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For children and adolescents, it is often important to be popular or liked. But young adults also appear to attach importance to how they are perceived within the group. “If you think you are popular, we see this reflected in how you behave around strangers,” says developmental psychologist Nina Chmielowice-Szymanski, who will defend her Ph.D. thesis on this topic at Radboud University on November 6.

The researcher focused primarily on interactions between young adults (aged 18 to 25) in so-called “peer groups,” or groups in which peers come together, such as within their educational program or at a sports club.

“Among scientists, there is sometimes the idea that popularity is no longer really a significant factor for this group,” says the developmental psychologist. “Many researchers are primarily concerned with friendships and romantic relationships within this age group.”

Popularity versus being liked

However, this study shows that being popular or being liked is indeed important to young adults. The difference between the two? Popularity is about your status in the group, while being liked is about one-on-one relationships.

“In general, young adults indicate that being liked is more important to them than being popular,” says Chmielowice-Szymanski. “But at work or in sports, popularity seems to be more important than at school or among friends. Perhaps because people experience more competition or hierarchy in those settings.”

Young adulthood is a period with more freedom than adolescence, which lasts until the age of 18. Young adults, for example, move out on their own and can choose a course of study or career path. During this exciting period, it appears to be important to fit in well with a group, for example, in order to have positive experiences within that group.

Popular as a child, popular as an adult?

Chmielowice-Szymanski used data from the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study, in which a group of young adults has been followed since childhood to track their development. She collected new data for this study when the participants were 24 and 25 years old.

During video call sessions with peers in groups of four, the participants played various games, some of which required more cooperation and some of which were more competitive. The developmental psychologist observed their behavior during these sessions, scoring them on factors such as positive behavior, negative behavior, leadership, and dominant behavior.

Although we cannot say on the basis of this study that there is a causal link between popularity in childhood and social behavior as a young adult, patterns are visible, says the researcher. “People who were popular as children often behave in a more ‘pro-social’ manner as adults. This means, for example, that they behave in a friendly manner or actively try to involve others in conversations. People who were popular as adolescents do the same, but this group also exhibits more coercive and sometimes aggressive behavior.”

According to the researcher, this mainly shows that patterns of behavior in a group do not seem to change much during your life. Further research is needed to determine how much impact this has on your well-being.

“This finding invites other researchers to take a closer look at social status in young adults,” says the researcher. “How does popularity in a group relate to other social relationships, such as those with family or friends? It is quite possible that someone without a best friend still feels happy because they have good social relationships at work or in their studies. And even those who are not so popular can still be very happy.”

Citation: Popularity remains important among young adults too. ‘Not just something for children.’ (2025, November 3) retrieved 3 November 2025 from https://phys.org/news/2025-11-popularity-important-young-adults-children.html

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