"The chapters in this volume of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development present data that add to the state of our knowledge about peer phenomena in terms both of relationships and of social categories. The eminent authors present empirical work bearing on an array of questions about adolescent social life with peers. What is the identity function of the reputation-based peer groups commonly referred to as "crowds"? Is it possible for students to form an alternative group to resist the cultures of the dominant peer groups in the high school? How changeable is peer group orientation over time? How do peer group and individual patterns of activity influence identity? Does having a sibling or dating partner make a difference in other relationships?"--Jacket.