A Comparison of Peer Influence and Peer Selection Effects in the Context of Female Adolescents' Sexual Debut

AbstractThe peer influence and peer selection effects are two widely replicated findings in the criminological literature that refer to the predictive relationship between antisocial behaviour and delinquent peer association as well as between delinquent peer association and antisocial behaviour, respectively. Research suggests that antisocial cognition might constitute a causal mechanism underlying part of these effects. This study investigated the extent that the peer influence and peer selection effects are mediated by one key aspect of antisocial cognition—beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict. This study examined whether beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict mediated the relationship between delinquent peer association and volume of self-reported antisocial behaviour and vice-versa, across a 1-year follow-up period, in 683 (433 male, 250 female) British adolescents (mean age: 13.8 years) with a history of serious antisocial behaviour. Participants completed measures at baseline and 6, 12 and 18 months thereafter. Findings indicated that beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict partially mediated the peer influence and peer selection effects, explaining a substantial proportion of the total effect in the peer influence (i.e., 26%) and peer selection (i.e., 17%) models. These results suggest that beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict could explain part of the mechanism underlying the peer influence and peer selection effects in adolescents with a history of serious antisocial behaviour.

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Impact of Sex Education, Parental Guidance and Peer Influence on Sexual Debut of Secondary School Adolescents in Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State, Nigeria

NG-Journal of Social Development ◽

10.12816/0049841 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 20-26

Author(s):

Samuel N. C. Nwagbo ◽

Ohizu Edwin Chika

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Sex Education ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Sexual Debut ◽

Imo State ◽

Municipal Council ◽

Parental Guidance

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Deviant Peer Preferences: A Simplified Approach to Account for Peer Selection Effects

Deviant Behavior ◽

10.1080/01639625.2019.1597321 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (9) ◽

pp. 1143-1156 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Owen Gallupe ◽

John H. Boman IV ◽

Rebecca Nash ◽

Erin D. Castro

Keyword(s):

Selection Effects ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Simplified Approach

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Perceived peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.11.016 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 32 (8) ◽

pp. 1546-1554 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

Beth R. Hoffman ◽

Peter R. Monge ◽

Chih-Ping Chou ◽

Thomas W. Valente

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Adolescent Smoking ◽

Peer Selection

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Hugs or shrugs: Parental and peer influence on continuity of involvement in sport by female adolescents

Sex Roles ◽

10.1007/bf00287999 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 20 (7-8) ◽

pp. 397-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Barbara A. Brown ◽

B. Gail Frankel ◽

Marilyn P. Fennell

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Female Adolescents

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Knowledge, attitude and practice study of HIV in female adolescents presenting for contraceptive services in a rural health district in the north-east of Namibia

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine ◽

10.4102/phcfm.v4i1.342 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Ntumba ◽

Vera Scott ◽

Ehimario Igumbor

Keyword(s):

Family Planning ◽

Hiv Prevention ◽

Condom Use ◽

Sexual Debut ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Female Adolescents ◽

Consistent Condom ◽

North East ◽

Protection Method ◽

Hiv Prevention Strategies

Background: Namibia bears a large burden of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and the youth are disproportionately affected. Objectives: To explore the current knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of female adolescents attending family planning to HIV prevention.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used on a sample 251 unmarried female adolescents aged from 13 years to 19 years accessing primary care services for contraception using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using Epi Info 2002. Crude associations were assessed using cross-tabulations of knowledge, attitude and behaviour scores against demographic variables. Chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to assess associations from the cross-tabulations. All p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: A quarter of sexually active teenagers attending the family-planning services did not have adequate knowledge of HIV prevention strategies. Less than a quarter (23.9%) always used a condom. Most respondents (83.3%) started sexual intercourse when older than 16 years, but only 38.6% used a condom at their sexual debut. The older the girls were at sexual debut, the more likely they were to use a condom for the event (8% did so at age 13 years and 100% at age 19 years).Conclusions: Knowledge of condom use as an HIV prevention strategy did not translate into consistent condom use. One alternate approach in family-planning facilities may be to encourage condom use as a dual protection method. Delayed onset of sexual activity and consistent use of condoms should be encouraged amongst schoolchildren, in the school setting.

