Ego Deficiency as a Factor in Marriage

cents the norm of the peer group tends to be more closely related to the attitude of the adolescent than is the norm of the parental group. Whether this relationship is a causal one and to what extent it reflects not only the pressures of the peer group but also other referents, as well as the general value system of American culture, we cannot, of course, be certain. But the data do suggest that the importance of the peer group, even in situations where parents and peer group conflict, must be taken into account in any study of adolescent attitudes. While the necessary data to explain these findings are lacking, some tentative explanations which may lead to further research can be offered. The relationship between adolescent and parental-peer group attitudes found in this study is in keeping with a growing body of theory and empirical data which demonstrate the importance of these two groups, particularly in terms of their functions in the socialization process, in the attitude formation process. An explanation of the relative impact of these two groups on adolescents in our society may be found in the hypotheses about American character presented by Riesman.9 His suggestion that the changing character structure of Americans is in the direction of the increasing im-