A Moderated Mediation Model to Predict Adolescent Resistance to Peer Influence: Evidence From an Adoption Study

Adolescents are particularly susceptible to peer influence and at higher risk of engaging in problematic behaviors through peer interactions, but also vary in the extent to which they are influenced by their peers. Resistance to peer influence, the tendency to refuse undesired peer pressure, is one key factor for this variation. However, how genetic and contextual influences shape the development of RPI remain unclear.

The present study leveraged data from 552 family triads, collected in the U.S. between 2003 and 2022, in an adopted-at-birth design. Family triads included an adopted child (57.2% male; 55.3% European American, 19.6% multiracial, 13.2% African American, 10.9% Hispanic/Latinx), birth parents, and adoptive parents. Moderated mediation models were tested to examine whether: (1) child phenotypic impulsivity at age 7 mediated the association between genetic risk for impulsivity and adolescent RPI; (2) child phenotypic self-esteem (age 6-8) mediated the association between genetic factor for self-esteem and adolescent RPI; (3) adoptive parent responsiveness weakened the impulsivity pathway; and (4) adoptive parent responsiveness strengthened the self-esteem pathway. Analyses were performed separately for age 11 (early adolescent; M_age = 11.39, SD_age = 0.55) and age 13-15 (middle adolescent; M_age = 14.97, SD_age = 1.24) RPI as the outcome variable.

Results revealed that birth parent self-esteem positively predicted early adolescent RPI, through elevated levels of child self-esteem. RPI was moderately stable from early to middle adolescence.

Findings highlight the importance of nurturing children's self-esteem to improve their skills to resist undesired peer pressure during adolescence.