Influence of perceived peer behavior on engagement in self-damaging behaviors during the transition to university
Date
2024
Authors
Hofer, Marlise K.
Robillard, Christina
Legg, Nicole
Turner, Brianna
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Research on Adolescence
Abstract
As students transition to university, they experience significant social changes that can affect their behaviors, including self-damaging behaviors like disordered eating, problematic alcohol/drug use, suicidal thoughts, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Building on prior work, we examined the associations between (1) perceptions of peers' engagement in self-damaging behaviors predicting one's own subsequent engagement in such behaviors (i.e., socialization) and (2) one's own engagement in self-damaging behaviors predicting perceptions of peers' subsequent engagement in such behaviors (i.e., selection). We also examined whether these associations were moderated by the source of influence (close peer/acquaintance) and degree of social disconnection experienced by the student. First-year university students (Nā=ā704) were asked to complete seven monthly surveys. Multilevel models indicated that when students perceived their close peers had engaged in NSSI or suicidal thinking, they had seven times greater odds of future engagement in the same behavior, implying that socialization increases the risk of these behaviors among university students. Perception of acquaintances' NSSI also predicted greater odds of a student's own NSSI the following month. Social disconnection increased the likelihood of matching own behaviors to perceptions of acquaintances' alcohol abuse, highlighting the importance of fostering connections/mentors to reduce self-damaging behaviors on college campuses. Furthermore, when students engaged in alcohol abuse, they had almost four times greater odds of reporting that their acquaintances abused alcohol the following month, emphasizing the importance of the wider social network in alcohol use behaviors.
Description
Keywords
close relationships, friendship, peer relationships, self-damaging behaviors, social influences
Citation
Hofer, M. K., Robillard, C. L., Legg, N. K., & Turner, B. J. (2024). Influence of perceived peer behavior on engagement in selfādamaging behaviors during the transition to university. Journal of Research on Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12933