Showing papers on "Peer group published in 2013"

Two ways to the top: evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence.

Abstract: The pursuit of social rank is a recurrent and pervasive challenge faced by individuals in all human societies. Yet, the precise means through which individuals compete for social standing remains unclear. In 2 studies, we investigated the impact of 2 fundamental strategies-Dominance (the use of force and intimidation to induce fear) and Prestige (the sharing of expertise or know-how to gain respect)-on the attainment of social rank, which we conceptualized as the acquisition of (a) perceived influence over others (Study 1), (b) actual influence over others' behaviors (Study 1), and (c) others' visual attention (Study 2). Study 1 examined the process of hierarchy formation among a group of previously unacquainted individuals, who provided round-robin judgments of each other after completing a group task. Results indicated that the adoption of either a Dominance or Prestige strategy promoted perceptions of greater influence, by both group members and outside observers, and higher levels of actual influence, based on a behavioral measure. These effects were not driven by popularity; in fact, those who adopted a Prestige strategy were viewed as likable, whereas those who adopted a Dominance strategy were not well liked. In Study 2, participants viewed brief video clips of group interactions from Study 1 while their gaze was monitored with an eye tracker. Dominant and Prestigious targets each received greater visual attention than targets low on either dimension. Together, these findings demonstrate that Dominance and Prestige are distinct yet viable strategies for ascending the social hierarchy, consistent with evolutionary theory.

Improving the adverse childhood experiences study scale

Abstract: Objective To test and improve upon the list of adverse childhood experiences from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study scale by examining the ability of a broader range to correlate with mental health symptoms. Design Nationally representative sample of children and adolescents. Setting and Participants Telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 2030 youth aged 10 to 17 years who were asked about lifetime adversities and current distress symptoms. Main Outcome Measures Lifetime adversities and current distress symptoms. Results The adversities from the original ACE scale items were associated with mental health symptoms among the participants, but the association was significantly improved (from R 2 = 0.21 to R 2 = 0.34) by removing some of the original ACE scale items and adding others in the domains of peer rejection, peer victimization, community violence exposure, school performance, and socioeconomic status. Conclusions Our understanding of the most harmful childhood adversities is still incomplete because of complex interrelationships among them, but we know enough to proceed to interventional studies to determine whether prevention and remediation can improve long-term outcomes.

From Natural Variation to Optimal Policy? The Importance of Endogenous Peer Group Formation

Abstract: We take cohorts of entering freshmen at the United States Air Force Academy and assign half to peer groups designed to maximize the academic performance of the lowest ability students. Our assignment algorithm uses nonlinear peer effects estimates from the historical pre-treatment data, in which students were randomly assigned to peer groups. We find a negative and significant treatment effect for the students we intended to help. We provide evidence that within our �optimally� designed peer groups, students avoided the peers with whom we intended them to interact and instead formed more homogeneous subgroups. These results illustrate how policies that manipulate peer groups for a desired social outcome can be confounded by changes in the endogenous patterns of social interactions within the group.

Social influences on cyberbullying behaviors among middle and high school students.

Abstract: Cyberbullying is a problem affecting a mean- ingful proportion of youth as they embrace online com- munication and interaction. Research has identified a number of real-world negative ramifications for both the targets and those who bully. During adolescence, many behavioral choices are influenced and conditioned by the role of major socializing agents, including friends, family, and adults at school. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which peers, parents, and educators influence the cyberbullying behaviors of adolescents. To explore this question, data were analyzed from a random sample of approximately 4,400 sixth through twelfth grade students (49 % female; 63 % nonwhite) from thirty-three schools in one large school district in the southern United States. Results indicate that cyberbullying offending is associated with perceptions of peers behaving similarly, and the likelihood of sanction by adults. Specifically, youth who believed that many of their friends were involved in bullying and cyberbullying were themselves more likely to report cyberbullying behaviors. At the same time, respon- dents who believed that the adults in their life would punish them for cyberbullying were less likely to participate. Implications for schools and families are discussed with the goal of mitigating this behavior and its negative outcomes among adolescent populations.

Psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders

Abstract: Objective: One goal in identifying psychosocial risk factors is to discover opportunities for intervention. The purpose of this review is to examine psychosocial risk factors for disordered eating, placing research findings in the larger context of how etiological models for eating disorders can be transformed into models for intervention. Method: A qualitative literature review was conducted focusing on psychological and social factors that increase the risk for developing eating disorders, with an emphasis on well-replicated findings from prospective longitudinal studies. Results: Epidemiological, cross-cultural, and longitudinal studies underscore the importance of the idealization of thinness and resulting weight concerns as psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders. Personality factors such as negative emotionality and perfectionism contribute to the development of eating disorders but may do so indirectly by increasing susceptibility to internalize the thin ideal or by influencing selection of peer environment. During adolescence, peers represent self-selected environments that influence risk. Discussion: Peer context may represent a key opportunity for intervention, as peer groups represent the nexus in which individual differences in psychological risk factors shape the social environment and social environment shapes psychological risk factors. Thus, peer-based interventions that challenge internalization of the thin ideal can protect against the development of eating pathology. © 2013 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013; 46:433–439)

The Perils of Peer Effects

Abstract: Individual outcomes are highly correlated with group average outcomes, a fact often interpreted as a causal peer effect. Without covariates, however, outcome-on-outcome peer effects are vacuous, either unity or, if the average is defined as leave-out, determined by a generic intraclass correlation coefficient. When pre-determined peer characteristics are introduced as covariates in a model linking individual outcomes with group averages, the question of whether peer effects or social spillovers exist is econometrically identical to that of whether a 2SLS estimator using group dummies to instrument individual characteristics differs from OLS estimates of the effect of these characteristics. The interpretation of results from models that rely solely on chance variation in peer groups is therefore complicated by bias from weak instruments. With systematic variation in group composition, the weak IV issue falls away, but the resulting 2SLS estimates can be expected to exceed the corresponding OLS estimates as a result of measurement error and other reasons unrelated to social effects. Randomized and quasi-experimental research designs that manipulate peer characteristics in a manner unrelated to individual characteristics provide the strongest evidence on the nature of social spillovers. As an empirical matter, designs of this sort have uncovered little in the way of socially significant causal effects.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Related Peer Victimization in Adolescence: A Systematic Review of Associated Psychosocial and Health Outcomes

Abstract: This article reviews research on psychosocial and health outcomes associated with peer victimization related to adolescent sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Using four electroni...

Peer Relationships in Childhood

Abstract: An early view of the development of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors during childhood and adolescence suggested that such outcomes stemmed largely from the quality of the child’s relationship with his or her parents and from the types of socialization practices that the parents engaged in. This primary focus on the developmental significance of the parent-child relationship and of parenting practices was proposed early by Freud (1933) in his theory of psychosexual development, by Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1957) in their seminal research on the significance of discipline variability and social learning, and by Bowlby (1958) in his influential writings on the long-term developmental importance of the mother-infant attachment relationship. Without denying the veracity of these claims, it is nevertheless the case that adjustment and maladjustment in childhood stem from a wide variety of sources including genetic and biological underpinnings and social influences other than parents. For example, children and adolescents spend enormous amounts of time, both in and out of home, relating to and interacting with many other people of potential influence. These significant others include their siblings, teachers or out-of-home caregivers, and peers. Children’s peers are the focus of the present chapter.

Longitudinal links between childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning: Developmental cascades

Abstract: Developmental cascade models linking childhood peer victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, and academic functioning were examined in a sample of 695 children assessed in Grade 3 (academic only) and Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Results revealed several complex patterns of associations in which poorer functioning in one domain influenced poorer outcomes in other areas. For example, a symptom driven pathway was consistently found with internalizing problems predicting future peer victimization. Support for an academic incompetence model was also found-- lower GPA in Grade 5, 6, and 7 was associated with more externalizing issues in the following year, and poor writing performance in Grade 3 predicted lower grades in Grade 5, which in turn predicted more externalizing problems in Grade 6. Results highlight the need to examine bidirectional influences and multifarious transactions that exist between peer victimization, mental health, and academic functioning over time.

