Who’s got the control? Modes of peer influence among youth

1. Who’s got the control?Modes of peer influence among youth Christina Salmivalli University of Turku, Finland / University of Stavanger, Norway

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

3. 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

4. Allen’s 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

5. Allen’s 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

6. Allen’s 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

7. Allen’s 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

8. 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

9. Example 1. Similarity in smoking and using alcohol % having a non-user as a friend (Fisher & Bauman, 1988)

10. Example 2: “Parallel continuity” in the antisocial behavior of boys and their friends (Dishion, 1994) Cause and effect?

11. Similarities can be observed in several other areas as well • Educational aspirations and choices • Attitudes • Even psychosocial problems, e.g. depression • SELECTION vs. SOCIALIZATION

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Participant roles in bullying (Salmivalli et al., 1996) 20% reinforcers of the bully 24% 8% bully outsiders 12% victim 17% assistants of the bully defenders of the victim 7%

17. 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

18. Dishion’s 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”

19. 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”

20. (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..”

21. 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

22. 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

23. Susceptibility to peer influence • ‘converted U’-model Preadolescence mid-adolescence late adolescence

24. The likelihood of conforming by age (higher scores indicating greater conformity, the neutral point=3.5)) From Brown et al., 1986

25. 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?

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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