Maternal Affection Moderates Friend Influence on Schoolwork Engagement

This study investigated friend influence over adolescent schoolwork engagement in 160 same-sex friend dyads (94 female dyads and 66 male dyads). Participants were approximately 16 years of age at the outset. Each friend described his or her own schoolwork engagement, school burnout, and perceptions of maternal affection. The results revealed that maternal affection moderated the influence that the higher burnout friend exerted over the subsequent schoolwork engagement of the lower burnout friend. The schoolwork engagement of the friend reporting higher levels of school burnout predicted a decline in the schoolwork engagement of the friend reporting lower school burnout, but only if the latter perceived below-average maternal affection.