Moderators of Negative Peer Influence on Early Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors: Individual Behavior, Parenting, and School Connectedness

• NCJ Number: 227823
• Journal: Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 518-540
• Author(s): Sylvie Mrug; Michael Windle
• Date Published: August 2009
• Length: 23 pages
• Grant Number(s): R49-CCR418569
• Sponsoring Agency: Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined how antisocial behavior, parenting, and school connectedness moderated the association between peer deviancy and externalizing problems in early adolescence.

Abstract

Results revealed a protective effect of low antisocial behavior and low negative parenting. For preadolescents whose parents reported low levels of behavior problems by their children and low levels of negative parenting practices, peer deviancy did not predict externalizing behavior by early adolescence. For those preadolescents who had preexisting behavior problems or who experienced more negative parenting, identifying aggressive-disruptive peers as friends was related to higher levels of externalizing behaviors over time. Gender, ethnicity, and school connectedness did not appear to affect the relationship between peer deviancy and externalizing behavior. Additionally, older adolescents and those who exhibited behavior problems in preadolescence reported more externalizing behavior in early adolescence. Finally, African-American ethnicity and low school connectedness were marginally associated with higher levels of externalizing problems. Data were collected from 500 boys and girls (majority African-American) who took part in 3 consecutive assessments of the Birmingham Youth Violence Study (BYVS). Tables, figure, and references