Under Pressure: The Influence of Peer Group Norms for Gender Atypical Children

• In Event: 2-070 - Considering the Impact of Social Context and Group Norms Across Cultures

Integrative Statement

Gender atypicality, or not conforming to one’s gender group norms, is related to poor psychosocial outcomes such as lower self-esteem and less popularity (Egan & Perry, 2001; Jewell & Brown, 2014). However, the social context plays a key role in how gender atypicality affects adjustment. If gender atypical individuals feel high levels of pressure from their social environment to conform to gender norms, they can experience poorer mental health (Jewell & Brown, 2014; Smith & Leaper, 2005; Yunger et al., 2004), which is not the case with low felt pressure. Thus, feelings of pressure create a unique social culture within a school that may hinder healthy adjustment outcomes.

Because peers are influential, it is important to consider characteristics of gender atypical adolescents’ peer groups that relate to their felt pressure and adjustment. It is possible that gendered injunctive peer group norms (i.e., what male and female adolescents should do; e.g., gender-related values, gender typing) relate to felt pressure. Peer groups affect adolescents’ gender typicality (DeLay et al., 2017), and peer group dynamics influence individuals to become more similar to each other on gendered characteristics (Kornienko et al., 2016; Martin & Fabes, 2001). It is possible that a social culture of felt pressure is part of this process. Thus, we explored characteristics of adolescent peer groups that influenced the felt pressure and adjustment of gender atypical adolescents.

Children (n = 299; 53% female; Mage = 12.12 years; 49% Hispanic, 16% White, 15% Black, 9% Native American, 4% Asian, 7% other) completed a paper survey during the fall and spring of 7th grade that included measures of gender typicality, felt pressure to conform to gender norms, perceived peer group, gender role attitudes, and social anxiety. Analyses included two types of scores: the individual’s score on each variable and a peer group level score, which was created by aggregating the scores of participants’ peer group members.

Longitudinal regression analyses revealed that individuals’ gender atypicality was related to an increase in felt pressure over time for all adolescents (b=1.10); however, this effect was particularly strong for adolescents in peer groups with more traditional gender role attitudes (b=1.29). When peer group members reported higher felt pressure, peer group norms around gender typicality shifted, such that group gender typicality increased over time (b=.12) and decreased in variability over time (b = -.49). In addition, when adolescents feel pressure to conform and are in peer groups with low variability, gender atypicality is related to higher social anxiety (b=.80).

This study illustrates the influence of the peer culture and social context for gender atypical adolescents. Being in a peer group with traditional gender values contributed to feeling more pressure to conform. When adolescents experienced felt pressure, they conformed to societal gender norms by becoming more gender typical and conformed to peer group norms by decreasing group variability in typicality. Peer group gender norms and the associated felt pressure related to poorer adjustment for gender atypical adolescents.

Authors

• Rachel E Cook, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Carol Lynn Martin, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dawn DeLay, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adam A. Rogers, Brigham Young University
  Non-Presenting Author