Power of Influence: Peers or Parents?

• In Event: Qualitative and Quantitative Research on Intimate Partner Violence, Interpersonal Violence, Peer Influence, and Deviant Modeling

Abstract

The world is mired in immigration reform debates with politicians and scholars’ continued discussions over ways to handle the growing number of immigrants and refugees streaming into the more developed countries (i.e. the U.S. and countries of E.U.) Societies are becoming increasingly divided over this immigration crisis, leading to the mushrooming of rallies and demonstrations. In this study, we assess the roles of both parents and peers by examining which party will be a stronger influencer in shaping one’s decision to either be a supporter or an adversary of the immigration policies.
This study draws on existing theories such as Chester Barnard’s (1938) natural systems model and social control theory (Hirschi, 1969) to explain the relation between the roles played by the parents and/or peer on an individual in his/her decision-making process. By determining the ‘stronger counterpart’ of influence, policies and countermeasures can be delineated to account for the role of the ‘stronger influencer’. Furthermore, this study could be a stepping stone for future research (the interaction between the ‘stronger influencer’ in contributing to actuating the process of radicalisation).
This mixed-methods research includes in-depth case studies of court cases from Lexis Nexis and surveys distributed via the Qualtrics platform.

Authors

• SuYoong Goh, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Malgorzata Justyna Zuber, University of Massachusetts Lowell