What Does It Mean to Be Popular in Spain? Mixed-Method Analysis of Popularity as Perceived by Teenagers and Their Teachers

• Published in: Youth & society Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 392 - 416
• Main Authors: Postigo-Zegarra, Silvia, Schoeps, Konstanze, Montoya-Castilla, Inmaculada
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-04-2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Ability; Adolescent girls; Adolescents; Age Differences; Cultural Influences; Developmental Stages; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Gender stereotypes; Likeability; Mixed methods research; Peer Acceptance; Popularity; Resources; Risk; Secondary School Students; Secondary School Teachers; Sex Stereotypes; Social acceptance; Social Behavior; Social Influences; Sociometry; Student Attitudes; Student Behavior; Student Characteristics; Teacher Attitudes; Teachers; Teenagers; Value Judgment; Visibility; Women; Spain; perceived popularity; adolescence; mixed-method study; gender differences
• ISSN: 0044-118X; 1552-8499
• DOI: 10.1177/0044118X19855899

A great part of the research in adolescent popularity is based on sociometric methods, not always distinguishing between social preference (acceptance or likeability) and perceived popularity (visibility or salience), which has practical and theoretical implications. The aim of this work was to analyze the features that a sample of 406 Spanish adolescents (53.2% girls, M = 16.76 years) and their teachers (n = 26, 50% women) associated with perceived popularity. The data analysis established three main themes that categorize perceived popularity: behaviors, developmental traits, and other resources, which include both peer-valued and not valued characteristics. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons indicated differences between male and female popularity, mostly from the point of view of the students. Our findings suggest that perceived popularity is consistent with gender stereotypes, and that positive and negative popularity perceptions coexist with a denial of popularity as a real phenomenon.