The Role of Friends in Early Adolescents’ Academic Self-competence and Intrinsic Value for Math and English

In a sample of 207 eighth grade students, we examined similarities between students and their friends in achievement motivation and whether friendship support moderated these associations. Academic self-competence and intrinsic value for math and English were assessed using both perceptions of friends and actual friend reports collected through friend nominations. For both sources of information, there was a stronger positive association between students’ and friends’ academic self-competence when friendships were rated as more supportive. Analyses predicting intrinsic value for math and English provided weaker evidence of an interaction. Comparisons of the students’ perceptions and their friends’ actual reports suggested that students overestimated the degree to which their friends had attitudes similar to their own. Students also perceived that their friends valued academics significantly less than the friends actually reported. Results suggest that both friend and friendship characteristics are important for understanding student achievement motivation.