A third group of moderators includes relationship attributes between the target and the influencing peer that may alter peer susceptibility. As noted above, the work of Dishion and colleagues has suggested that characteristics of deviant adolescents’ friendship interactions, particularly dyadic mutuality, moderates the association between deviant talk and adolescents’ antisocial behavior (e.g., Piehler & Dishion, 2007). Other studies of this decade have examined global relationship quality as a moderator of peer socialization. Generally, results suggest that high levels of positive friendship quality increase peer socialization of depression symptoms (Prinstein, 2007), substance use (Urberg, Luo, Pilgrim, & Degirmencioglu, 2003), and prosocial behavior (Barry & Wentzel, 2006). These findings seem to indicate that intimacy, support, and positive affect between friends promote conformity, at least for some behaviors.
