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Perceived Peer Delinquency and Externalizing Behavior Among Rural Youth: The Role of Descriptive Norms and Internalizing Symptoms

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Abstract

Little research has examined the way in which perceptions of peer behavior (i.e., descriptive norms) influence externalizing behavior among rural adolescents. Using a social norms framework, the current study examined gender differences in the relationship between perceived delinquency among friends and externalizing behavior in a sample of rural adolescents. Based on previous research, the authors proposed that adolescents experience negative emotional responses when they believe that their peers are engaging in delinquency, which subsequently influences externalizing behavior. Consequently, internalizing symptoms were explored as a mediator of the relationship between perceived friend delinquency and externalizing behavior. Data came from the NC-ACE Rural Adaptation Project, a longitudinal panel study of adolescents in two rural, economically disadvantaged counties with exceptional racial/ethnic diversity (29 % White, 25 % African American, 25 % American Indian, 12 % Mixed Race/Other, 9 % Hispanic/Latino). Using multiple group structural equation modeling (N = 3489; 51 % female), results indicated that perceived friend delinquency was significantly related to externalizing behavior and this relationship did not vary by gender. Internalizing symptoms fully mediated the relationship between perceived friend delinquency and externalizing behavior and the path between perceived friend delinquency and internalizing symptoms was stronger for males. Implications of these relationships for prevention and intervention programming for externalizing behavior were highlighted.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (5 U01 CE001948-03).

Author contributions

K.C. conceived of the study, analyzed data, and drafted the manuscript; P.S. assisted with the revision and final drafting of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Arizona State University, 340 N Commerce Park Loop, Suite 250 Tortolita Building, Tucson, AZ, 85745, USA

    Katie L. Cotter

  2. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Paul R. Smokowski

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  1. Katie L. Cotter
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Correspondence to Katie L. Cotter.

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Cotter, K.L., Smokowski, P.R. Perceived Peer Delinquency and Externalizing Behavior Among Rural Youth: The Role of Descriptive Norms and Internalizing Symptoms. J Youth Adolescence 45, 520–531 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0382-1

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