Increase in self-rejection and continuing/discontinued deviant response

It was hypothesized that adoption of deviant response patterns regardless of subsequent continuation of the act would be associated with an antecedent increase in negative self-attitudes. Subjects were seventh-grade students who responded to a questionnaire three times (T ₁,T ₂,T ₃) at annual intervals (N=3,148). Self-attitudes were measured by a seven-item self-derogation scale. Change in self-derogation was determined by expressing the posttest score as a deviation from the posttest-on-pretest regression line. Deviant responses were defined in terms of self-reports of each of 22 highly independent responses. In all cases, as hypothesized, for each of the 22 deviant responses both (1) subjects who adopted and continued the act and (2) subjects who adopted and discontinued the act manifested greater increases in self-derogation than subjects who did not adopt the deviant act. The differences, all of which were in the hypothesized direction, were significant in 34 of the 44 comparisons. The results were interpreted as supporting the position that the adoption of any of a broad range of manifestly dissimilar deviant responses is preceded by the genesis of negative selfattitudes.Received his Ph. D. in sociology from New York University in 1958. Current research interests are social psychiatry and, more specifically, the reciprocal relationship between self-attitudes and the adoption of deviant response patterns.     

Antecedents of deviant responses: Predicting from a general theory of deviant behavior

A statement of a general theory of deviant behavior asserts that four factors or processes intervene between the development of self-rejecting attitudes and adoption of deviant patterns. An earlier report demonstrated a relationship between antecedent negative self-attitudes and subsequent increases in seven variables that reflected these four factors. The present paper tests hypotheses that these seven variables are in turn related to the subsequent adoption of each of 22 deviant responses. Subjects were seventh-grade students (N=4694) who responded to questionnaires at T₁ and T₂ (a year later). The seven independent variables were measured by scale scores based on subject responses at T₁. Adoption of deviant responses was defined in terms of subject's selfreports of performing each of 22 deviant acts between T₁ and T₂ after having denied performance of the deviant act during a specified period prior to T₁. The results were interpreted as supporting the hypotheses, although relatively few exceptions were noted. These findings together with those of the earlier analysis were thus congruent with the theoretical position that the relationship between antecedent self-rejection and subsequent deviant responses is mediated by the subjective association of membership group experiences with feelings of self-rejection, the genesis of contranormative attitudes, the inability to satisfy the self-esteem motive through normative response patterns, and awareness of deviant alternatives to these normative patterns that in the past have failed to permit development of self-accepting attitudes.Received his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University in 1958. Current research interests are social psychiatry and, more specifically, the reciprocal relationship between self-attitudes and the adoption of deviant response patterns.     

Self-attitudes and deviant behavior: The case of the charismatic religious movement

Hypotheses are tested concerning the relationship between level of and changes in self-attitudes on the one hand and the adoption of membership in the charismatic religious movement on the other hand. The hypotheses are derived from a general theory of deviant behavior. Subjects (generally aged 13–25) were 65 members of a local charismatic religious group and a comparison group of 47 members of three, more traditional urban Protestant churches. Self-attitudes were measured by a self-derogation scale responded to with reference to two points in time: the present and 6 months to 1 year prior to the test administration. The three hypotheses were supported. (1) The charismatic subjects, relative to the comparison subjects, displayed significantly higher levels of self-derogation at the time of adopting membership in the charismatic group. (2) Individuals who adopted membership in the charismatic cults, relative to the comparison group, displayed a significantly greater tendency to decrease the level of self-derogation between the earlier point in time and the point in time when the subjects were interviewed. (3) Significantly greater decrease in self-derogation on the part of the charismatic cult subjects resulted in comparable levels of selfderogation for the charismatic and comparison groups at the time of the interview.Received M.D. from the University of Ottawa in 1960, did his fellowship in psychiatry in Mayo Clinic, 1968–1970, and is a fellow of the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry (1973). Major interest is religion and psychiatry.Received Ph.D. in sociology from New York University in 1958. Current research interests are social psychiatry and, more specifically, the reciprocal relationship berween self-attitudes and the adoption of deviant response patterns.     

Deviant behavior and self-enhancement in adolescence

The hypothesis that “among initially high self-derogation subjects deviant response patterns (alcohol and drug abuse, delinquent patterns, etc.) are related to subsequent decreases in self-derogation” was tested with data from a longitudinal survey study of adolescents. Among higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES) males initially high self-derogation subjects who adopted (relative to those who did not adopt) any of several deviant patterns manifested significantly greater subsequent base-free decreases in self-derogation. For higher SES females only narcotics use (and among lower SES females no deviant pattern) was significantly related to subsequent decrease in self-derogation. Together with collateral data, these results indicated that where the deviant patterns were compatible with valued social roles and the subjects were able to defend against negative responses by others (but not under mutually exclusive conditions), deviant patterns functioned to reduce self-rejecting feelings among initially highly self-derogating subjects.     

Efficacy, Self-Derogation, and Alcohol Use Among Inner-City Adolescents: Gender Matters

Prior studies have found inconsistent relationships between measures of self-concept and adolescent alcohol use. The current study explored whether the link between various measures of self-concept and alcohol use depends on gender. In addition, earlier work suggested a focus on negative self-esteem (i.e., self-derogation) might be more useful in predicting alcohol use. Students (N = 1459) attending 22 middle and junior high schools in New York City completed surveys that included measures of efficacy, self-derogation, and alcohol use. Participants completed surveys at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. Data collectors administered the questionnaire following a standardized protocol during a regular 40-min-class period. On the basis of a longitudinal structural equation model, lower efficacy was related to greater self-derogation a year later across gender. Increased self-derogation predicted higher alcohol use for girls but not boys. These findings are congruent with a literature highlighting the importance of negative thoughts about the self in drinking behavior for women but not men. The results suggest that the alcohol prevention approaches should include material to enhance girls' self-esteem.     

Psychosocial antecedents of unwed motherhood among indigent adolescents

Theoretically based hypotheses regarding psychosocial antecedents of unwed motherhood among indigent adolescents are tested. Data regarding psychosocial antecedents were obtained from a survey of a 50% sample of seventhgraders in a large urban school system. Hypotheses were tested by comparing three groups of subjects from among these respondents: (1) 82 female adolescents who received perinatal care at an adult development clinic for indigent adolescents (all gave birth out of wedlock at least one year following the baseline survey and prior to their eighteenth birthday); (2) 164 matched (by race, mother's education, and school) controls — two matches for each pre-unwed mother; and (3) 164 randomly selected controls — two controls for each preunwed mother. The results were consistent with the assertion that deviant behaviors related to and including unwed motherhood are alternative deviant responses to the subjectively recognized inability to defend against self-rejection in the course of membership group experiences in anticipation of self-enhancing consequences of the deviant behaviors. The positions in the social structure occupied by the pre-unwed mothers predispose the subjects to deviant responses by (1) increasing the probability of self-devaluing experiences and the subjective association of these experiences with the normative structure and (2) offering highly visible deviant alternatives that offer greater self-enhancing potential than the perceived low self-enhancing potential of the normative environment. The deviant patterns to which the subjects are predisposed are in fact adopted when prior social controls effictively exercised by parental and school authorities erode (as a result of the subject's identification of family and school as persistent sources of self-devaluing experiences). The specific modes of deviance adopted, including patterns associated with unwed motherhood outcomes, are apparently consistent with subculturally influenced values and adaptive/coping/defensive patterns. The total pattern of findings suggests that the same general theory of deviant behavior that has been applied to other modes of deviance is appropriate in understanding precursors of unwed motherhood among indigent adolescents.Received his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University in 1958. Current research interests are social psychiatry and, more specifically, the reciprocal relationship between self-attitudes and the adoption of deviant response patterns.Received her Ph.D. in educational psychology from University of Texas at Austin. Main interest is adult development.Received his M. D. from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Research interests are self-destructive behavior and alcoholism.     

