The puzzling social codes of adolescence can follow people long after they leave school. Memories of popularity, rejection, cliques and intimidation may become templates through which adults continue to interpret relationships and social encounters.

One recollection captures that intensity. At 14, the writer watched Georgia, a feared student surrounded by her group, approach a friend and effectively demand an invitation to a party that was being held in a rented church hall.

Years later, Georgia became a close friend. Yet the fear surrounding that playground encounter remained vivid, reflecting how readily many adults can remember the students who once dominated their school corridors.

Mitch Prinstein, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found after speaking with hundreds of people that memories of popular students were remarkably powerful. Decades later, people could often recall the most popular student more easily than teachers or other classmates.

Research indicates that adolescent social standing can influence later romantic relationships, life satisfaction, health and interpretations of social interactions. American psychologist John Coie helped reshape the study of popularity during the early 1980s by asking children which classmates they liked most and least.

Coie and his colleagues found that children could be liked by some classmates and disliked by others. Some were highly visible, while others received little attention from peers.

The researchers proposed five categories: accepted, rejected, controversial, neglected and average. Studies generally find that about 40% of children are average, while 60% fall within one of the other four groups.

Accepted children tend to be viewed as kind, supportive and encouraging. Neglected children are often quiet and withdrawn, while rejected children may be aggressive bullies or socially anxious targets of bullying.

The controversial group, which is the rarest, includes students who attract strong approval and disapproval. Coie also found that children often retained their labels after entering new peer groups, and later research reproduced similar findings among adolescents.

Connie, who was bullied during primary school, hoped high school would offer a fresh beginning. Instead, she faced bullying during her first months, including because she was mixed race at a predominantly white institution, and encountered a similar pattern after changing schools.

Popularity also changes meaning as children enter adolescence. In primary school, popular children are generally those who are best liked, behave well and perform strongly, but high school can elevate dominance, physical attractiveness, athletic ability and conformity to peer expectations.

Behaviors associated with older adolescents or adults can also deliver temporary status. Teenagers who drink alcohol, use drugs or pursue precocious romantic behavior are more likely to be considered popular for a time, although this effect diminishes around age 15.

Prinstein distinguishes sharply between likability and status. “Likability is good. It generally leads to all kinds of positive health, work, academic and psychological outcomes.” By contrast, he said high status produces opposite effects.

High school culture operates through shifting cliques with boundaries that are often especially rigid during the first years. Connie remembered trying to join several groups by emphasizing her academic interests, appearance and musical activities, but she eventually felt ignored by everyone.

Those boundaries can loosen as teenagers mature. Researcher David Kinney observed former nerds moving toward more socially accepted groups as they became less fearful and found peers who offered positive feedback.

Lucy Foulkes, a psychologist at the University of Oxford, notes that social dominance also appears among adults, including in workplaces and among parents at school gates. Adolescence makes it particularly acute because teenagers remain surrounded by the same people nearly every day for years.

That intensity may help explain why the experiences remain so accessible. Prinstein said people use events from age 14 as a framework for viewing the social world, adding, “Those memories are being brought back out all the time.”

A 2015 study led by Joseph Allen followed 184 adolescents in the southern US from ages 13 to 23. Young people who pursued status through pseudomature behavior faced greater risks involving criminal behavior and difficulties in close relationships.

Early alcohol and drug use was associated with later vulnerability to substance abuse and addiction issues. An early focus on status was also linked with shallower relationships and problems maintaining friendships and romantic partnerships.

Rejection can leave lasting scars, including increasing depression, but it may also foster greater sensitivity to other people’s emotions and mistreatment. Even one or two good friendships during adolescence can provide protection and strengthen later relationships.

Prinstein argues that adults can revise the social scripts developed during school instead of repeatedly seeking evidence for their worst expectations. Georgia and Connie both described lasting consequences from their adolescence, but each also built a life beyond the labels once imposed on them.