Peer Relationships as a Context for the Development of Health-risk Behaviors
"Out of a nerdy misery, Eric and Dylan found acceptance in each other, then excitement in concocting bizarre and destructive schemes… Each was the other’s reinforcement. If either had doubts about killing a classmate… all he had to do was glance over at his soulmate, see the approving smile and feel the reassuring sting of the high five. It was mob mentality. A mob of two… Something neither would have done alone, they did together… They were a team. Best friends.”
Bartels & Crowder (1999). Fatal Friendship. Denver Rocky Mountain News.
This retrospective account of what led to the Columbine massacre illustrates the pervasive assumption that peers are influential. Peer rejection, association with deviant peers and reinforcement for violence – all are implicated here, but despite the unequivocal causal role of peers implied here, it is unclear whether the well-established link between children’s health-risk behaviors and that of their friends is due to selection (“birds of a feather flock together”) or influence.
Because behavior and peer networks are constantly shifting, disentangling selection and influence is like trying to solve the chicken and the egg problem (i.e., which came first, selection or influence?) Furthermore, it is likely that influence occurs under some circumstances but not others and that different aspects of peer relationships lead to different forms of peer influence. For example, some peers might be in a better position to exert influence and some youth might be more susceptible to influence. In addition, the broader peer group may exert influence in different forms (rejection, bullying, peer reputations) than friendships and cliques (modeling, reinforcement).
Motivated by these problems, one line of my research focuses on the context of peer relationships and their role in the development of health-risk behavior.s As part of this work, I am trying to identify moderators of peer influence across multiple levels of context. In other words: Who is influential for whom (and when)? My research in this area also focuses on ways to refine statistical methods to disentangle selection and influence.
Read a longer description of my research in this area in a UNCG Research & Engagement story "Under the Influence" here.
Because behavior and peer networks are constantly shifting, disentangling selection and influence is like trying to solve the chicken and the egg problem (i.e., which came first, selection or influence?) Furthermore, it is likely that influence occurs under some circumstances but not others and that different aspects of peer relationships lead to different forms of peer influence. For example, some peers might be in a better position to exert influence and some youth might be more susceptible to influence. In addition, the broader peer group may exert influence in different forms (rejection, bullying, peer reputations) than friendships and cliques (modeling, reinforcement).
Motivated by these problems, one line of my research focuses on the context of peer relationships and their role in the development of health-risk behavior.s As part of this work, I am trying to identify moderators of peer influence across multiple levels of context. In other words: Who is influential for whom (and when)? My research in this area also focuses on ways to refine statistical methods to disentangle selection and influence.
Read a longer description of my research in this area in a UNCG Research & Engagement story "Under the Influence" here.