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Relationships Among Personal Space Boundaries, Peer Acceptance, and Peer Reputation in Adolescents
Author(s) -
Stiles Anne Scott,
Raney Thomas J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of child and adolescent psychiatric nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.331
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1744-6171
pISSN - 1073-6077
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6171.2004.00029.x
Subject(s) - psychology , observational study , interpersonal communication , reputation , nonverbal communication , social psychology , developmental psychology , peer group , interpersonal relationship , space (punctuation) , exploratory research , medicine , computer science , social science , pathology , sociology , anthropology , operating system
PROBLEM Peer relationships are important to the health of adolescents who are at a developmental period of moving from parental influence to potentially dangerous peer influence. Interpersonal communication processes are logical antecedents of peer relationships. However, research in this area with adolescent populations is limited. METHODS Exploratory descriptive study using observational technique to collect nonverbal and verbal communication data on adolescents (N = 28). Observer ratings of personal boundaries and peer acceptance were correlated with anonymous peer ratings of sociability/leadership, aggressiveness/disruptiveness, and sensitivity/isolation, with comparisons made between males and females. FINDINGS Boundaries are related to peer acceptance and peer reputation and are interpreted differently in males and females. CONCLUSIONS This study provides beginning evidence of the usefulness of Personal Space Boundary Theory in understanding adolescent behavior.