An ecological analysis of the effects of deviant peer clustering on sexual promiscuity, problem behavior, and childbearing from early adolescence to adulthood: An enhancement of the life history framework.

Abstract

This study proposes the inclusion of peer relationships in a life history perspective on adolescent problem behavior. Longitudinal analyses were used to examine deviant peer clustering as the mediating link between attenuated family ties, peer marginalization, and social disadvantage in early adolescence and sexual promiscuity in middle adolescence and childbearing by early adulthood. Specifically, 998 youth and their families were assessed at age 11 years and periodically through age 24 years. Structural equation modeling revealed that the peer-enhanced life history model provided a good fit to the longitudinal data, with deviant peer clustering strongly predicting adolescent sexual promiscuity and other correlated problem behaviors. Sexual promiscuity, as expected, also strongly predicted the number of children by age 22–24 years. Consistent with a life history perspective, family social disadvantage directly predicted deviant peer clustering and number of children in early adulthood, controlling for all other variables in the model. These data suggest that deviant peer clustering is a core dimension of a fast life history strategy, with strong links to sexual activity and childbearing. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the need to integrate an evolutionary-based model of self-organized peer groups in developmental and intervention science.

Peer Rejection, Affiliation with Deviant Peers, Delinquency, and Risky Sexual Behavior

“…Using this long-term prospective design, we were able to suggest (and find evidence for) developmental pathways from early peer risk factors to risky sexual behavior. Probing deeper into mechanisms that could account for children’s progression from peer rejection to risky sexual behavior, some scholars have suggested that children who are marginalized by the peer group adapt by organizing into deviant peer groups which then create social contexts for early and risky sexual behavior (Dishion, Ha, & Véronneau, 2012). This progression was supported using data from our whole sample, but the mechanisms appeared to differ by gender.…”

A Life History Theory of Father Absence and Menarche: A Meta-Analysis

“…Unpredictable environments at ages 0-5 predicted a fast life strategy at age 23, including increased risk and sexual behavior; however, neither harsh nor unpredictable environments at ages 6-16 predicted the same, suggesting early childhood instability may be a crucial developmental antecedent of adult risk behaviors (Simpson et al, 2012). Recent research also suggests that family-level socioeconomic disadvantage is related to deviant peer relationships in adolescence, which in turn contributes to sexual promiscuity (Dishion, Ha, and Véronneau, 2012). In at least one study, SES was positively associated with age at menarche; poorer girls reached menarche at earlier ages (James-Todd et al, 2010).…”

Changing Friend Selection in Middle School: A Social Network Analysis of a Randomized Intervention Study Designed to Prevent Adolescent Problem Behavior

“…This measure was based on data collected in high school, because only a small subset of at-risk participants had answered such questions in middle school. A strong correlation ( r = 0.72) existed between middle school and high school socioeconomic status (Dishion, Ha, & Véronneau, 2012). …”