Perceived social norms of health behaviours and college engagement in British students

The social norms approach is an increasingly widely used strategy of behaviour and attitude change that is based on challenging misperceptions individuals hold about their peers. Research to date has been carried out predominately in the US college system, with a focus on substance use behaviours. The aim of the current study was to explore peer perceptions of both substance use and other behaviours in a British student sample, as the first step in determining whether the social norms approach may be applicable within Europe. Students at eight further education colleges in the UK were surveyed on their personal and perceived peer health and college engagement behaviours and attitudes by means of a printed and online survey. Respondents reported a perceived norm of frequency of substance use that was higher than the reported norm. Results relating to the injunctive norms of substance use were mixed but demonstrated that the majority of respondents do not actively approve of tobacco, cannabis or other drug use. Respondents also reported a norm of academic engagement that was more positive than the perceived norm of their peers. The results relating to substance use are consistent with work conducted in the US college system, despite the differences in culture and legislation. In addition, the results indicate that there may be similar misperceptions around other areas of health and college engagement. This suggests that the social norms approach may be a viable method of behaviour change in UK students.     

Social Relationships,Peer Collaboration and Children's Oral Language

This study examined the influence of peer collaboration and social context on children's use of literate language. Literate language is defined as a specific oral language register. It was hypothesised that friend, compared to non-friend dyads would evidence more literate language in the form of talk about cognitive and linguistic processes. Same gender dyads of 7- and 8-year-old children were observed during collaborative writing tasks in friend or non-friend groups, and measures of oral language were collected. The findings suggested that different peer relationships differentially effect children's oral language in the areas of conflicts, social regulation, and metacognitive and literate language. The data support the proposition that different sorts of peer relationships and instructional settings affect children's interactions and early literacy development. The results are discussed in terms of the role of social regulation in the context of peer collaboration.     

Friendship Networks of Unpopular, Average, and Popular Children

Existence of friendship and friendship network characteristics were examined among children who differed in popularity status using a relatively unrestricted friendship nomination procedure. Fifth and sixth graders ( N = 227 ) completed a rating-scale sociometric to index popularity and provided information on up to 15 good friends. Results indicated that all children reported having at least one unilateral friend. Unpopular children were less likely than popular children to have at least one reciprocal friend, although the large majority (77%) did have a reciprocal friend. Results also indicated that unpopular children's unilateral friendship networks, in comparison to the networks of their more popular peers, contained a greater number of younger school-age friends and fewer same-age friends, more friends located outside of the school but within the same school district, and more unpopular and fewer popular school friends. Unpopular children's reciprocal friendship networks were significantly smaller, were more evenly distributed within and outside of the classroom, and contained fewer average and popular friends as well as friends of the opposite sex. Findings suggest advantages to using an unrestricted friendship nomination instrument and emphasize the need to consider both popularity and friendship when investigating children's peer relationships.     

Predictors of susceptibility to peer influence regarding substance use in adolescence

The extent to which peer influences on substance use in adolescence systematically vary in strength based on qualities of the adolescent and his or her close friend was assessed in a study of 157 adolescents (age: M = 13.35, SD = 0.64), their close friends, and their parents assessed longitudinally with a combination of observational, analogue, sociometric, and self-report measures from early to mid adolescence. The degree to which adolescents changed their levels of substance use in accord with their peers' baseline levels of use was predicted by a range of theoretically salient factors including: observed teen lack of autonomy and social support in prior interactions with mothers, low teen refusal skills, and the level of social acceptance of their close friend. Findings suggest the importance of both internal factors (e.g., autonomy and relatedness struggles) and external factors (e.g., social status of friends) in explaining why vulnerability to peer influence processes may be much greater for some adolescents than others.     

