Features of an adolescent’s friendship group also constitute potentially important moderators of the group’s influence effects. In a study of group-level influence in preadolescents, Ellis and Zarbatany (2007) found that groups with greater centrality within the larger peer network were more potent sources of influence for prosocial behavior, relational aggression, school misconduct, and deviant behavior—arguably, characteristics that contribute to or maintain the visibility of the group. Groups low in social preference (i.e., comprised of youth who were rejected by their peers) demonstrated enhanced influence effects for deviant behavior only.
