VISIBILITY, VULNERABILITY, DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTEXT - INGREDIENTS FORA FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF PEER REJECTION IN ADOLESCENCE

Merten's recent assessment of the responses of four boys who were asso ciated with a low-status peer crowd in junior high school provides imp ortant insights on processes of social rejection in early adolescence. To build on these insights, investigators must broaden the sample bey ond core members of one socially rejected peer group and broaden their methods beyond self-reports and self-assessments from rejected youth. Conceptual frameworks; must consider the full range of characteristic s that contribute to peer status-physical stature and development, per sonality traits, social skills, interests, abilities, and values-and b e sensitive to contextual (school and community) factors that shape th e peer group system and constrain mobility within the system.