Group Socialization Theory Research Articles

Genes or nurture? Discussion of the wrong question

The paper presents a polemics with a thesis formulated by J. Harris that group socialization theory is an alternative to family nurture. The thesis, indeed, “annihilates” the nurture category and the existing achievements of education sciences off the scientific discourse. The text focuses on an analysis of consistency of arguments regarding the main aspects of the theory in question, identified at four levels of tensions between: genes and environment, child and adult, family and peer group, and being raised in the family and socialization in peer group. The inconsistencies and overinterpretations, expressed by J. Harris in her “systemic” depreciation of child-rearing, inspired some reflections about the possible roles of nurture viewed in the paradigm of biological and spiritual evolution synthesis.

Stress levels, coping strategies, and mental health literacy among secondary school students in Kenya

IntroductionMental health literacy could be a protector from stress and other mental health problems. Statistics in sub-Saharan Africa estimate that up to 20% of children and adolescents experience mental health problems due to stress. Research has also shown that there is a bidirectional association between positive coping and mental health literacy. Nonetheless, little is known about stress levels, coping strategies, and mental health literacy of secondary school students in Kenya. This study sought to answer the following questions: What is the stress level of students in secondary schools in Kenya? What is the association between stress levels and coping strategies of learners? What is the mental health literacy level of learners in secondary schools in Kenya?MethodsThe study employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design by carrying out a quantitative study to ascertain stress levels and coping strategies and a qualitative study to explore the mental health literacy of the students. A total of 400 secondary school students aged 16–22 years participated in the study. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics whereas qualitative data was analyzed thematically.ResultsBased on these results, the majority of students were moderately 244 (66%) and highly 112 (31%) stressed. Only 11 students (3%) reported low stress levels. The study also indicated a positive significant association between stress and avoidance coping strategy (r = 0.11, p < 0.05). Qualitative data revealed varied conceptualizations of mental health. The following themes emerged: the students conceptualized mental health as help offered to people who are stressed to help them reduce stressors, others felt that it was a state of being at peace with one’s self and being able to think and act soundly, whereas others felt that mental health is severe mental disorder or illness. Students further attributed stress to school, peer, and home pressure.DiscussionLastly, although the students believed that seeking emotional, social, and psychological support was the best way to cope with stress, they feared seeking this support from teachers and peers. There was no evidence of students seeking support from parents. This study contributes to the Group Socialization Theory that suggests that peers become the primary social agents of adolescents outside the confinement of their homes. It provides essential information for developing awareness programs on mental health issues in Kenyan secondary schools. It also highlights a need to equip students with skills so that they can offer peer-to-peer support in times of distress.

Judith Rich Harris (1938–2019).

Presents an obituary of Judith Rich Harris (1938-2019). Judith Rich was born in Brooklyn on February 10, 1938, the daughter of Sam and Fran Lichtman Rich. After a freshman year at the University of Arizona, she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Brandeis in 1959. She earned a master's degree from Harvard in 1961 and later that year married her fellow graduate student Charles Harris, who became a researcher in visual perception at AT&T Bell Labs. From the 1960s through the 1980s, she published experimental papers in perception and visual search, including one with S. S. Stevens, a pioneer in modern psychophysics, and another with John A. Swets, who first adapted signal detection theory to psychology. She gave birth to one daughter, Nomi Harris, and adopted another, Elaine Valk. Harris expanded her insight into a radical new theory of socialization-that children's personalities are shaped by genes and peers, not parents-which she laid out in a 1995 article in Psychological Review ("Where Is the Child's Environment? A Group Socialization Theory of Development") and her 1998 bestseller, The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Deviant Peer Affiliation and Bullying Perpetration in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement and the Moderating Role of Moral Identity

Based on the integration of the group socialization theory and the individual–context interaction model, we examined whether moral disengagement mediated the association between deviant peer affiliation and bullying perpetration and whether this mediation model was moderated by moral identity. A total of 438 adolescents participated in the current study. They completed measures regarding deviant peer affiliation, bullying perpetration, moral disengagement, and moral identity. Deviant peer affiliation positively predicted adolescents’ bullying perpetration at six months later and this relationship was partially mediated by moral disengagement. Moral identity did not moderate the direct relationship between deviant peer affiliation and adolescents’ bullying perpetration. Moral identity moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and adolescents’ bullying perpetration and in turn moderated the indirect relationship between deviant peer affiliation and bullying perpetration. Specifically, the relationship between moral disengagement and bullying perpetration and the indirect relationship between deviant peer affiliation and bullying perpetration via moral disengagement both became nonsignificant for adolescents with high moral identity.

Students Organizations and Group Socialization: An Analysis of Islami Jamiat Talba in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islami Jamiat Talba has been playing a key role in socializing students across Pakistan. Initially envisioned as (missionary) organization, it however, involved more in campus politics. In the framework of "Group socialization theory" this paper focuses on the systematic training and socialization procedure of IJT affiliated students. It primarily tries to investigate how IJT, as a distinct group, socialize students and make them part of the group? Data was collected through interviews in three different universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The paper argues that, the social interaction of the students and their acquiring of new values and habits from their friends have enormous impacts on their personalities. The socialized members have uniform politico-social values and understanding of political events and issues. IJT transmit specific political norms and values to the students, helps in the transmission of a particular culture and thus creates a subculture of their own within the university campuses.