Peer support in adult mental health services: a metasynthesis of qualitative findings.

Abstract: Objectives Peer support involves people in recovery from psychiatric disability offering support to others in the same situation. It is based on the belief that people who have endured and overcome a psychiatric disability can offer useful support, encouragement, and hope to their peers. Although several quantitative reviews on the effectiveness of peer support have been conducted, qualitative studies were excluded. This study aimed to synthesize findings from these studies. Method A qualitative metasynthesis was conducted, involving examination, critical comparison, and synthesis of 27 published studies. The experiences of peer support workers, their nonpeer colleagues, and the recipients of peer support services were investigated. Results Peer support workers experiences included nonpeer staff discrimination and prejudice, low pay and hours, and difficulty managing the transition from "patient" to peer support worker. Positive experiences included collegial relationships with nonpeer staff, and other peers; and increased wellness secondary to working. Recipients of peer support services experienced increased social networks and wellness. Conclusions and implications for practice The findings highlight training, supervision, pay, nonpeer staff/peer staff relationships, as important factors for statutory mental health peer support programs.

An Implicit Theories of Personality Intervention Reduces Adolescent Aggression in Response to Victimization and Exclusion

Abstract: Adolescents are often resistant to interventions that reduce aggression in children. At the same time, they are developing stronger beliefs in the fixed nature of personal characteristics, particularly aggression. The present intervention addressed these beliefs. A randomized field experiment with a diverse sample of Grades 9 and 10 students (ages 14–16, n = 230) tested the impact of a 6-session intervention that taught an incremental theory (a belief in the potential for personal change). Compared to no-treatment and coping skills control groups, the incremental theory group behaved significantly less aggressively and more prosocially 1 month postintervention and exhibited fewer conduct problems 3 months postintervention. The incremental theory and the coping skills interventions also eliminated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms.

Social Networks and the Identification of Peer Effects

Abstract: There is a large and growing literature on peer effects in economics. In the current article, we focus on a Manski-type linear-in-means model that has proved to be popular in empirical work. We critically examine some aspects of the statistical model that may be restrictive in empirical analyses. Specifically, we focus on three aspects. First, we examine the endogeneity of the network or peer groups. Second, we investigate simultaneously alternative definitions of links and the possibility of peer effects arising through multiple networks. Third, we highlight the representation of the traditional linear-in-means model as an autoregressive model, and contrast it with an alternative moving-average model, where the correlation between unconnected individuals who are indirectly connected is limited. Using data on friendship networks from the Add Health dataset, we illustrate the empirical relevance of these ideas.

Social influence on sustainable consumption: evidence from a behavioural experiment

Abstract: Although social influence on consumers’ behaviour has been recognized and documented, the vast majority of empirical consumer studies about sustainable products considers mainly, if not only, individual characteristics (socio-demographic attributes, individual environmental attitudes, etc.), to explain the decision to buy sustainable products. Making use of experimental methods, this paper studies the social influence that peer groups like colleagues, family and friends may exert in the decision to choose for environmentally friendly products rather than conventional ones. We also test for different types of social influence, in particular for ‘herd behaviour’ vs. ‘social learning’. In our experimental setting, the relevance of peer effects is corroborated. We find clear evidence for ‘herd behaviour’ and the data indirectly support the presence of ‘social learning’ effects. The results also suggest heterogeneous impact of specific social groups.

The association between cyber victimization and subsequent cyber aggression: the moderating effect of peer rejection

Abstract: Adolescents experience various forms of strain in their lives that may contribute jointly to their engagement in cyber aggression. However, little attention has been given to this idea. To address this gap in the literature, the present longitudinal study examined the moderating influence of peer rejection on the relationship between cyber victimization at Time 1 (T1) and subsequent cyber aggression at Time 2 (T2; 6 months later) among 261 (150 girls) 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Our findings indicated that both peer rejection and cyber victimization were related to T2 peer-nominated and self-reported cyber aggression, both relational and verbal, after controlling for gender and T1 cyber aggression. Furthermore, T1 cyber victimization was related more strongly to T2 peer-nominated and self-reported cyber aggression at higher levels of T1 peer rejection. These results extend previous findings regarding the relationship between peer rejection and face-to-face aggressive behaviors to the cyber context. In addition, our findings underscore the importance of utilizing multiple methods, such as peer-nomination and self-report, to assess cyber aggression in a school setting.