Nervousness and Performance Characteristics as Predictors of Peer Behavior Towards Socially Anxious Adolescents

Social anxiety in adolescents has frequently been linked to negative outcomes from social interactions. The present study investigated whether socially anxious adolescents are treated negatively by their classmates and which characteristics of socially anxious adolescents could explain negative social responses. Classroom observations of class behavior were made during oral presentations of 94 students (60% females) in the ages of 13–18 years. Speakers’ social performance, speech quality, and nervousness during the presentation were also rated. Findings showed that the social performance of socially anxious students was a predictor of class behavior, whereas their overt nervousness was not. Surprisingly, the quality of their speech was negatively related to class behavior. Implications of these findings for the treatment of socially anxious adolescents are discussed.     

Family,School, Peer,and Media Predictors of Adolescent Deviant Behavior in Hong Kong

Based on a self-report study of 1139 secondary school students in Hong Kong, this paper estimates the strengths of selected family variables, school variables, peer variables, and media variables in the prediction of adolescent deviant behavior. Regresssion results show that the equation containing peers' deviant behavior, peers' disapproval of deviant behavior, frequency of media exposure, preference for violent/obscene content, imitation of media characters, parents' deviant behavior, and teachers' negative evaluation explained the amount of variance of adolescent deviant behavior. Theoretical and research implications of these and other findings for the rapidly industrializing and modernizing society of Hong Kong are discussed.     

Procedural Justice in Family Conflict Resolution and Deviant Peer Group Involvement Among Adolescents: The Mediating Influence of Peer Conflict

The involvement of adolescents with deviant peer groups is one of the strongest proximal correlates to juvenile delinquency and stems from a variety of causes. Past research has linked ineffective parenting with peer variables, including deviant peer group involvement and peer conflict during adolescence. In this study, adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice within the family (adolescents’ appraisals of how fairly they are treated by parents in the process of resolving family conflict) were examined as one aspect of effective parenting that may relate to deviant peer group involvement in early adolescence. Data from 1660 middle school students (ages 11–14, mean = 12.6) indicated that higher appraisals by adolescents of procedural justice during family conflict resolution were related to lower levels of both peer conflict and deviant peer group involvement. A structural model was tested in which the relationship between adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice in the family and deviant peer group involvement was partially mediated by measures of peer conflict. This model was found to have adequate fit to the data, indicating that part of the relationship between procedural justice appraisals and deviant peer group involvement can be explained by levels of peer conflict. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Do Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies Predict Deviant Peer Affiliation and Subsequent Substance Use?

Recent evidence suggests parent-adolescent discrepancies regarding adolescent disclosure can provide insight into parent-child relations and adolescent adjustment. However, pathways linking discrepancies to adjustment are not well known. We tested a model linking parent-adolescent discrepancies in disclosure to adolescent substance use through affiliation with deviant peers. Using three annual waves of data from a community-based study (N?=?357; 91% African American; 53% female; M_age?=?13.13 years, SD?=?1.62 years at baseline), findings revealed that adolescent-reported secrecy and deviant peer affiliation were positively associated with substance use one and two years later, respectively, but there was no evidence of mediation. The results highlight associations of adolescent secrecy and adjustment, and the role peers play in adolescent substance use behaviors.     

Trajectories of Social and Emotional Competencies according to Cyberbullying Roles: A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis

Current cyberbullying literature lacks longitudinal studies clarifying its predictors and consequences. This 1-year longitudinal study investigated how social and emotional competencies develop according to Portuguese middle school students’ involvement in cyberbullying, and whether class size influences this relationship. There were 455 participants (M_age?=?12.58; SD?=?0.94; 46% girls), and data collection through self-reports took place in three different moments during 12 months. The results showed that students involved in cyberbullying in any role displayed negative trajectories during 1 year in self-control and social awareness, while victims and bully-victims displayed a more pronounced decrease in self-esteem and relationship skills during the same period. Additionally, girls displayed higher initial social awareness levels, while larger classes were associated with higher levels of self-control and responsible decision making. These results supported the importance of conducting longitudinal research and using a multilevel approach to address this topic.     

Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Deviant Peer Affiliation: A Gene–Environment Interaction in Adolescent Antisocial Behavior

Although the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is involved in aggression and social affiliation, it has not been examined in gene-environment interaction studies. This longitudinal study examined the effect of genetic variants in OXTR and its gene-environment interaction with perceived deviant peer affiliation in the trajectories of antisocial behavior in 323 adolescents (182 males) from 13 to 18 years. Annual assessments of reactive and proactive aggression, delinquency, and friends’ delinquency, as well as DNA at age 17 were collected. Gene-based tests yielded no main effect of OXTR, but revealed a significant gene-environment interaction in proactive aggression and delinquency. Variation in the OXTR might affect the influence of deviant peer affiliation on antisocial behavior, contributing to a better understanding of individual differences in antisocial behavior.

     

Discrimination and Mexican-Origin Adolescents’ Adjustment: The Moderating Roles of Adolescents’, Mothers’, and Fathers’ Cultural Orientations and Values

Drawing on García Coll et al.’s integrative framework and the risk and resilience model, this study examined the relationships between adolescents’ perceived discrimination and psychosocial adjustment and the moderating roles of adolescents’, mothers’, and fathers’ cultural orientations and values, and adolescent gender in a sample of 246 Mexican-origin families. Using multilevel modeling with data from mothers, fathers, seventh graders (M _age = 12.8 years; SD = .57 year) and older siblings (M _age = 15.7 years; SD = 1.5 years), findings revealed that perceived discrimination was positively related to depression, risky behaviors, and deviant peer affiliations. In addition, parents’ cultural orientations and values and adolescent gender moderated the relationships between perceived discrimination and some indicators of adjustment. These findings suggest that parents’ cultural orientations and values can serve as protective and vulnerability factors in the associations between Mexican-origin adolescents’ perceived discrimination and their psychosocial adjustment.     

Procedural Justice in Resolving Family Disputes: A Psychosocial Analysis of Individual and Family Functioning in Late Adolescence

The present study examined the extent to which procedural justice in resolving specific family disputes is associated with ongoing levels of family conflict and cohesion as well as individual psychosocial adaptation in older adolescents. Two hundred and forty study participants (ages 18–22) were asked to recall an important family dispute that they experienced over the past year and to rate how their parents handled the situation along dimensions of procedural justice, control, and outcome satisfaction. The results indicated that overall judgments of procedural fairness and specific relational criteria for evaluating procedural justice (neutrality, trust, standing) were positively associated with family cohesion and psychological well-being and negatively related to family conflict, psychological distress, and deviant behavior. As predicated, low standing or disrespectful treatment was the best predictor of deviant behavior. While individual functioning was tied primarily to relational procedural justice concerns, family functioning was associated with both relational and instrumental factors. Overall, the study lends support to the growing body of research challenging exclusively self-interested models of human conduct.     

The Associations between Substance Use,Sexual Behavior,Deviant Behaviors and Adolescents’ Engagement in Sexting: Does Relationship Context Matter?

While prior research has identified multiple associations between engagement in sexting and risky behaviors, most existing studies do not take into account the contexts in which sexting occurs. The present study extends prior research by examining whether the associations between adolescents’ sexting behavior and engagement in substance use, sexual behaviors, and deviant behaviors differ depending on the relational context (within or outside of a romantic relationship) in which young people engage in sexting. Results from a survey of 1187 secondary school students (61.3% girls, n?=?728) between 16 and 22 years old (M?=?17.82 years; SD?=?0.88) revealed that sexting with a romantic partner is not a significant marker of engagement in risk behaviors. However, single youth who engage in sexting outside of a romantic relationship are more likely to report substance use, relative to their non-sexting counterparts. These findings underscore the need to use more nuanced measures to investigate sexting and for sexual education initiatives to integrate messages about substance use.     

