Adolescent Susceptibility to Deviant Peer Pressure: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

It is well known that adolescent risk-taking behaviors often occur in social settings among peers, however, it is unclear whether there are gender differences in the susceptibility to deviant peers, an antecedent to risk-taking behaviors. This qualitative review examines gender differences in adolescent susceptibility to deviant peer pressure in order to better understand processes that contribute to adolescent risk-taking behavior. The review of 26 studies revealed two primary trends: (1) compared to adolescent females, adolescent males appear to be more susceptible to peer influences that encourage risk-taking behaviors, or (2) there is no consistent gender difference in susceptibility to such peer influences. Only two studies reviewed suggested adolescent females to be more susceptible to deviant peer pressure than adolescent males. The discussion offers two useful perspectives that may explain the two trends in the literature. First, gender role socialization theory is consistent with the observed trend that adolescent males are more susceptible to deviant peer pressure for risk-taking behaviors than females as they seek alignment with the masculine ideal. Second, the conceptual and methodological issues, such as using typically male-dominated risk-taking tasks and assessments (i.e., delinquency scale) to measure both males’ and females’ outcomes, may obscure underlying patterns of gender differences in susceptibility to peer influence. Future researchers are encouraged to empirically examine these trends in order to create appropriate interventions.