Similarity between Early and Middle Adolescent Close Friends' Beliefs about Personal Jurisdiction

Similarity in close friends' beliefs about personal jurisdiction was examined using questionnaires and interviews with 162 early (M-age = 11.82) and middle (M-age = 15.68) adolescents who were matched with reciprocally nominated close friends. Using the framework of social domain theory, beliefs about personal jurisdiction were assessed for personal, social conventional, prudential, and multifaceted issues. As hypothesized, close friends were more similar than non-friends in their ratings of legitimate parental authority and the degree of harm and consequences to others for prudential and multifaceted issues. Also as expected, friends were similar in their justifications for the legitimacy of parental authority over multifaceted issues. Similarity was moderated by age, direct discussion, and friendship duration; effects varied according to the domain of the issue. Results were discussed in terms of peers' influence on adolescents' push for increased autonomy.