PEER ACCEPTANCE AND FRIENDSHIP - AN INVESTIGATION OF THEIR RELATION TO SELF-ESTEEM

The present study examined the relationship between peer relations and self-esteem. Specifically, this study investigated how peer acceptanc e and friendship were related to self-esteem in an adolescent populati on. Five hundred and forty-two ninth-grade students were classified by sociometric group and presence or absence of reciprocal friendships. Results indicate no significant difference in self-esteem scores acros s sociometric groups. However subjects with at least 1 reciprocal frie nd had higher self-esteem scores than subjects without a reciprocal fr iend. Furthermore, there did not appear to be a cumulative effect of n umber of friendships on self-esteem scores. The importance of friendsh ip to the development of self-esteem is discussed, as are the implicat ions for intervention programs such as social skills training for chil dren who may lack a close friendship. The authors indicate a need for further study of the relationship between peer relations and the corre lates of self-esteem.