Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Peer Acceptance and Sexual Behaviors from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Well-liked adolescents are more likely than their peers to engage in sexual behaviors, which may place them at higher risk of negative outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy. Yet, little is known regarding whether peer acceptance in adolescence predicts sexual outcomes in young adulthood. Understanding developmental links between peer acceptance and sexual outcomes will inform theories of how peers affect health and can help identify targets for health promotion efforts. Using longitudinal sociometric data from 1878 participants in the PROSPER study (54% female, 82% White, mean age = 11.79 at baseline), the present research examined the association of adolescent peer acceptance, reported annually from grades 6–11, with adolescent and young adult sexual outcomes. Well-liked adolescents were more likely to have sexual intercourse by age 16. At age 19, well-liked individuals were more likely to have had sexual intercourse but were less likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. For boys but not girls, peer acceptance was linked to having more past year sexual partners in young adulthood. Adolescent peer acceptance was not associated with other young adult sexual outcomes, such as sex without a condom or casual sex. Overall, well-liked adolescents demonstrated healthy sexual development into young adulthood, despite a higher likelihood of sexual initiation early in adolescence. Findings demonstrate the importance of peer acceptance for healthy development into young adulthood and suggest that well-liked adolescents may be appropriate targets for peer-led sexual health education programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agan, M. L., Costin, A. S., Deutz, M. H., Edelsbrunner, P. A., Záliš, L., & Franken, A. (2015). Associations between risk behaviour and social status in European adolescents. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2014.975790.

  • Alexander, M. G., & Fisher, T. D. (2003). Truth and consequences: Using the bogus pipeline to examine sex differences in self‐reported sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490309552164.

  • Ali, M. M., & Dwyer, D. S. (2011). Estimating peer effects in sexual behavior among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.12.008.

  • Allen, J. P., Schad, M. M., Oudekerk, B., & Chango, J. (2014). What ever happened to the “cool” kids? Long‐term sequelae of early adolescent pseudomature behavior. Child Development, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12250.

  • Benson, J. E., & Furstenberg Jr, F. F. (2006). Entry into adulthood: Are adult role transitions meaningful markers of adult identity? Advances in Life Course Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-2608(06)11008-4.

  • Bonacich, P. (1987). Power and centrality: A family of measures. American Journal of Sociology, https://doi.org/10.1086/228631.

  • Bordini, G. S., & Sperb, T. M. (2013). Sexual double standard: A review of the literature between 2001 and 2010. Sexuality & Culture, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-012-9163-0.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Youth risk behavior surveillance – United States, 2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65, 1–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2012. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandra-Mouli, V., Lane, C., & Wong, S. (2015). What does not work in adolescent sexual and reproductive health: A review of evidence on interventions commonly accepted as best practices. Global Health: Science and Practice, https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-15-00126.

  • Cooper, M. L., Shapiro, C. M., & Powers, A. M. (1998). Motivations for sex and risky sexual behavior among adolescents and young adults: A functional perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.6.1528.

  • Hawke, S., & Rieger, E. (2013). Popularity, likeability, and risk-taking in middle adolescence. Health, https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2013.56A3007.

  • Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630.

  • Kaestle, C. E., Morisky, D. E., & Wiley, D. J. (2002). Sexual intercourse and the age difference between adolescent females and their romantic partners. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, https://doi.org/10.2307/3097749.

  • Kim, C. R., & Free, C. (2008). Recent evaluations of the peer‐led approach in adolescent sexual health education: A systematic review. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, https://doi.org/10.1363/4014408.

  • Kreager, D. A., Staff, J., Gauthier, R., Lefkowitz, E. S., & Feinberg, M. E. (2016). The double standard at sexual debut: Gender, sexual behavior and adolescent peer acceptance. Sex Roles, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0618-x.

  • Laird, R. D., Jordan, K. Y., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2001). Peer rejection in childhood, involvement with antisocial peers in early adolescence, and the development of externalizing behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579401002085.

  • Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (2005). Peer relationship antecedents of delinquent behavior in late adolescence: Is there evidence of demographic group differences in developmental processes? Development and Psychopathology, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050078.

  • Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Fontaine, R. G., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2014). Peer rejection, affiliation with deviant peers, delinquency, and risky sexual behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0175-y.

  • Laumann, E. O., & Youm, Y. (1999). Racial/ethnic group differences in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States: A network explanation. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1097/00007435-199905000-00003.

  • Lefkowitz, E. S., Shearer, C. L., Gillen, M. M., & Espinosa-Hernandez, G. (2014). How gendered attitudes relate to women’s and men’s sexual behaviors and beliefs. Sexuality & Culture, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-014-9225-6.

  • Lyons, H. A. (2017). Heterosexual casual sex and STI diagnosis: A latent class analysis. International Journal of Sexual Health, https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2016.1210711.

  • Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Osterman, M. J. K., Driscoll, A. K., & Drake, P. (2018). Births: Final data for 2016. National Vital Statistics Reports, 67, 1–54.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Milhausen, R. R., & Herold, E. S. (1999). Does the sexual double standard still exist? Perceptions of university women. Journal of Sex Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499909552008.

  • Miller–Johnson, S. Winn, D. M., Coie, J., Maumary–Gremaud, A., Hyman, C., Terry, R., & Lochman, J. (1999). Motherhood during the teen years: A developmental perspective on risk factors for childbearing. Development and Psychopathology, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579499001960.

  • Mirzaei, M., Ahmadi, K., Saadat, S. H., & Ramezani, M. A. (2016). Instruments of high risk sexual behavior assessment: A systematic review. Materia Socio-medica, https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2016.28.46-50.

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.4.674.

  • Moody, J., Brynildsen, W. D., Osgood, D. W., Feinberg, M. E., & Gest, S. (2011). Popularity trajectories and substance use in early adolescence. Social Networks, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2010.10.001.

  • Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993–2007. Psychological Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017504.

  • Potard, C., Courtois, R., & Rusch, E. (2008). The influence of peers on risky sexual behaviour during adolescence. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, https://doi.org/10.1080/13625180802273530.

  • Poulin, F., & Pedersen, S. (2007). Developmental changes in gender composition of friendship networks in adolescent girls and boys. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1484–1496. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1484.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prinstein, M. J., Choukas-Bradley, S. C., Helms, S. W., Brechwald, W. A., & Rancourt, D. (2011). High peer popularity longitudinally predicts adolescent health risk behavior, or does it?: An examination of linear and quadratic associations. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsr053.

  • Prinstein, M. J., Meade, C. S., & Cohen, G. L. (2003). Adolescent oral sex, peer popularity, and perceptions of best friends’ sexual behavior. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsg012.

  • Simons, L. G., Sutton, T. E., Shannon, S., Berg, M. T., & Gibbons, F. X. (2018). The cost of being cool: How adolescent pseudomature behavior maps onto adult adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0743-z.

  • Spoth, R., Greenberg, M., Bierman, K., & Redmond, C. (2004). PROSPER community–university partnership model for public education systems: Capacity-building for evidence-based, competence-building prevention. Prevention Science, https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PREV.0000013979.52796.8b.

  • Spoth, R., Redmond, C., Shin, C., Greenberg, M., Clair, S., & Feinberg, M. (2007). Substance-use outcomes at 18 months past baseline: The PROSPER community–university partnership trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2007.01.014

  • Spoth, R., Redmond, C., Shin, C., Greenberg, M. T., Feinberg, M. E., & Trudeau, L. (2017). PROSPER delivery of universal preventive interventions with young adolescents: Long-term effects on emerging adult substance misuse and associated risk behaviors. Psychological Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000691

  • Underwood, M. K., Kupersmidt, J. B., & Coie, J. D. (1996). Childhood peer sociometric status and aggression as predictors of adolescent childbearing. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 6(2), 201–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasilenko, S. A., Lefkowitz, E. S., & Welsh, D. P. (2014). Is sexual behavior healthy for adolescents? A conceptual framework for research on adolescent sexual behavior and physical, mental, and social health. In E. S. Lefkowitz & S. A. Vasilenko (Eds.), New directions for child and adolescent development: Positive and negative outcomes of sexual behavior (pp. 3–19). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 10.1002/cad.20057.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Helfand, M. (2008). Ten years of longitudinal research on US adolescent sexual behavior: Developmental correlates of sexual intercourse, and the importance of age, gender and ethnic background. Developmental Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.06.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA018225) and the National Institute of Mental Health (P30 MH052776 and T32 MH019985) supported this research. The analyses used data from PROSPER, funded by grant R01 DA013709 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and co-funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding organizations. This manuscript's data will not be deposited.

Authors’ Contributions

R.W. collaborated on the research questions, conducted the statistical analyses, and helped to draft the manuscript. D.A.K. collaborated on the research questions, developed the analysis plan, and helped to draft the manuscript. E.S.L. collaborated on the research questions and helped to draft the manuscript. M.E.F. helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N Summit Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA

    Rose Wesche

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, 206 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Derek A. Kreager

  3. Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 300 Biobehavioral Health, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Mark E. Feinberg

  4. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, U-1058, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Eva S. Lefkowitz

Authors
  1. Rose Wesche
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Derek A. Kreager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark E. Feinberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eva S. Lefkowitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rose Wesche.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The procurement of the data required for this study was approved by the Iowa State University and Pennsylvania State University institutional review boards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. All youth and families were informed about and consented to participate in this project.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wesche, R., Kreager, D.A., Feinberg, M.E. et al. Peer Acceptance and Sexual Behaviors from Adolescence to Young Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 48, 996–1008 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-00991-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-00991-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation