138 -- Perceived Power in Close Peer Relationships: Associations with Self-Esteem

Although college students’ peer relationships are generally found to be egalitarian (Furman & Buhrmester, 1992), not all are. People tend to be more satisfied in a same-sex friendship with an equal power distribution than one with an unequal power distribution (Veniegas & Peplau, 1997). Inequality in romantic relationships is associated with self-esteem (Galliher et al., 1999). The present study examined the associations between the power dynamics in close same-sex friendships, other-sex friendships, and romantic relationships with several dimensions of self-esteem. Our results indicated that perceived power in romantic relationships had the strongest associations with self-esteem, particularly in terms of overall self-worth and aspects of achievement.