The results of the study described support the argument that compliance (agreement with ideas expressed by others) is not a general trait associated with the female sex role. Instead, compliant behavior is affected by the extent to which the topic is relevant to subjects. (Author/GC)

Discusses how new studies indicate that high achievers indeed influence their peers academically, but that it is not always clear how. (EV)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are consistent situational factors associated with driving while intoxicated and riding with an impaired driver among youth, and to ascertain whether the situational factors vary as a function of demographic variables. Results indicate that the two situations are a function of the role of…

Study examined the prevalence of bullying in 375 American children, determined the relationship between peer bullying and sibling bullying, and examined the link between psychological difficulties and bullying. In general those who were both bullies and victims reported the highest level of psychological difficulty followed by victims, bullies,…

Undergraduate students (N=264) completed the Parent and Peer Influence Scale (PPI). The scale demonstrated strong reliability as well as face and concurrent validity. The PPI can be used both by researchers to address contradictions in the literature, as well as clinicians seeking to evaluate levels of peer influence in a family. (Author/MKA)

Analyzes which risk factors in the family, school, and peer domains have an effect on the use of different types of drugs and on frequencies of drug use. Results of a study with adolescents (N=467) show that parental monitoring, time spent with friends, and peer deviance were the most important risk factors. (Author/MKA)

This study examines the determinants of US students' choice of alternative programs of study in high school. An explicit theoretical framework grounded in optimizing behavior is derived. The empirical work is based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. The set of variables include student and family characteristics, peer behavior, and…

Prior research has found that proactive and reactive aggression differentially relate to many variables, including peer relations. However, no research has examined the relation between proactive and reactive aggression and peer delinquency, an important proximal predictor of adolescent antisocial behavior. The current study examined the…

Key psychosocial risks associated with adolescent smoking are well established. However, the ways in which the key risks of impulsivity, peer cigarette smoking, and self-reported use of alcohol interact to predict adolescent cigarette smoking is largely unknown. A sample of 210 Australian middle high school students aged 14-16 completed…

During adolescence, friendship affiliations and groups provide companionship and social and emotional support, and they afford opportunities for intimate self-disclosure and reflection. Friendships often promote positive psychosocial development, but some youth learn and adopt antisocial attitudes and deviant behaviors through their friendships.…

This study focused on the effects of peer moderation on meaningful interactions in online discussions. A meaningful interaction was defined as a message relating to a discussion topic, responding to a previous message, and adding substance to the discussion. A randomized-subject, posttest-only control group design was used to test the first…

School-wide, selective, and individual positive behavioral supports are critical elements of a comprehensive, tiered model of service delivery. Positive peer reporting (PPR) involves brief, highly structured sessions during which peers are provided the opportunity to praise the behavior of target students. PPR procedures were modified in this…

This study explored the use of social comparison appraisals in adolescents' lives with particular reference to enhancement appraisals which can be used to counter threats to the self. Social comparison theory has been increasingly used in quantitative research to understand the processes through which societal messages about appearance influence…

This study investigated the effects of the peer social context and child characteristics on the growth of authority-acceptance behavior problems across first, second, and third grades, using data from the normative sample of the Fast Track Project. Three hundred sixty-eight European American and African American boys and girls (51% male; 46%…