Parent and Adolescent Perceptions of Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Risk Involvement

Objective. To compare parent and youth reports of the extent to which parents monitor their adolescents and to determine whether parents' perceptions of parental monitoring are more predictive of adolescent risk behavior. Design. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 270 parent - adolescent dyads recruited from rural communities in West Virginia. Parents completed a series of written questionnaires, and adolescents (12-16 years) provided information about their involvement in various risk behaviors. Results. Parent perceptions of parental monitoring efforts did not relate to adolescent perceptions of parental monitoring; parents generally perceived themselves to have more information about their adolescents' whereabouts and activities than their adolescents reported. No main effects of age or gender were found in the discrepancies between parent and adolescent monitoring reports. Adolescent reports of monitoring were negatively correlated with adolescent drinking, marijuana use, and sexual activity over the previous 6-month period. Adolescent risk behaviors were predicted by adolescent reports of parental monitoring alone. Conclusions. Parents and adolescents perceive the magnitude of parental monitoring efforts differently even when both parties perceive parents to know much about adolescent activities. Adolescents' perceptions of how much their parents know about their activities are more predictive of their own involvement in risk behaviors than their parents' perceptions about their own monitoring efforts.     

The Social Skills and Social Status of Mainstreamed Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This paper reports on the social skills and social status of 22 students with mainly moderate intellectual disabilities who had received an inclusive preschool intervention and were subsequently followed up from 18 months to more than five years later in their mainstream classrooms. Measures included direct assessment of social interaction in the playground, social status obtained by interviewing classmates, and the ratings of classroom teachers, parents and school principals. Large differences were found between the students with disabilities and their typical peers for amount of time spent interacting with peers and amount of time spent in isolation, with a moderate difference found for interactions with teachers. However, no difference was found between the social status of the two groups, and the students with disabilities were still spending more than half their time in the playground interacting with typically developing peers. Parents generally rated their children as having better social skills than did principals or teachers. A moderate relationship was found between the direct measures of peer interactions and teachers' perceptions of peer interaction skills. The relationships between the parents' and principals' perceptions of peer interaction and direct measures of the interaction were only small. Some of the implications of these findings for integrating students into mainstream schools and classes are discussed.     

Adolescents' satisfaction with school experiences: Relationships with demographics,attachment relationships,and school engagement behavior

This study investigated the relationships among demographics, parent and peer attachment, school satisfaction, and student engagement behavior in a 1‐year longitudinal study of secondary‐school students. Statistically significant cross‐sectional differences in school satisfaction were observed, based on grade, but not on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Level of school satisfaction did not moderate the relationships between parent and peer satisfaction and negative student engagement behaviors at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1). School satisfaction did account for significant incremental variance across all levels of parent and peer attachment relationships, although predicting a larger proportion of variance for withdrawal behavior than for resistance/aggression behavior. Adolescents' appraisals of their school satisfaction appear to be an independent predictor of their school engagement behaviors, regardless of the quality of their parent or peer attachment relationships. Limitations of the study as well as implications for future research and educational practice are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Self-perceptions,temperament, socioemotional adjustment and the perceptions of parental support of chronically underachieving children

Several studies suggest that children who chronically underachieve are, like children with learning disorders, at risk for negative outcomes and are more likely to experience adjustment problems than are their typically developing peers. This study compares children's self-esteem, perceived competence, negative perfectionism and beliefs of peer acceptance, temperament-based factors (parent-rated), and socioemotional adjustment (parent and teacher rated) of underachieving and non-underachieving elementary school children. It also explores whether children's perceptions of parental support act as a protective factor in children's self-perceptions and socioemotional adjustment. The sample includes 309 fifth and sixth graders 55 underachievers (31 boys and 24 girls), 217 standard achievers (90 boys and 127 girls) and 37 overachievers (16 boys and 21 girls) from the same classes. Significant intergroup differences are found in children's self-perceptions and in teachers’ report of socioemotional adjustment but no difference is observed in parental reports. Children's perceptions of parental support do not differ between groups and do not significantly mediate the association between level of achievement and socioemotional adjustment. Results underscore that whatever the achievement classification of children, their perception of parental support has a unique contribution to their self-perceptions and socioemotional adjustment.     

Good or Bad? Peer Influences on Latino and European American Adolescents' Pathways Through School

Drawing on Sociocultural and Bridging Multiple Worlds models, this article reports 2 longitudinal studies of peers as resources and challenges for students' school performance and future planning. Study 1 examined European American and Latino students' perceptions of peers' emotional support, academic guidance, and companionship from elementary to junior high school. In both school years, most students had at least 1 friend who provided each resource. Links between resources and grades were stronger in junior high than in elementary school. As predicted, students' perceptions of peers' overall encouragement or discouragement of school were linked to English and math grades. Study 2 examined peers as challenges and resources for youth in a community college academic outreach program. Participants saw peers as both challenges and resources in reaching career goals and as greater challenges than families. High school youth in 1 cohort saw peers as greater challenges than did younger youth. Reported peer challenges and resources were modestly related to math pathways. Taken together, the studies illustrate the significance of peers as both resources and challenges to adolescents as they navigate the crucial years that will determine their college eligibility and career options.     