Adolescent psychosocial, social, and cognitive development.

Abstract: The goal of adolescence is to gain independence and establish a secure identity. • Adolescents’ cognitive development can result in abstract thinking that can predispose them to risktaking behavior and a sense of invincibility. • Clinicians can use the primary care visit to promote independence and prepare parents for the features experienced during adolescent development. • Parental or supervisory monitoring is critical in ensuring that teens remain safe while gradually becoming more independent.

The Role of Sex of Peers and Gender-Typed Activities in Young Children's Peer Affiliative Networks: A Longitudinal Analysis of Selection and Influence.

Abstract: A stochastic actor-based model was used to investigate the origins of sex segregation by examining how similarity in sex of peers and time spent in gender-typed activities affected affiliation network selection and how peers influenced children's (N = 292; Mage = 4.3 years) activity involvement. Gender had powerful effects on interactions through direct and indirect pathways. Children selected playmates of the same sex and with similar levels of gender-typed activities. Selection based on gender-typed activities partially mediated selection based on sex of peers. Children influenced one another's engagement in gender-typed activities. When mechanisms producing sex segregation were compared, the largest contributor was selection based on sex of peers; less was due to activity-based selection and peer influence. Implications for sex segregation and gender development are discussed.

Development of Intra- and Intergroup Judgments in the Context of Moral and Social-Conventional Norms

Abstract: Children and adolescents evaluated group inclusion and exclusion in the context of generic and group-specific norms involving morality and social conventions. Participants (N = 381), aged 9.5 and 13.5 years, judged an in-group member's decision to deviate from the norms of the group, whom to include, and whether their personal preference was the same as what they expected a group should do. Deviating from in-group moral norms about unequal allocation of resources was viewed more positively than deviating from conventional norms about nontraditional dress codes. With age, participants gave priority to group-specific norms and differentiated what the group should do from their own preference about the group's decision, revealing a developmental picture about children's complex understanding of group dynamics and group norms.

Adolescent Academic Achievement and School Engagement: An Examination of the Role of School-Wide Peer Culture

Abstract: During adolescence, peer groups present an important venue for socializing school-related behaviors such as academic achievement and school engagement. While a significant body of research emphasizes the link between a youth’s immediate peer group and academic outcomes, the current manuscript expands on this idea, proposing that, in addition to smaller peer groups, within each school exists a school-wide peer culture that is comprised of two components (a relational and a behavioral component), each of which is related to individual academic outcomes. The relational component describes the aggregate of students’ perceptions of the quality of peer relationships within each school. The behavioral component is an aggregate representation of students’ actual behaviors in regard to academic tasks. We used data from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, which surveyed 1,718 5th grade students (45.9 % male, 51.4 % White, 17.8 % Hispanic, 7.6 % African American) in 30 schools, to explore the idea that, during adolescence, the relational and behavioral components of a school’s peer culture are related to students’ academic achievement and school engagement. Results suggested that above and beyond a variety of individual, familial, peer, and school characteristics that have previously been associated with academic outcomes, aspects of behavioral peer culture are associated with individual achievement while components of both relational and behavioral peer culture are related to school engagement. Implications for future research are discussed.

The development and implications of peer emotional support for student service members/veterans and civilian college students.

Abstract: Student service members/veterans represent a growing population on college campuses. Despite this growth, scholarly investigations into their health- and adjustment-related issues are almost nonexistent. The limited research that is available suggests that student service members/veterans may have trouble connecting with their civilian counterparts and be at risk for social isolation. The present study compared the development and implications of emotional support from peers among 199 student service members/veterans and 181 civilian students through 3 distinct occasions over the course of 1 calendar year. Data were collected via electronic survey. Measured constructs included perceived emotional support from university friends, mental health, alcohol use, and academic functioning. A series of multilevel models revealed that student service members/veterans reported less emotional support from their peers compared with their civilian counterparts; yet, emotional support from peers increased similarly for both groups over time. Although, increasing peer emotional support was generally related to better academic and mental health outcomes for both groups, the links between emotional support and mental health were stronger for civilian students. Results suggest that mental health practitioners, particularly those on college campuses, should be prepared to deal with veteran-specific experiences that occur before and during college.

