Dimensions of Peer Influences and Their Relationship to Adolescents’ Aggression, Other Problem Behaviors and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract

Although peers are a major influence during adolescence, the relative importance of specific mechanisms of peer influence on the development of problem behavior is not well understood. This study investigated five domains of peer influence and their relationships to adolescents' problem and prosocial behaviors. Self-report and teacher ratings were obtained for 1787 (53 % female) urban middle school students. Peer pressure for fighting and friends' delinquent behavior were uniquely associated with aggression, drug use and delinquent behavior. Friends' prosocial behavior was uniquely associated with prosocial behavior. Friends' support for fighting and friends' support for nonviolence were not as clearly related to behavior. Findings were generally consistent across gender. This study highlights the importance of studying multiple aspects of peer influences on adolescents' behavior.

Adolescent Female Offenders’ Subjective Experiences of How Peers Influence Norm-Breaking Behavior

“…However, it is of great importance, not least from a practitioner's viewpoint, to recognize the positive feelings the participants attribute to their peer groups, delinquent or not, and to provide other social contexts that fulfill the same type of needs. In line with previous findings, the present result suggests that one way of reducing delinquency among female adolescents is to replace those behaviors with other more prosocial behavior that meet adolescents' need for belonging, intimacy and autonomy (Bottrell et al, 2010;Farrell, Thompson, Mehari, 2016). It is also important for practitioners to recognize that female delinquency occurs within a peer context, and is amplified by group dynamics that unfold within the young females' circle of friends, where they can be both recipients and producers of influence in the peer group.…”

“…Also of importance is that the participants described how they themselves as well as their peers both engaged in delinquent behavior as well as in prosocial behavior. These results suggest, as has been argued by Farrell et al, (2016), that pro-social and delinquent behaviors are not exchangeable terms in the life of delinquent females, but rather two extremes on a continuum. This has implications for future research within this field suggesting that describing adolescents' behavior (e.g., delinquent behavior) may be more appropriate than labeling them themselves as delinquents (Farrell et al, 2016).…”

Deviant Peer Factors During Early Adolescence: Cause or Consequence of Physical Aggression?

“…Farrell et al. () found cross‐sectional support for differentiating between peers' deviant behaviors and attitudes (i.e., friends' problem behavior, peer pressure for fighting, friends' support for fighting) within a predominantly African American, low socioeconomic status sample of adolescents. More specifically, each dimension was uniquely related to adolescent‐ and teacher reports of problem behavior.…”

Susceptibility to peer influence during middle school: Links with social support, peer harassment, and gender

“…Thus, some adolescents' behavior and social experiences are primarily dictated by their peers, relying on these relationships as a primary source for social and behavioral modeling. When peers are encouraging less‐than‐ideal options, this can have a detrimental impact on adolescents' decision making and subsequent behavior, especially when peers are also engaging in risky behavior themselves (Farrell, Thompson, & Mehari, ; Prinstein, Brechwad, & Cohen, ). Previous work suggests that adolescents who are relatively susceptible to peer influence are also at a higher risk for substance use, delinquent activity, depression, and relatively rapid trajectories of sexual experience (Allen et al, ; Choukas‐Bradley, Giletta, Widman, Cohen, & Prinstein, ; Meldrum et al, ).…”