[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-590620-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-590620-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","critical-friendship-helping-youth-lift-as-they-climb-together","Critical Friendship - Helping Youth Lift as They Climb Together","","The article examines how adults in afterschool and youth-serving community organizations can better leverage peer relationships by reframing young people’s friendships through the lens of critical friendship. It reviews definitions of critical friends and friendships as youth-formed peer networks, then contrasts research on peer influence as either risk amplification or support for goals. The discussion connects critical friendship to social capital theories and highlights conditions that can foster positive outcomes through supportive, diverse networks.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/critical-friendship-helping-youth-lift-as-they-climb-together/590620/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/critical-friendship-helping-youth-lift-as-they-climb-together/590620.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Stanley","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is a critical friend in the context of youth relationships?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"A critical friend is defined as a trusted person who asks provocative questions, provides data to be examined through another lens, and offers a critique as a friend. The article uses this concept to explain how adults can support positive peer dynamics.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How do youth typically form friendships and peer networks?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Youth form informal peer groups or networks based on common interests, identity, or sustained interaction. They select friends based on what shared characteristics or network resources can offer them.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How does social capital relate to critical friendship?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Social capital is presented as a framework for understanding how relationships and group norms generate resources and obligations that individuals can access. The article argues that this concept helps clarify how supportive peer networks can reproduce positive outcomes rather than only dominant-class advantages.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},590620,1792070072,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":115,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":79,"read_time":143,"preview_page_count":4},2336477405376,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Critical Friendship  \nHelping Youth Lift as They Climb Together  \nTanya G. Wiggins  \nFriendship and peer groups are important to youth. However, adults in afterschool programs and other youth-serving community-based organizations often either ignore peer relationships or deem them detrimental to desired youth outcomes. What would it mean to consider young people’s friendships in a different light? How can this important element of their experience support positive youth outcomes? One possibility is the cultivation of critical friendships.  \nThe term critical friendship has been used in teacher professional learning communities for at least 20 years. Costa and Kallick (1993) define critical friend as “a trusted person who asks provocative questions, provides data to be examined through another lens, and offers a  \ncritique of a person’s work as a friend”(p. 50) . Critical friendship offers a new perspective on youth relationships. An exploration of how youth participants in a community-based organization developed their own critical friendships can push adults engaged in youth work to create conditions that support positive peer relationships.  \nFriends and Peer Influence  \nWith Sallee and Tierney (2007), I define friendships as informal peer groups or networks formed by young people themselves based on common interests or identity or on sustained interaction. Young people select friends based on common characteristics or on what the networks have to offer (Kiesner, Poulin, & Nicotra, 2003) . They may choose a  \nTANYA G. WIGGINS, EdD, is a clinical assistant professor in education at Pace University who has spent half of her 20 years asan educator serving youth in community-based organizations. She seeks to bridge research and practice by exploring the ways in which youth support their own educational achievement and by examining community-based youth organizations as educational spaces.  \nnetwork, for example, to offset the impact of another network, affirm an identity, or gain access to resources (Horvat & Lewis, 2003; Sallee & Tierney, 2007; Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2000) .  \nyoung people who participated in a peer network that provided academic support were more likely than others to view school as useful for their futures.  \nResearch on peer influence among youth casts peers Social Capital  \nin one of two contrasting roles. In one, peers are generally The concept of social capital serves as a guide in discussviewed as negative influences. For example, Dishion, Mc- ing critical friendship. Pierre Bourdieu (1986) and James  \nCord, and Poulin (1999) hypoth- Coleman (1988) present founda  \nesized that high-risk adolescents tional work on social capital and its  \nwould escalate problem behavior use. Bourdieu (1986) defines social  \nwhen involved in interventions Research on peer influence capital as the sum total of actual ordelivhigh-erredisk yinoutghroTupsheir lwonithgituotdihnearl among youth casts peers pcoatnentaciaclesrsesoasuarcesresualn int ofdbiveiidnugala study appeared to prove their hy- in one of two contrasting member of a group. To develop pothesis: In some instances, aggre- roles. In one, peers are social capital, Bourdieu says, an gating high-risk youth reinforced generally viewed as individual must build and mainproblefoundmthabt,ehavoveirorti.Amen, otheryoungstupedoy- negative influences. . . . The tainsenserelaoftiosoncshialipsobembued wligation orithpreaple who were more susceptible to other role in which sumed rights. Bourdieu considers the influence of friends were also research casts peer social capital to be a tool for social more apt to be pressured into risky relationships is a reproduction in favor of the domibehaviors and to experience de- positive one. nant class. This position, however,  \npression (Allen, Porter, & McFar- ignores the potential for other uses.  \nland, 2006) . Fordham and Ogbu (1986), in their study of the role  \nof peer networks in African-American students’ school success, saw that","cbCaiie2yVpHmK1i","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiie2yVpHmK1i","pdf",181407,"English","# Critical Friendship\n## Friends and Peer Influence\n## Social Capital","[{\"question\":\"What is a critical friend in the context of youth relationships?\",\"answer\":\"A critical friend is defined as a trusted person who asks provocative questions, provides data to be examined through another lens, and offers a critique as a friend. The article uses this concept to explain how adults can support positive peer dynamics.\"},{\"question\":\"How do youth typically form friendships and peer networks?\",\"answer\":\"Youth form informal peer groups or networks based on common interests, identity, or sustained interaction. They select friends based on what shared characteristics or network resources can offer them.\"},{\"question\":\"How does social capital relate to critical friendship?\",\"answer\":\"Social capital is presented as a framework for understanding how relationships and group norms generate resources and obligations that individuals can access. The article argues that this concept helps clarify how supportive peer networks can reproduce positive outcomes rather than only dominant-class advantages.\"}]","Critical Friendship - Helping Youth Lift as They Climb Together | PDF",23]