High-schoolersʹ peer orientation priorities: a snapshot

This short paper reports a set of qualitative research findings which reveal something of the peer orientation priorities of 462 British high-schoolers (14-year olds)—who they hang out with and why. Offering a snapshot of young peopleʹs current social and relational priorities, these data point to their over-riding concern for mutuality and “hanging” itself (e.g. “having a laugh”); boysʹ single-minded preference for sport (and computers); girlsʹ consistent attunement to pleasant, caring interactions; and the relative unimportance of ethnically based affiliation. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.