Cliques can be based on appearance, athletic ability, academic achievement, social or economic status, talent, ability to attract the opposite sex, or seeming sophistication - the jocks, the nerds, the brains, the cool kids, etc. Some kids care about belonging to a certain group, suffer from feelings of rejection if they are not included and can become victims of teasing and bullying . When cliques turn aggressive they may become gangs. Cliques peak in middle school as peer relationships and acceptance augment family relationships and then decrease in high school. The amount of time spent with friends is greatest during middle childhood and adolescence.
Teenagers spend almost a third of their waking time in the company of friends.
Most adolescents move away from relying on family and parents and develop close ties with friends. While young children's friendships are based largely on companionship, older children report higher levels of self-disclosure or sharing personal thoughts and feelings in their friendships. It seems logical that having friends at school would enhance a child's academic progress. Schools can provide a network of rewarding experiences and represent natural communities of reinforcement. Research confirms these impressions.