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The stability and predictors of peer group deviance in university students.
- Source :
- Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology; Sep2015, Vol. 50 Issue 9, p1463-1470, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- <bold>Background: </bold>Peer group deviance (PGD) is strongly associated with current and future externalizing behaviors. Debate remains about the degree to which this association arises from social selection. The first year of university constitutes a social experiment in which most individuals leave their home environment and recreate for themselves a new peer group.<bold>Methods: </bold>PGD was measured in newly arrived university students and then 6 and 18 months later. Other personality and family traits were also assessed.<bold>Results: </bold>PGD reported for high school friends at the start of university and university friends 6 months later were substantially correlated (+0.60). This correlation was only slightly diminished if restricted to students whose home was greater than 50 miles from the university. PGD was strongly predicted across three cohorts by male sex (+), extraversion (+), conscientiousness (-), a family history of alcohol use disorders (+) and depression (+), and religiosity (-).These predictors of PGD had a relatively stable impact over 18 months and, aside from sex, differed only modestly in males and females.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>As individuals change social groups from high school to university, the level of PGD remains relatively stable, suggesting that individuals play a strong role in selecting peer groups with consistent characteristics. PGD is also predicted cross-sectionally and longitudinally by personality, family background and religiosity. Our results suggest that the association between personal and peer deviance is due at least in part to the effects of social selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- PEERS
COLLEGE students
EXTERNALIZING behavior
STATISTICAL correlation
EXTRAVERSION
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
FAMILY history (Medicine)
ALCOHOLISM
FAMILIES & psychology
MENTAL depression
INTERPERSONAL relations
LONGITUDINAL method
PERSONALITY
PRAYER
RESEARCH funding
SOCIAL skills
STUDENTS
UNIVERSITIES & colleges
AFFINITY groups
ALCOHOL-induced disorders
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09337954
- Volume :
- 50
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 109967344
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1031-4