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The Assessment of Peer Selection and Peer Environmental Influences on Behavior Using Pairs of Siblings or Twins

Twin Research ◽

10.1375/twin.5.1.38 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 38-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Pamela A. F. Madden ◽

Kathleen K. Bucholz ◽

Alexandre A. Todorov ◽

Julia D. Grant ◽

Andrew C. Heath

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Problem Behaviors ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Environmental Influences ◽

Peer Influences ◽

Selection Effects ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significance Level ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Patterns Of Behavior

AbstractMany studies have found strong peer correlations for a variety of problem behaviors that begin in adolescence (e.g. substance use). Such correlations are commonly attributed to peer influences, but could also be explained by selective (‘assortative’) friendship: the tendency for those with similar patterns of behavior to become friends. Here we show how, under certain assumptions, cross-sectional data from pairs of siblings or twins and their peers may be used to resolve the contributions of peer selection and reciprocal peer environmental influences to peer resemblance. We performed power calculations to determine necessary sample sizes for rejecting with 80% power, at the 5% significance level, the hypothesis of only peer selection effects, or only reciprocal peer environmental effects. A false hypothesis of only selective friendship effects was always easier to reject than a false hypothesis of only reciprocal peer environmental influences. Limitations of these simulations, including uncertainty about the most appropriate way to model peer selection, are discussed.

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Peer influence in adolescent drinking behavior: A meta-analysis of stochastic actor-based modeling studies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0250169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0250169

Author(s):

Valeria Ivaniushina ◽

Vera Titkova

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Drinking Behavior ◽

Selection Effect ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Influence Effect ◽

Log Odds

Objectives To measure the effects of peer influence and peer selection on drinking behavior in adolescence through a rigorous statistical approach designed to unravel these interrelated processes. Methods We conducted systematic searches of electronic databases, thesis collections and conference proceedings to identify studies that used longitudinal network design and stochastic actor-oriented modeling to analyze drinking behavior in adolescents. Parameter estimates collected from individual studies were analyzed using multilevel random-effects models. Results We identified 26 articles eligible for meta-analysis. Meta-analyses for different specifications of the peer influence effect were conducted separately. The peer influence effect was positive for every specification: for average similarity (avSim) mean log odds ratio was 1.27 with 95% confidence interval [0.04; 2.49]; for total similarity (totSim) 0.46 (95% CI = [0.44; 0.48]), and for average alter (avAlt) 0.70 (95% CI = [-0.01; 1.41]). The peer selection effect (simX) was also positive: 0.46 (95% CI = [0.28; 0.63]). Conversion log odds ratio values to Cohen’s d gives estimates from 0.25 to 0.70, which is considered as medium to large effect. Conclusions Advances in methodology for social network analysis have made it possible to accurately estimate peer influence effects free from peer selection effects. More research is necessary to clarify the roles of age, gender, and individual susceptibility on the changing behavior of adolescents under the influence of their peers. Understanding the effects of peer influence should inform practitioners and policy makers to design and deliver more effective prevention programs.

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CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN BORNO STATE OF NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING

Sokoto Educational Review ◽

10.35386/ser.v16i1.55 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Alhaji Mustapha Umara ◽

Bukar Umar Ngohi

Keyword(s):

Moral Education ◽

Sex Education ◽

State Government ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Teenage Pregnancy ◽

Sexual Debut ◽

Premature Death ◽

Study Data ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Chi Square

The study was a survey that investigated the causes and consequences of teenage pregnancy in Borno State, Nigeria. A total of 1,500 parents participated in the study from 15 high, medium and low density residential areas of Maiduguri Metropolis. The sample consisted of 874 (58.27%) males and 626 (41.73%) females. A questionnaire tagged Causes and Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy (CACOTEP) developed by the researchers was used to collect data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques of frequency counts, percentages and rank ordering. Chi-square (x2) was also used to test the null-hypothesis at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Results of the study indicated poverty, experimenting sex, early sexual debut, single parenting, broken homes, street hawking, lack of moral education, rape, peer influence and exposure to pornographic films as some of the causes of teenage pregnancy while abortion, expulsion from school, loss of self-esteem, risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, VVF, RVF, premature labour/birth and premature death were some of the consequences of teenage pregnancy in Borno State, Nigeria. Significant relationship does not exist between gender and teenage pregnancy as revealed by the study. Sex education/reproductive health education, moral education, discouraging street hawking and inculcating positive social values by counsellors, parents, community and religious leaders using both print and electronic (visual and blind) media, hand bills and staging dramas on the negativities of teenage pregnancy were some of the implications for counselling proffered. It is recommended that the Borno State government should stop girls from hawking, introduce females’ entrepreneurship centers and build counselling centers to engage services of certified counsellors with a view to halting the menace through moral/religious counselling.

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