Positive Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement across Early and Midadolescence

We explored peer acceptance and friendships during adolescence, and their relationship with subsequent changes in the level of adolescents’ academic achievement. Participants were 447 students (51% girls) aged from 11 to 16 years. The students completed sociometric assessments of their peer acceptance and friendships during the autumn semester (Time 1). Academic achievement data were also obtained from students’ report-card grades at Time 1 as well as during the spring semester (Time 2) of the same academic year. Regression analysis indicated that peer acceptance positively predicted subsequent academic achievement. This relationship was also moderated by age, with the effect of peer acceptance on subsequent academic achievement being greater during early adolescence than in midadolescence. This research deepens understanding of the mechanisms by which positive peer relationships influence adolescents’ academic achievement.