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation in Early Childhood Mediates Racial Disparities in Blood Pressure in a College Student Sample

The influence of childhood contexts on adult blood pressure is an important yet understudied topic. Using a developmental perspective, this study examines the association between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage in early childhood (0–5?yrs), middle childhood (6–12?yrs) and adolescence (13–18?yrs) on subsequent blood pressure in young adulthood. Data were from 263 college students (52% Black; M_age?=?19.21 years) and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was measured using a tract-level Area Deprivation Index. Neighborhood disadvantage in early childhood was significantly associated with diastolic blood pressure and explained 22% of the race difference between Black and White adults. The findings are consistent with the notion that early childhood may be a sensitive period for the effects of neighborhood disadvantage on blood pressure.

     

Rap Music Genres and Deviant Behaviors in French-Canadian Adolescents

This study investigated the links between the preference for 4 rap music genres (American rap, French rap, hip hop/soul, and gangsta/hardcore rap) and 5 types of deviant behaviors in adolescence (violence, theft, street gangs, mild drug use, and hard drug use). The effects of peers' deviancy, violent media, and importance given to lyrics were statistically controlled. A self-report questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 348 bilingual French-Canadian adolescents (age: M = 15.32; SD = 0.9; 185 girls and 163 boys). Results indicated that rap music as a whole was linked to deviant behaviors, however the nature of the relation differed according to genres. Preference for French rap had the strongest links to deviant behaviors, whereas preference for hip hop/soul was linked to less deviant behaviors. Results are discussed within the psychosocial and sociocognitive perspectives on music influence in adolescence and also within the perspective of normative deviant behaviors in adolescence.     

Associations between Cultural Stressors,Cultural Values,and Latina/o College Students’ Mental Health

Latina/o college students experience cultural stressors that negatively impact their mental health, which places them at risk for academic problems. We explored whether cultural values buffer the negative effect of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms in a sample of 198 Latina/o college students (70?% female; 43?% first generation college students). Bivariate results revealed significant positive associations between cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stress, discrimination) and mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depressive, psychological stress), and negative associations between cultural values of familismo, respeto, and religiosity and mental health symptoms. Several cultural values moderated the influence of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of helping Latina/o college students remain connected to their families and cultural values as a way of promoting their mental health.     

A Social Process Model of Adolescent Deviance: Combining Social Control and Differential Association Perspectives

This paper examines social factors associated with changes in 2 forms of adolescent deviance, substance use and delinquency. Using longitudinal data, the research evaluates a model that combines ideas from 2 sociological explanations of crime. The model specifies 2 processes by which conventional social bonds reduce adolescent deviance over time: Strong social bonds indirectly reduce deviance by decreasing associations with deviant peers and by decreasing susceptibility to the negative influences of peers. The results of path analyses, using measures of peer deviance that are based on actual responses from the adolescents' close friends, support the conceptual model. Deviant friendships and susceptibility linked social bonds to both forms of problem behavior. Bonds were more consistently related to friends' substance use than to friends' delinquency. Supplementary analyses within gender subgroups indicate that the deviance of males was more strongly affected by the actions of friends than was deviance of females.     

School Climate for Transgender Youth: A Mixed Method Investigation of Student Experiences and School Responses

Transgender youth experience negative school environments and may not benefit directly from interventions defined to support Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) youth. This study utilized a multi-method approach to consider the issues that transgender students encounter in school environments. Using data from two studies, survey data (total n = 2260, 68 transgender youth) from study 1 and focus groups (n = 35) from study 2, we examine transgender youth’s experience of school harassment, school strategies implemented to reduce harassment, the protective role of supportive school personnel, and individual responses to harassment, including dropping out and changing schools. In both studies, we found that school harassment due to transgender identity was pervasive, and this harassment was negatively associated with feelings of safety. When schools took action to reduce harassment, students reported greater connections to school personnel. Those connections were associated with greater feelings of safety. The indirect effects of school strategies to reduce harassment on feelings of safety through connection to adults were also significant. Focus group data illuminate specific processes schools can engage in to benefit youth, and how the youth experience those interventions.