Pupils' Voices on Achievement: An alternative to the standards agenda

Raising achievement has become a public issue, with policy strategies focused on target setting. Pupil performance is seen as an indicator of school success; the pupils' perceptions of school life find little place in the standards discourse. A study of under-achievement included group interviews with pupils in the early years of secondary school in Scotland. School experience emerged as a social rather than a pedagogic experience, with instrumental goals and arbitrary criteria. Comparative monitoring of performance and conformity with peer norms shaped pupils' perceptions of achievement. Relationships with teachers were characterised by the absence of a discourse about learning. The study underlined the importance of listening to the pupil's voice in school in order to focus on learning rather than on performance and 'standards' of achievement.     

Using peer feedback in a Master's programme: a multiple case study

This article draws on the findings of a longitudinal case study, which investigated the writing experiences of five students who spoke English as an additional language (EAL). The major interest was in examining what it was like to be an EAL writer and what changes occurred in EAL students' perceptions of academic writing and of themselves as academic writers during their one-year Taught Masters course at a major UK University. This article reflects on the perceptions of peer feedback held by research participants and their engagement with providing and receiving peer comments. Although peer feedback is often viewed as an attractive tool for supporting student writing, most participants did not fully capitalise on the benefits of these practices. Such factors as students' lack of prior peer feedback and their perceptions of peers' ability to provide valid feedback constituted potential barriers to the success of peer feedback. The article suggests that the use of well-structured collaborative activities and tutors' intervention are required for peer feedback to be effective.     

Maternal Support Networks, Maternal Cognitions, and Young Children's Social and Cognitive Development

The relations among maternal support networks, maternal perceptions of parenting, maternal attributions for parenting situations, and children's social development, as indexed by peer acceptance, and cognitive performance, as indexed by the PPVT-R and PSI, were examined in a sample of 69 mothers and their preschool-age children. Network characteristics directly predicted cognitive performance and indirectly predicted peer acceptance through effects on maternal perceptions and attributions. Parent cognitions as mediators of network effects on children's development are discussed, addressing variation due to network dimensions, types of parent cognitions, and domain of children's development.     

Discipline social identification,study norms and learning approach in university students

Adopting a deep approach to learning is associated with positive academic outcomes. In the current paper, we extend this analysis in a university context by recognising that learners are not isolated individuals, but share important social identifications with others. Using online surveys at an Australian university, we examine the effects of discipline social identification and educational norms on the adoption of learning approaches. Students from a range of academic disciplines indicated their social identification with their discipline, their perceptions of peer norms within their discipline of study, and what their own learning approaches were. Results demonstrate a significant role of discipline-related social identification in predicting learning approaches, even after controlling for personal factors and quality of teaching. Moreover, perceived norms moderated this effect. Students’ approaches to learning are affected not simply by their salient self-concepts, but by their salient discipline-related self-concepts and the norms embodied in the learning environment.     

A multivariate latent growth curve analysis of adolescent substance use

This article demonstrates a multivariate latent growth curve methodology (LGM) for analyzing longitudinal adolescent substance use data. Hypotheses concerning the form of growth in substance use, individual differences in the common trajectory over time, and covariates influencing growth were tested. Significant linear increases existed for alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Second‐order multivariate extensions of LGM indicated that associations among the individual differences parameters of the various substances could be adequately modeled by a higher order substance use construct. Family status, parent‐child conflict, peer encouragement for substance use, parent substance use, and age significantly influenced initial levels of use. Peer encouragement, change in peer encouragement, change in parent‐child conflict, age, and gender significantly influenced development of use. These findings support the influence of families and peers on the development of adolescent substance use and demonstrate the utility of multivariate extensions of LGM in the analysis of longitudinal data.     

