Whos got the control Modes of peer influence among youth

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Whos got the control?Modes of peer influence
among youth

• Christina Salmivalli
• University of Turku, Finland / University of
  Stavanger, Norway

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The question

• Do adults have control over youth?
• My own stance
• As a peer relations researcher SLIGHTLY
  PESSIMISTIC
• As an interventionist OPTIMISTIC

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Why would peers be influential?

• During the transition from childhood to
  (pre)adolescence
• time spent with peers increases dramatically
• peer relations change qualitatively as well new
  things are expected from peers
• adolescents seek autonomy in relation to their
  parents and other adults

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Allens model of the developing autonomy with
parents and peers during adolescence
increasing capacity for autonomy in interactions
autonomy
10 12 14 16 18 20
age
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Allens model of the developing autonomy with
parents and peers during adolescence
increasing capacity for autonomy in interactions
displayed autonomy with adults
autonomy
10 12 14 16 18 20
age
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Allens model of the developing autonomy with
parents and peers during adolescence
increasing capacity for autonomy in interactions
displayed autonomy with adults
autonomy
10 12 14 16 18 20
age
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Allens model of the developing autonomy with
parents and peers during adolescence
increasing capacity for autonomy in interactions
displayed autonomy with adults
autonomy
and with peers
10 12 14 16 18 20
age
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Why autonomy is not displayed in peer
interactions?

• Peers are important sources of support
• fear of rejection
• autonomy seen as a threat to peer relations
• Identity issues
• rapid developmental changes (physical, cognitive,
  )
• Who am I? What I am supposed to be like?
• Searching cues from peers

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Example 1. Similarity in smoking and using
alcohol
having a non-user as a friend
(Fisher Bauman, 1988)
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Example 2 Parallel continuity in the
antisocial behavior of boys and their friends
(Dishion, 1994)
Cause and effect?
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• Similarities can be observed in several other
  areas as well
• Educational aspirations and choices
• Attitudes
• Even psychosocial problems, e.g. depression
• SELECTION vs. SOCIALIZATION

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How do peer influences unfold?

• Three examples
• Membership in a group where certain behaviors are
  reinforced
• Seeking the aceptance of, or affiliation with,
  high-status peers
• (False) interpretation of group norms

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Reinforcement of certain behaviors

• Tom Dishion Deviancy training
• research paradigm adolescents invited to a
  laboratory with their friends and given a
  discussion task, discussions tape-recorded
• amount of deviant talk
• predictive of antisocial behavior even several
  years later

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Reinforcement of certain behaviors

• Deviancy training mediates between early
  conduct problems and later antisociality

Childhood
Adolescence
Young adulthood
aggression conduct problems
Antisocial friends, DT
Antisocial behavior
DEVIANCY TRAINING Antisocial talk and
acts Reinforcement of such talk acts
problematic parenting
http//cfc.uoregon.edu/aboutus.htm
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Reinforcement of certain behaviors

• School bullying
• Salmivalli and colleagues (e.g., 1996, 1998,
  2004, 2009)
• Many children not directly involved in bullying
  behave in ways that encourage, reinforce the bully

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• Participant roles in bullying (Salmivalli et al.,
  1996)

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reinforcers of the bully
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8
bully
outsiders
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victim
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assistants of the bully
defenders of the victim
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• Karna, Voeten, Poskiparta, Salmivalli (in
  press)
• The risk of vulnerable children to be victimized
  by peers varies across classrooms
• The likelihood of victimization is influenced by
  bystanders behaviors
• reinforcing the bully
• supporting the victim

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Dishions model is about risk children who end up
in antisocial groups

• there are also views according to which the
  mainstream peer group reinforces antisocial
  behavior in adolescence this explains the peak
  of many antisocial behaviors during adolescence
• Allen et al. the dominant deviant
• Vaillancourt, Rodkin aggressiveness might be
  related to high status
• being perceived as cool

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Seeking affiliation with (or acceptance of)
high-status peers

• Juvonen Galvàn, 2008
• Olthof Goossens, 2008 Witvliet, Olthof,
  Hoeksma, Smits, Koot, Goossens , 2009.
• Dijkstra, Lindenberg, Veenstra, 2008
• Allen the dominant deviant

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(False) interpretation of group norms

• Pluralistic ignorance
• Described already in the 1930s by Katz and
  Allport
• a situation where a majority of group members
  privately reject a norm, but assume (incorrectly)
  that most others accept it..

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• In a series of studies conducted to test the
  effect of pluralistic ignorance, Prentice and
  Miller (1993) studied the consequences of
  pluralistic ignorance at Princeton University
• On average, private levels of comfort with
  drinking practices on campus were much lower than
  the perceived average

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Ryhmänormien merkitys

• Henry et al., 2000
• descriptive injunctive norms prediction of
  behavior
• Salmivalli Voeten, 2004
• Group norms and bystander behaviors in bullying
• Group norms predict bystander behaviors even
  after controlling for age, sex, and individual
  students attitudes

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Susceptibility to peer influence

• converted U-model

Preadolescence mid-adolescence late
adolescence
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The likelihood of conforming by age (higher
scores indicating greater conformity, the neutral
point3.5))
From Brown et al., 1986
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Brown, Clasen, Eicher, 1986 Perceptions of
peer pressure, peer conformity dispositions, and
self-reported behavior among adolescents

• tutkivat 12-18-vuotiaiden nuorten
• kokemaa ryhmäpainetta
• mukautumistaipumusta (conformity disposition)
• käyttäytymistä esim. tupakanpoltto,
  alkoholinkäyttö, rötöstely...
• miten konformiteettitaipumus ja koettu ryhmäpaine
  yhdessä ja erikseen vaikuttavat nuorten
  käyttäytymiseen?
• miten sukupuoli, ikä, ja alue jolla ryhmäpainetta
  ja konformiteettitaipumusta tarkastellaan
  (neutraali vs. antisosiaalinen käyttäytyminen)
  vaikuttavat em. muuttujiin?

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Brown et al., 1986
Perceived peer pressure ...when people of your
own age encourage / urge you to do something or
to keep from doing something else, no matter if
you personally want to How much pressure you
feel from your friends to.. be social, do things
with other people not be social, do things by
yourself a lot some a little no
pressure a little some a lot smoke
marijuana not smoke marijuana a lot some a
little no pressure a little some a
lot
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Brown et al., tuloksia

• Adolescents experienced more pressure to engage
  in positive / neutral behaviors than to negative
  behaviors
• Pressure related to negative behaviors was
  actually often against negative behaviors

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Some take home -messages

• Peer influence seems to be strongest in middle
  adolescence
• but can be observed already in very young
  children!
• It is important to remember that (even during
  adolescence,) peer influence might be positive as
  well as negative
• Often there is no open pressure in the peer
  group adolescents do as their friends because
  they
• are reinforced to do so
• wish to be accepted especially by high-status
  peers
• might have a false interpretation of peer group
  norms

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Practical implications

• How can decrease the negative influence, or
  enhance the positive influence of peers?
• Reinforcement of certain behaviors
• Do not bring antisocial adolescents together to
  be treated in groups
• Seeking the acceptance of high-status peers
• Identify high-status models
• Pluralistic ignorance..PURKAMINEN