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Peer influences on internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents: a longitudinal social network analysis
Janna Fortuin1, Mitch van Geel, Paul Vedder
1Institute of Education and Teacher Training, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, jfortuin@uva.nl.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
|August 15, 2014
Summary
Adolescents often select friends with similar externalizing behaviors. Peer socialization then increases this similarity over time, particularly for externalizing problems, not internalizing ones.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Developmental Science
Background:
- Adolescent peer relationships significantly influence behavior.
- Understanding the mechanisms driving behavioral similarity in peer groups is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate social mechanisms (selection, socialization, avoidance, withdrawal) underlying behavioral similarity in adolescent peer networks.
- To differentiate the influence of these mechanisms on internalizing versus externalizing problems.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 542 8th-grade adolescents over one school year.
- Data collected at three time points on peer preferences and self-reported internalizing/externalizing problems.
- Analysis of selection, socialization, avoidance, and withdrawal effects.
Main Results:
- Significant peer selection for similar externalizing problem scores, but not for internalizing problems.
- Significant socialization effects leading to increased similarity in externalizing problems among friends.
- No significant effects found for avoidance or withdrawal.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents actively select peer groups with similar externalizing behaviors.
- Peer socialization processes reinforce and amplify existing similarities in externalizing problems.
- These findings highlight the critical role of peer dynamics in shaping adolescent behavioral trajectories.
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