Crabbe Rowena, Pivnick Lilla K, Bates Julia, Gordon Rachel A, Crosnoe Robert
Virginia Tech.
University of Texas at Austin.
J Adolesc Res. 2019 Sep 1;34(5):563-596. doi: 10.1177/0743558418809537. Epub 2018 Dec 25.
High school peer crowds are fundamental components of adolescent development with influences on short-and long-term life trajectories. This study provides the perspectives of contemporary college students regarding their recent high school social landscapes, contributing to current research and theory on the social contexts of high school. This study also highlights the experiences of college-bound students who represent a growing segment of the adolescent population. 61 undergraduates attending universities in two states participated in 10 focus groups to reflect on their experiences with high school peer crowds during the late 2010s. Similar to seminal research on peer crowds, we examined crowds and individuals along several focal domains: popularity, extracurricular involvement, academic orientation, fringe media, illicit risk taking, and race-ethnicity. We find that names and characteristics of crowds reflect the current demographic and cultural moment (i.e., growing importance of having a college education, racial-ethnic diversity) and identify peer crowds that appear to be particularly salient for college-bound youth. Overall, this study illuminates how the retrospective accounts of college-bound students offer insight into high school social hierarchies during a time of rapid social change.
高中同伴群体是青少年发展的基本组成部分，对短期和长期的人生轨迹都有影响。本研究提供了当代大学生对其近期高中社交环境的看法，为当前关于高中社会背景的研究和理论做出了贡献。本研究还突出了即将上大学的学生的经历，这部分学生在青少年群体中所占比例日益增加。来自两个州的61名本科生参加了10个焦点小组，以反思他们在2010年代后期与高中同伴群体相处的经历。与关于同伴群体的开创性研究类似，我们沿着几个重点领域对群体和个体进行了考察：受欢迎程度、课外参与情况、学术倾向、边缘媒体、非法冒险行为以及种族-民族。我们发现，群体的名称和特征反映了当前的人口和文化状况（即接受大学教育的重要性日益增加、种族-民族多样性），并确定了对即将上大学的年轻人似乎特别突出的同伴群体。总体而言，本研究阐明了即将上大学的学生的回顾性叙述如何在社会快速变化的时期为洞察高中社会等级制度提供见解。