Introducing peer worker roles into UK mental health service teams: a qualitative analysis of the organisational benefits and challenges

Abstract: The provision of peer support as a component of mental health care, including the employment of Peer Workers (consumer-providers) by mental health service organisations, is increasingly common internationally. Peer support is strongly advocated as a strategy in a number of UK health and social care policies. Approaches to employing Peer Workers are proliferating. There is evidence to suggest that Peer Worker-based interventions reduce psychiatric inpatient admission and increase service user (consumer) empowerment. In this paper we seek to address a gap in the empirical literature in understanding the organisational challenges and benefits of introducing Peer Worker roles into mental health service teams. We report the secondary analysis of qualitative interview data from service users, Peer Workers, non-peer staff and managers of three innovative interventions in a study about mental health self-care. Relevant data was extracted from interviews with 41 participants and subjected to analysis using Grounded Theory techniques. Organisational research literature on role adoption framed the analysis. Peer Workers were highly valued by mental health teams and service users. Non-peer team members and managers worked hard to introduce Peer Workers into teams. Our cases were projects in development and there was learning from the evolutionary process: in the absence of formal recruitment processes for Peer Workers, differences in expectations of the Peer Worker role can emerge at the selection stage; flexible working arrangements for Peer Workers can have the unintended effect of perpetuating hierarchies within teams; the maintenance of protective practice boundaries through supervision and training can militate against the emergence of a distinctive body of peer practice; lack of consensus around what constitutes peer practice can result in feelings for Peer Workers of inequality, disempowerment, uncertainty about identity and of being under-supported. This research is indicative of potential benefits for mental health service teams of introducing Peer Worker roles. Analysis also suggests that if the emergence of a distinctive body of peer practice is not adequately considered and supported, as integral to the development of new Peer Worker roles, there is a risk that the potential impact of any emerging role will be constrained and diluted.

Home/family, peer, school, and neighborhood correlates of obesity in adolescents.

Abstract: Objective This study was designed to 1) identify the most important home/family, peer, school, and neighborhood environmental characteristics associated with weight status and 2) determine the overall contribution of these contexts to explaining weight status among an ethnically/racially diverse sample of adolescents. Design and Methods Surveys and anthropometric measures were completed in 2009-2010 by 2,793 adolescents (53.2% girls, mean age = 14.4 ± 2.0, 81.1% non-white) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota schools. Data representing characteristics of adolescents' environments were collected from parents/caregivers, friends, school personnel, and Geographic Information System sources. Multiple regression models controlled for adolescent age, ethnicity/race, and socioeconomic status. Results The variance in body mass index (BMI) z-scores explained by 51 multicontextual characteristics was 24% for boys and 22% for girls. Across models, several characteristics of home/family (e.g., infrequent family meals) and peer environments (e.g., higher proportion of male friends who were overweight) were consistently associated with higher BMI z-scores among both boys and girls. Among girls, additional peer (e.g., lower physical activity among female friends) and neighborhood (e.g., perceived lack of safety) characteristics were consistently associated with higher BMI z-scores. Conclusions Results underscore the importance of addressing the home/family and peer environments in future research and intervention efforts designed to reduce adolescent obesity.

