Allen et al. (2010) hypothesized that the young people who participated in online
social networking would be more socially adjusted. They also examined how adult
communication was affected, which will be discussed later in this review. The researchers
conducted a longitudinal study on 172 participants. First, they surveyed and interviewed
preteens on their peer sociometric status, positive and negative peer interaction, and
symptoms of depression. The mothers of these preteens were surveyed about their
children’s deviant behaviors. When participants reached young adulthood, the researchers
asked for access to their facebook pages if they possessed one. Allen et al. coded 92
facebook pages for number of friends, connection with friends, friend displays of support,
hostile profile biographies, and inappropriate pictures. They also surveyed these 92 young
adults on the quality of their friendships and symptoms of depression. Finally, they asked
friends of the participants to complete the Young Adult Behavior Checklist. After performing
an ordinary least squares hierarchical multiple regressions on each variable, these