Abstract

The present study examines the importance ascribed to psycho-social functions of adolescent peer groups. 575 adolescents, members of different peer groups (political, religious, sports and informal), were asked to fill in a questionnaire designed to measure the importance attributed to several group membership functions. The results show that, beside self esteem enhancement, peer groups serve other functions: they give the possibility to obtain information about oneself and one's own surrounding, to receive social support by peers, to compare oneself with the ingroup and with the outgroup members, to take leader roles, to enjoy time together with the other ingroup members. The data clearly highlight that the functions are differently emphasised by the different peer groups. Some of them are equally important for everybody, while others are more group-specific.