Adolescents misperceive and are influenced by high-status peers’ health risk, deviant, and adaptive behavior.

Abstract

Most peer influence research examines socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Yet, adolescents also are influenced by popular peers, perhaps due to misperceptions of social norms. This research examined the extent to which out-group and in-group adolescents misperceive the frequencies of peers' deviant, health risk, and adaptive behaviors in different reputation-based peer crowds (Study 1) and the prospective associations between perceptions of high status peers' and adolescents' own substance use over 2.5 years (Study 2). Study 1 examined 235 adolescents' reported deviant (vandalism, theft), health risk (substance use, sexual risk), and adaptive (exercise, studying) behavior, and their perceptions of Jocks', Populars', Burnouts', and Brains' engagement in the same behaviors. Peer nominations identified adolescents in each peer crowd. Jocks and Populars were rated as higher status than Brains and Burnouts. Results indicated that peer crowd stereotypes are caricatures. Misperceptions of high status crowds were dramatic, but for many behaviors, no differences between Populars'/Jocks' and others' actual reported behaviors were revealed. Study 2 assessed 166 adolescents' substance use and their perceptions of popular peers' (i.e., peers high in peer perceived popularity) substance use. Parallel process latent growth analyses revealed that higher perceptions of popular peers' substance use in Grade 9 (intercept) significantly predicted steeper increases in adolescents' own substance use from Grade 9 to 11 (slope). Results from both studies, utilizing different methods, offer evidence to suggest that adolescents misperceive high status peers' risk behaviors, and these misperceptions may predict adolescents' own risk behavior engagement.

Associations between Ethnic Minority Status and Popularity in Adolescence: the role of Ethnic Classroom Composition and Aggression

“…Because adolescents might be less likely to indicate that they were bullied themselves than that others were bullied, some aggressive students may not have been nominated, even if they engaged in aggressive behaviors. However, previous studies have also shown that youth generally tend to overestimate their peers' antisocial behavior toward others (Prinstein and Wang 2005), particularly the antisocial behaviors of popular peers (Helms et al 2014). Also, many aggressive acts such as bullying occur in private (e.g., see Olweus 2013), and thus may be best assessed by asking about self-directed aggression.…”

Motivational processes and dysfunctional mechanisms of social media use among adolescents: A qualitative focus group study

“…These findings may be explained by Perceptual Control Theory (PCT; Powers, 1973 Barker, 2009;Beyens et al, 2016;Boyd, 2007;Burrow & Rainone, 2017;Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016;Helms et al, 2014;Kwak, Choi, & Lee, 2014;Mascheroni, Vincent, & Jimenez, 2015;Przybylski et al, 2013;Toma & Hancock, 2013;Utz et al, 2011).…”

“…Students were primarily white (63%), black (22%) and East Asian (15%), with an almost even gender split (48/52 female/male) and from diverse socio-economic communities: upper socioeconomic (20%), middle (54%), and lower (26%). This study targeted adolescents due to the: (i) high online usage this age group exhibits, and the vulnerability to peer evaluations and risk behaviours (Helms et al, 2014), (ii) heightened vulnerability to excessive online use, leading potentially to addictive symptoms (Kuss et al, 2013), and (iii) development of body-image concerns and an overemphasis on peer comparisons that may be associated with the development of eating disorders, obesity and dysfunctional exercise (Meier & Gray, 2014;Voelker et al, 2015).…”

Teachers’ Perceived Factors of Deviant Behavior among Secondary School Students in Kwara State: Implication for Educational Managers

“…Research conducted on adolescent misperceives and behaviors among students in the school system demonstrated that associate group generalizations are personifications. The study showed that teenagers misinterpret their peers' high-risk practices, and such an understanding encourage young adolescents to behave in a specific way, related to danger (Efstratopoulou et al, 2012;Helms et al, 2014;Jamiu, 2011;Oyerinde, 2004). Reid (1999) found that students who come from poor background engaged in truancy in school, while Gray and Jesson (1990) found that students from the single-parent family have a poorer attendance rate than those from the more traditional family.…”