School Adjustment in Sixth Graders: Parenting Transitions, Family Climate, and Peer Norm Effects

This study examined whether sixth graders' (mean age = 11.86 years) adjustment to the school context (assessed by grades, achievement scores, and disruptive behavior) was affected by factors from both the family context (represented by students' reports of the number of parenting transitions experienced as well as current levels of supervision, acceptance, autonomy granting, and conflict in the family) and the peer context (represented by students' perceptions of peer norms supporting academic excellence). School adjustment was related to the number of parenting transitions experienced, family climate, and peer norms as well as to higher-order relations involving family climate and peer norms such that ( a ) high grade point averages occurred at only moderate levels of family supervision, ( b ) achievement scores were positively related to supervision at only low levels of family autonomy granting, and ( c ) grade point average was positively related to peer norms at only high levels of family acceptance.     

Attachment relationships and adolescents' life satisfaction: Some relationships matter more to girls than boys

This study examined the extent to which the quality of parent and peer attachments related to early adolescents' life satisfaction (LS), whether peer attachment served as a mediator between parent attachment and LS, and potential gender differences. A total of 587 middle school students in grades 6 through 8 participated. Although both parent and peer attachment positively related to LS, parent attachment was the stronger unique predictor. There was no significant difference between males and females in levels of parent attachment; however, females reported higher levels of attachment to peers. This study also found that early adolescents were more attached to their mothers than their fathers. Finally, peer attachment partially mediated the relationship between parent attachment and LS, but only for females. Implications for gender‐specific intervention programs are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The impact of peer support schemes on pupils' perceptions of bullying,aggression and safety at school

The research was carried out in four secondary schools, two with a peer support system and two without, and involved a total of 931 pupils (49.5% males and 50.5% females). Participants were aged between 11 and 15 years of age, mean age 12.8 years. The aims were: to compare the perceptions of safety on the part of older and younger pupils in secondary schools with and without a system of peer support in place; to find out if there are differences in perceptions of safety within peer support schools on the part of those who are aware of the existence of a peer support service in their school and those who are not aware; and to find out if pupils in peer support schools are more likely to tell someone about school violence and bullying than those in schools without peer support. The results indicate very little difference between pupil perceptions of safety in schools with and schools without a peer support system in place. In fact, older pupils in the schools without peer support responded that they felt safer than pupils in schools with a peer support system in toilets and lessons. However, within the peer support schools there were significant differences in perceptions of safety between the substantial minority of pupils who were unaware that their school had a peer support system and those who were aware of it. The pupils who were aware felt safer in lessons, perceived school as a friendlier place to be, and worried significantly less about being bullied in comparison with those who were unaware. They were also much more likely to tell someone when bad things happened at school. The results are discussed in the light of previous research in the field and some recommendations are made for the practice of peer support.     

The ADHD spectrum and everyday life: experience sampling of adolescent moods, activities, smoking, and drinking

Using an experience sampling methodology, the everyday lives of 153 adolescents with low, middle, or high levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) characteristics as assessed by either parent or teen were examined. Twice each hour, across two 4-day recording intervals, participants in a longitudinal study of stress and health risks logged their behaviors, moods, and social contexts. Those with high, in contrast to low, ADHD symptom levels recorded more negative and fewer positive moods, lower alertness, more entertaining activities relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, more time with friends and less time with family, and more tobacco and alcohol use. Fewer associations emerged with parent-defined than with teen-defined subgroups, although the differences in alertness, peer and family contexts, entertainment versus achievement activities, and substance use were consistent across sources. Even at subclinical levels, ADHD characteristics were associated with behavioral patterns and contexts that may promote peer deviancy training, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and vulnerability to nicotine dependence.     

Peer Group Norms and Accountability Moderate the Effect of School Norms on Children's Intergroup Attitudes

The present study examined the interactive effects of school norms, peer norms, and accountability on children's intergroup attitudes. Participants (n = 229) aged 5–11 years, in a between‐subjects design, were randomly assigned to a peer group with an inclusion or exclusion norm, learned their school either had an inclusion norm or not, and were accountable to either their peer group, teachers, or nobody. Findings indicated, irrespective of age, that an inclusive school norm was less effective when the peer group had an exclusive norm and children were held accountable to their peers or teachers. These findings support social identity development theory (D. Nesdale, 2004, 2007), which expects both the in‐group peer and school norm to influence children's intergroup attitudes.