Developmental Changes in Peer Influence and Selection: The Roles of Initiation and Retention

• In Event: Peers, Self-control and Offending

Abstract

Adolescents who engage in deviant behaviors are more likely to associate with peers who are also deviant. Different processes may produce similarity between peers, but two receive the most attention in criminological theories: Peer influence occurs when adolescents change their own behaviors to match their friends’ behaviors, whereas selection occurs when individuals seek out people like themselves as friends. Although research has found support for both influence and selection, recent work suggests these processes are not stable and that peer influence decreases during early adolescence while the salience of selection increases. The current study builds on this research using data drawn from the PROSPER Peers Project, a longitudinal study that follows over 16,000 adolescents in 27 non-metropolitan communities as they moved from 6th through 12th grade. First, I extend prior research into developmental trends in peer influence and selection by examining changes in these processes from early through mid-adolescence. Next, I test whether increases in the tendency to select similar friends are driven by seeking out new friends with these traits or a preference for retaining old friends. Finally, I examine whether links between peers and substance use initiation explain the decrease in peer influence observed during this period.

Author

• Daniel T. Ragan, University of New Mexico