TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2006//
TI  - Peer contagion of aggression and health risk behavior among adolescent males: an experimental investigation of effects on public conduct and private attitudes
JO  - Child development
A1  - Cohen, Geoffrey L.
A1  - Prinstein, Mitchell J.
SP  - 967
EP  - 983
VL  - 77
IS  - 4
N2  - Peer contagion of adolescent males' aggressive/health risk behaviors was examined using a computerized "chat room" experimental paradigm. Forty-three 11th-grade White adolescents (16-17 years old) were led to believe that they were interacting with other students (i.e., "e-confederates"), who endorsed aggressive/health risk behaviors and whose ostensible peer status was experimentally manipulated. Adolescents displayed greater public conformity, more internalization of aggressive/health risk attitudes, and a higher frequency of actual exclusionary behavior when the e-confederates were high in peer status than low. Participants' level of social anxiety moderated peer contagion. Nonsocially anxious participants conformed only to high-status peers, whereas socially anxious participants were equally influenced by low- and high-status peers. The role of status-maintenance motivations in aggression and risk behavior, and implications for preventive intervention, are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0009-3920
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00913.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -