A second limitation of the study was that its time frame did not permit examination of reciprocal teen-peer and peer-teen influence processes. In all likelihood, however, peer influence is a transactional and reciprocal process, with peers shaping one another's behavior, and in turn, one another's prospective influence on their own future behavior, over time in a tightly-linked dance. This study was able to assess only one facet of this transactional process. Thus transactional factors, such as the stability and intensity of a friendship during the potential influence period (rather than prior to it, as was assessed in this study) would be potentially important to consider in future research.
