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Abstract
This study examined the degree to which social stratification within friendship groups impacted the relationships between the cognitive component of rejection sensitivity (i.e., rejection expectancy) and the experience of relational aggression in the friendship group to predict trend-following conformity intentions. Using ego network methodology, 353 fourth and fifth graders reported on their experience of relational aggression within their friendship groups, their rejection expectancy, their conformity intentions, and the perceived norms of their friendship groups. The status stratification of each participant’s self-reported friendship group was calculated by finding the standard deviation of social prominence within the personal network. Results suggested that relational aggression and status stratification significantly predicted trend-following conformity intentions when accounting for gender and race, with higher levels of both factors predicting an increased intent to conform to their group’s trend-following norms. However, when controlling for the trendy norms of the friendship group, experiencing relational aggression and status stratification no longer demonstrated significant main effects in predicting trend-following conformity intentions. Instead, high levels of stratification predicted an increased likelihood of conforming to trend-following group norms but only when the child reported experiencing relational aggression from at least one group member. Counter to expectations, rejection expectancy was not a significant predictor of trend-following conformity intentions. Implications in light of these findings are discussed.