The Role of Social Capital in the Experiences of Hispanic Women Engineering Majors

Abstract: Background Women and minorities remain significantly underrepresented in the undergraduate engineering disciplines despite decades-long recruitment and retention efforts. As United States demographics shift and the nation continues to recognize the value of workplace diversity, engineering education stakeholders continue to seek ways to increase participation of women and minority students. Purpose Our research examines the following question: For Hispanic women whose parents have limited educational attainment, what available sources of potential social capital do they identify, and by what means do they access and activate these resources in their decisions to select and persist in engineering as a college major? We hope to provide insights for United States institutions that serve Hispanic students, as well as those seeking to diversify their student body. Design/method Utilizing Lin's network theory of social capital as a framework, we employed semi-structured interviews in a multiple case study research methodology, taking a constructivist epistemological view. Results Three major findings are that (1) lack of available family social capital was supplemented mostly by school personnel; (2) delayed recognition or identification of available resources slowed access and activation of resources, leading to difficult university transitions; and (3) if accessed and activated, peer groups and institutional support systems provided sources of social capital. Conclusions Even single instances or weak ties can be effective in bridging gaps in engineering-related social capital. Facilitating opportunities for students to develop sustained social capital may have potential to attract and retain underrepresented students in engineering.

Association of Sibling Aggression With Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Abstract: WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Using a national probability sample, we show that the nature and severity of sibling aggression have negative links to children's and adolescents' mental health. We demonstrate that sibling and peer aggression are comparable their links to symptoms of distress. abstract Sibling aggression is common but often dismissed as benign. We examine whether being a victim of various forms of sibling aggression is associated with children's and adolescents' mental health distress. We also contrast the consequences of sibling versus peer aggression for children's and adolescents' mental health. METHODS: We analyzed a national probability sample (n = 3599) that included telephone interviews about past year victimizations con- ducted with youth aged 10 to 17 or an adult caregiver concerning children aged 0 to 9. RESULTS:Childrenages 0to 9 andyouthages 10to17 whoexperienced sibling aggression in the past year (ie, psychological, property, mild or severe physical assault), reported greater mental health distress. Chil- dren ages 0 to 9 showed greater mental health distress than did youth aged 10 to 17 in the case of mild physical assault, but they did not differ for the other types of sibling aggression. Comparison of sibling versus peer aggression generally showed that sibling and peer aggression independently and uniquely predicted worsened mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The possible importance of sibling aggression for children's and adolescents' mental health should not be dismissed. The mobilization to prevent and stop peer victimization and bullying should expand to encompass sibling aggression as well. Pediatrics 2013;132:79-84

Tomorrow's educators … today? Implementing near-peer teaching for medical students

Abstract: Background: The University of Adelaide offers a six-year undergraduate medical degree with a focus on small group learning. Senior medical students had previously received limited formal training in education skills, and were identified as an underutilised teaching resource.Aims: To devise a programme in which senior students are exposed to the various facets of university teaching responsibilities and to evaluate its impact on both the tutors and the students.Methods: A six week rotation in medical education for final year medical students was designed and implemented in 2010 to involve them in the development, delivery and assessment of the 1st and 2nd year medical programme as near-peer tutors (NPTs).Results: Two years after the rotation's implementation, voluntary evaluation of both the junior students and NPTs was undertaken through a mixed methods approach of survey and focus group. Junior students (n = 358) revealed the NPTs provided non-threatening learning environments, provided helpful feedback ...

The impact of peer victimization on later maladjustment: mediating and moderating effects of hostile and self‐blaming attributions

Abstract: Background: Evidence indicates that being a victim of bullying or peer aggression has negative short- and long-term consequences. In this study, we investigated the mediating and moderating role of two types of attributional mechanisms (hostile and self-blaming attributions) on children's maladjustment (externalizing and internalizing problems). Methods: In total, 478 children participated in this longitudinal study from grade 5 to grade 7. Children, parents, and teachers repeatedly completed questionnaires. Peer victimization was assessed through peer reports (T1). Attributions were assessed through self-reports using hypothetical scenarios (T2). Parents and teachers reported on children's maladjustment (T1 and T3). Results: Peer victimization predicted increases in externalizing and internalizing problems. Hostile attributions partially mediated the impact of victimization on increases in externalizing problems. Self-blame was not associated with peer victimization. However, for children with higher levels of self-blaming attributions, peer victimization was linked more strongly with increases in internalizing problems. Conclusions: Results imply that hostile attributions may operate as a potential mechanism through which negative experiences with peers lead to increases in children's aggressive and delinquent behavior, whereas self-blame exacerbates victimization's effects on internalizing problems. Language: en