Residential programming has become an important treatment modality for adolescents with psychiatric disturbances. The importance of peer relations in treatment settings suggests a need for an objective assessment of these relations. Sociometric procedures were used to study the peer relationships of adolescents in a 15-bed residential treatment program, in an attempt to determine whether social status could be reliably assessed in this peer group and whether it could be predicted from measures collected prior to admission. Positive and negative nominations were collected weekly for adolescents (N=63). The results indicated good week-to-week stability for social acceptance, rejection, and social preference. Social impact was not reliable. Social acceptance, rejection, and social preference, as established during the initial week, were predictive of corresponding scores throughout the duration of admission. The Child Behavior Profile was completed by a parent of each adolescent prior to admission and significantly predicted social acceptance and social preference established later in the clinical milieu. These findings support the use of sociometric procedures in clinical settings and suggest a persuasive influence of the peer milieu in residential treatment. (Author/NB)