The impact of parental involvement and peer influence - Research Paper Example

? The Impact of Parental Involvement and Peer Influence on Adolescents’ Involvement in Deviant Behaviors al Affiliation Date Abstract In this study, an investigation was carried out in order to examine the impact of the quality of parental involvement and peer influence on the likelihood of adolescents to engage in deviant behaviors. A total of 107 adolescents (gender: male=71 (66.36%); female=36 (33.64%), (age: mean=15.06; sd=14.34) from Philadelphia, hailing two cultural backgrounds, such as African American and European American, were obtained as respondents. Results revealed a significant negative correlation between the respondents’ likelihood to engage in deviant behaviors and the quality of parental involvement; and between the respondents’ likelihood to engage in deviant behaviors and the quality of peer influence. These results indicate that when parents have commendable parental involvement to their children’s lives, and when peers contribute positive moral influence to them, it is less likely that adolescents will engage in deviant behaviors. (Research Paper) Introduction The society where individuals thrive can greatly affect their attitude, behavior, and worldviews. Unfortunately, the societal impact on a person’s behavior does not merely involve positive influences, but negative ones, as well (e.g. formation of deviant behaviors). Families, especially parents, are considered as the first and the most fundamental honers of a child’s behavior. However, as children reach adolescence, and as they explore the surroundings outside home, they are influenced by their peers. Gecas and Seff (1990) posited that adolescence is considered by most parents as the toughest stage of their children’s development. This is due to the incompatibility between parents’ construal of their offsprings as mere children and adolescents’ demand for independence. Considering the interplay among the adolescents’ life and the involvement of their parents and peers in their lives, this study examines how parental and peer involvement contribute to the development of deviant behaviors among adolescents. Literature Review In accordance with the principle of Social Learning Theory, as stipulated by Akers (2000, as cited in Ardert & Day, 2002), adolescents’ deviant behaviors are more greatly influenced by their parents and friends, compared to how adolescents’ deviant attitudes influence familial and friendship interaction. This implies that primary groups, such as parents and peers (to whom adolescents interact with) can be considered as determinants in understanding why an adolescent behave the way he or she does. Social Learning Theory further suggests that the manner parents handle their children would determine how children shall behave when they reach adolescents (Simmons & Blyth, 1987, Gecas & Seff, 1990, as cited in Ardert & Day, 2002). This is due to the fact that parental influence does not perish as children enter adolescence (Akers, 2000). It is significant, therefore, for parents to show love, care, and comfort to their children to allow them to develop good values and desirable behaviors and attitudes. How they would nurture their children would determine their behavior, attitude, and personal values when they reach adolescents. More than social learning theory, however, ‘differential association’ and ‘differential reinforcement’ are other influencing factors to the formation of deviant behaviors among adolescents (Akers 1966, as cited in Ardert & Day, 2002). The interaction between adolescents to other people, especially their peers, shapes their principles and values (Furstenberg et al., 1999). Deviant behaviors then developed when such peers possess such kind of behaviors. However, adolescents’ susceptibility to be influenced by their peers’ behavior may vary according to their sense of control and self-mastery (Mounts, 2011; Giordano, Cernkovich, & DeMaris, 1993). This sense of control and mastery are built within the adolescent’s inner self as part of how they were trained by their parents. One of the measures on parents’ style of parenting is on how they get involved on their children’s affairs, and how they reinforced their children’s socially desirable behaviors and punish their deviant behaviors. Although this might differ across parents of varying educational attainment, civil status, and personal values, differential reinforcement remain as one of the fundamental factors to be examined in line with the goal of understanding why adolescents choose to carry out deviant attitudes (Gecas and Seff, 1990; Regione, 1981). (Research Experiment) METHOD Participants The participants of this study were adolescents living in the city of Philadelphia. In order to determine that a participant is qualified as an adolescent, he or she must be in the age of 11 to 18 years old. It is in this stage when individuals strive to attain self-identity and begin to establish an independent life course. To gather a respondent population that would truly represent the city, a multistage sampling was used. A list of households was obtained from the city government. From that, the urban areas and rural areas that will be included in the study was determined, including the household whose adolescent member will be included as one of the survey respondents. Instruments A survey questionnaire is used in the study. The questionnaire is consisting of four parts. The first part was a 20-item question (i.e. in a 7-point Likert scale), which aimed to examine how the respondents view the parenting style of their parents (i.e. may range from negative to