibility to peer influence have centered on the idea that lower status adolescents are likely to adopt the behaviors of high status adolescents. While status is important, social exchange theorists have shown the value of analyzing exchange relations between actors to understand differences in power. To build on status-based theories of peer influence, this study analyzes power dependence relations in three adolescent friendship groups. Analyzing adolescent interaction as social exchange showed how being in a group with balanced power relations insulated adolescents from peer influence, even when some peers were delinquent or low academic achievers. In contrast, adolescents in groups with unbalanced power relations were particularly susceptible to peer influence. This study presents an additional way to analyze the peer influence process and illustrates the importance of applying social psychological theory to cases of micro inequality, particularly in the context of small groups.