Resisting or acquiescing to peer pressure to engage in misconduct: Adolescents' expectations of probable consequences

Adolescents' implicit scripts for situations in which peer pressure to engage in misconduct is experienced were examined to determine whether expectations varied as a function of sex, community (urban, primarily black; urban, primarily Hispanic; suburban, primarily white), and learning status (learning disabled; nondisabled). One hundred ninety-eight high school students were interviewed about six situations in which one teen-ager asks another to participate in misconduct. The students were questioned about how the requests would be stated, what would ensue if the requests were accepted or refused, and what would be likely to motivate the decisions to accept or refuse. Sex, community, and learning status differences were found, particularly in anticipated consequences of refusing the request. The implications of these findings are discussed.