positive). The second part of the questionnaire was a 20-item question (i.e. in a 7-point Likert scale), which endeavored to examine how the respondents view the attributes of the adolescents’ peers (i.e. may range from negative to positive). The third part asked the respondents to answer, in a 7-point Likert scale, the level of their probability to engage in deviant behaviors, after letting them conduct assessment on how they were brought up by their parents and how they were treated by their peers. The last part was intended to gather the demographics of respondents. Sample A sample of 107 adolescents, who are from two races: African American and European American. With the aim of acquiring valid and reliable results, the data coming from the rest of the minority groups were not were not included in the final analysis of the study as those were not well represented. From the 107 adolescents as respondents, 71 of them were male (66.36%) and 36 were female (33.64%). The mean of their age was 15.06 with the standard deviation of 14.34. Results Table 1: Table of Means and Correlations between Adolescents’ Deviant Behavior Engagement and Parental Involvement mean sd Pearson r Adolescents’ deviant behavior engagement 5.64 1.31 Parental Involvement 6.09 1.26 Deviant Behavior Engagement & Parental Involvement -0.460** Table 2: Table of Means and Correlations between Adolescents’ Deviant Behavior Engagement and Peer Influence mean sd Pearson r Adolescents’ deviant behavior engagement 5.06 1.21 Peer Involvement 7.23 1.35 Deviant Behavior Engagement & Peer Influence -0.321** Discussions The results of the study showed that there were significant negative correlations between the respondents’ probability to engage in deviant behaviors and the quality of the involvement of their parents to their lives. This means that there is a less probability for the adolescents to engage in deviant behaviors if the quality is a positive upbringing by their parents. This positive upbringing may involve proper discipline, open communication, and the giving of love and care to children. Thus, parents project a big influence on their children's behavior (Aseltine, 1995). Despite that respondents of the study are already adolescents; their parents’ nurturance played a significant role. This is in line with the principles of Social Learning Theory. Similarly, a significant negative correlation was also found between the respondents’ probability to engage in deviant behaviors and the quality of influence of their parents to their lives. If their peers pose a positive influence to them, it is less likely that they will engage in deviant behaviors. This show how significant is the impact of the type of peers adolescents have. One of the important roles of parents is to guide their children as they grow up for them to know who the right people to get along with (de Leeuw et al., 2008; Gardner, Dishion, & Connell, 2008). Although peers are influential to the values formation of a person, the foundation of having a desirable trait begins within the family, especially with the parents’ influence. The family, therefore, is the most effective intervention to guide children to become good citizens (Harrell, Mercer, & Derosier, 2009). References Akers, R. L. (2000). Criminological theories: Introduction, evaluation, and application (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Roxbury. Ardelt, M. & Day, L. (2002). Parents, Siblings, and Peers: Close Social Relationships and Adolescent Deviance. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22(3), 310-349. Aseltine, R. H., Jr. (1995). A reconsideration of parental and peer influences on adolescent deviance. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 103-121. de Leeuw, R.,N.H., Scholte, R. H. J., Harakeh, Z., van Leeuwe, J.,F.J., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2008). Parental smoking-specific communication, adolescents' smoking behavior and friendship selection. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(10), 1229-1241. Furstenberg, F. F., Jr., Cook, T., Eccles, J. S., Elder, G. H., Jr., & Sameroff, A. (Eds.). (1999). Managing to make it: Urban families and adolescent success. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Gardner, T. W., Dishion, T. J., & Connell, A. M. (2008). Adolescent self-regulation as resilience: Resistance to antisocial behavior within the deviant peer context. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), 273-84. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9176-6 Gecas, V., & Seff, M. A. (1990). Families and adolescents: A review of the 1980s. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 941-958. Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & DeMaris, A. (1993). The family and peer relations of black adolescents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 277-287. Harrell, A. W., Mercer, S. H., & Derosier, M. E. (2009). Improving the social-behavioral adjustment of adolescents: The effectiveness of a social skills group intervention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(4), 378-387. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-008-9241-y Mounts, N. S. (2011). Parental management of peer relationships and early adolescents' social skills. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(4), 416-27. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/858659699?accountid=12085 Regione, C. M. (1981). Learning disabilities and adolescents social behavior. (Order No. 8122613, Northeastern University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 196-196. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/303171583?accountid=12085. Read More