Adolescent controversial status brokers: A double-edged sword.

Using a 3-wave longitudinal, multidimensional approach, this study investigated the influence of social network position and social status on the psychosocial outcomes of 440 youth (45.1% girls; Mage = 16.1 years; 90.9% Caucasian) over 26 months, focusing on the controversial status classification (i.e., youth who are highly liked and disliked by their peers). Brokerage (i.e., the degree to which a person has relationships with peers who do not have a direct relationship with each other) was examined in conjunction with sociometric status to explain potential heterogeneity of outcomes for controversial status youth. Adolescents completed peer nominations and self-reports of adjustment. Results demonstrated that brokerage was related to poorer psychosocial outcomes for controversial compared to average status youth. Brokerage appears to add predictive value to youths' adjustment beyond traditional sociometric classifications, especially for controversial status youth. (PsycINFO Database Record