The role of friends in help-seeking tendencies during early adolescence: Do classroom goal structures moderate selection and influence of friends?

Research has evidenced that help-seeking is an important self-regulatory strategy of learning. However, the role of friends in help-seeking has been underexplored. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal associations between early adolescents' selection and influence of friends and help-seeking tendencies, and whether students' perceived classroom goal structures moderate these associations among fifth and sixth graders (N = 736 at Wave 1, N = 677 at Wave 2). With longitudinal social network analyses, results indicated that friends were similar to each other in adaptive as well as avoidant help-seeking tendencies, and this similarity was explained by selection and influence of friends, while controlling for students' gender and achievement, and classroom goal structures. Students chose friends who were similar to themselves in adaptive help-seeking behavior. Friends influenced one another in their avoidant help-seeking behavior over time. Further, students' perceived classroom goal structures moderated these processes. Students who perceived higher mastery emphasis (i.e., the development of competence) in their classroom were more likely to select friends who seek adaptive help, and were more influenced by their friends' adaptive help-seeking behavior. Conversely, students who perceived higher performance emphasis (i.e., the demonstration of competence) in their classroom were more likely to select friends who avoid seeking help.