Peer Statuses
In school adolescents are highly influenced by their peers, and they are judged by how they look or act. Some students are extremely liked while others are not, which is what the sociomatic status addresses. There are five types of peer statuses that most schools conform to: popular children, average children, neglected children, rejected children, and controversial children (Wentzel & Asher 1995). Popular children usually have good social skills and care for others, which is why they are the most, liked adolescents in schools. The children who fall in the middle in terms of number of people who like and dislike them are average children. Neglected children are not necessarily disliked, but more forgotten. These are usually the shy children because they go unnoticed. Children who are rejected are rarely liked, and they are the ones peers may call “weird.” Adolescents who are controversial are either really liked or disliked, so they fall on both ends of the social spectrum. Interactions among peers are an integral part of high school, so it is important for educators to understand the challenges students face in relation to their peer statuses (1.3).