Being a popular teenager can be a risky business. On one hand, they have a lot of friends. On the other hand, they're particularly vulnerable to their friends leading them astray.
That was one of several conclusions drawn by a team of researchers led by Joseph P. Allen, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. The research results of "The Two Faces of Adolescents' Success With Peers: Adolescent Popularity, Social Adaptation, and Deviant Behavior," will be published in the May/June 2005 issue of "Child Development" to be released on May 17.
The good news is that the popular teens in the study showed strong family attachments and a healthy sense of personal identity. The bad news is that their ability to get along well with others makes them particularly susceptible to following friends into such risky activities as shoplifting or smoking marijuana.
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