Effects of Class Composition on Individual Problem Behavior at School - What is the role of the behavior of the entire class, the "cool" ones, the "extreme", and the personal friends?

Problem behavior of adolescents in school can pose considerable challenges to co-students and teachers and may constitute a developmental risk for the respective adolescent. With regard to the causes for such behavior, research on the influence of peer groups shows that members of the same age group have a considerable impact on the individual development of behavioral problems. Accordingly, the composition of school classes with regard to the level of problem behavior among co-students could be of crucial importance to the development of adolescents. Therefore, it was examined in how far individual school-related problem behavior may be predicted on the basis of the manifestation of such behavior among classmates. The focus was on the effects of different social sub-groups within the class. All in all, 623 adolescents from grades 7 to 9 anonymously answered questions on their school-related problem behavior. Multi-level analyses revealed that individual behavior may be predicted statistically through the average behavior among all classmates, among the popular adolescents, among those displaying the most behavioral problems, and among the personal friends in the class. The findings are discussed against the background of processes of peer influence within school classes.