Developing Within-group Assimilation and Differentiation Scale in Extracurricular Activities: From the Perspective of Group Socialization Theory

Group socialization theory is the theory focusing on effect of peers on personality development. The theory asserts that the processes of assimilation and differentiation within peer groups have a crucial effect on personality development. However, the degree to which personality development is affected by such assimilation and differentiation is neglected, since many existing researches manipulate assimilation and differentiation through experimental methods. In order to test the impact of peers on personality development, a scale was developed to assess within-group assimilation and differentiation in the context of extracurricular activities. Analyses partially supported the reliability and validity of the scale.

A Social-Ecological Approach to Addressing Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Schools: Focusing on Group Processes and Social Dynamics

A substantial body of evidence verifies that social-emotional learning (SEL) can be effectively taught in schools and can reduce the prevalence and impact of emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) among children and youth. Although the positive effects of SEL on individual student’s emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes have been investigated in some detail in recent years, most studies have focused on evaluating programs aimed at directly training social and emotional competencies with a focus on the individual. Far less is known about the role of interpersonal group dynamics and systems functioning at the levels of the peer group, classroom, and school community. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Harris’s group socialization theory, this article reviews the literature on SEL and group dynamics to identify the ways in which existing SEL frameworks already encapsulate social group processes that contribute to the promotion of positive social-emotional development of children and youth. The goals of this contribution are twofold: (a) to document how EBP can be attenuated by addressing group-level processes that already exist within SEL practices and (b) to provide educators with specific SEL strategies to address group dynamics in their classrooms to optimize outcomes for all students, including students with EBP.

How Peers Make a Difference: The Role of Peer Groups and Peer Relationships in Personality Development

Peers are a pervasive aspect of people's lives, but their role in personality development has rarely been considered. This is surprising, given that peers are promising candidates to explain personality development over the entire lifespan. Owing to the lack of clear–cut definitions of peers, we first elaborate on their defining criteria and functions in different life phases. We then discuss the role of peers in personality development across the lifespan. We advocate that an integration of social group perspectives and social relationship perspectives is essential to understand peer effects on personality development. Group socialization theory is particularly suited to explain developmental differences between groups as a result of group norms. However, it is blind towards differences in development within peer groups. In contrast, the PERSOC framework is particularly suited to explain individual differences in development within groups as a result of specific dyadic peer–relationship experiences. We propose that a conjunct consideration of peer–group effects and dyadic peer–relationship effects can advance the general understanding of personality development. We discuss examples for a cross–fertilization of the two frameworks that suggest avenues for future research. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

Moderating Roles of Primary Social Influences in the Relationship Between Adolescent Self-Reported Exposure to Antismoking Messages and Smoking Intention

This study explores moderating roles of primary social influences in the relationship between adolescent triers' and experimenters' self-reported exposure to antismoking messages and their smoking intentions. The theoretical arguments are drawn from primary socialization theory, group socialization theory, and the social development model, and the data are from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The tobit regression models demonstrate that, as a primary social influence, peer smoking seems to be a strong risk factor for all of the adolescent segments' smoking intentions, whereas parental monitoring can be a significant counter–risk factor for middle-schoolers' smoking intentions. In addition, school intervention programs and parental monitoring against smoking appear to play a moderating role in the relationship between high-school triers' self-reported exposure to antismoking messages and their smoking intentions. The findings seem to suggest that campaigners should make more efforts to incorporate primary social influences to prevent adolescent smoking. The findings also suggest that campaigners should tailor antismoking programs to fit specific target audiences. In particular, middle-school experimenters deserve more attention from antismoking campaigners because they seem most vulnerable to future smoking.

New branches on the Tree of Knowledge. Challenges for systemic family therapists

Faced with today's challenges, I question whether the framework for family therapy provided by systemic thinking is sufficient when working with children and teenagers. The aim of this paper is not to argue for an eclectic model for therapy, but rather to encourage a critical dialogue between various bodies of knowledge. The paper raises the discussion of how family therapists relate to knowledge external to the therapy field. Contemporary developmental psychology, neurobiology, behavioural genetics and group socialization theory are highlighted as useful bodies of knowledge for family therapists. Examples from clinical practice are used to illustrate this.

Inevitable, influential, or unnecessary? Exploring the utility of genetic explanation for delinquent behavior

In the field of criminology there have been a few recent articles addressing genetic influence on delinquent behavior. The scarcity of research within the field of criminology into genetic influence may be the result of two intertwined factors: methodological difficulties and the lack of a theoretical framework to guide research. The current research addressed these two issues in determining if genetic factors are a necessary part of the delinquency equation. Using Harris' group socialization theory as a framework, the results from the random effects regression and DF analyses indicated that there was a utility to genetic explanations of delinquent behavior. The results further implicated the importance of gene-environment interactions in understanding the true impact of genetic influence on behavior. Implications of the results are discussed.

The Best Interests of the Village Children

This article tracks a practicing forensic psychologist's efforts to develop a scientifically based framework for doing child custody evaluations. To apply knowledge from the field of developmental psychology to questions considered by the courts, a search was made for an empirically validated list of effective parenting behaviors. Contrary to expectations, no such list was found. A new developmental theory, group socialization theory, suggests that this is because parents are much less influential than has been assumed. Implications for child custody evaluators are explored. Other psychologists, particularly child development researchers, are encouraged to comment.

What is Learnworthy? Lessons from Group Socialization Theory for Professional Education and Continuing Professional Development

What is Learnworthy? Lessons from Group Socialization Theory for Professional Education and Continuing Professional Development

“Do Parents Matter?” Judith Rich Harris and Group Socialization Theory, a Challenge to Therapeutic Assumptions

The author reviews The Nurture Assumption (1998) by Judith Rich Harris against the background Magic Trees of the Mind (1998) by brain researcher Marion Diamond and science writer Janet Hopson. Harris challenges the widely respected assumption that parents form the characters of their children by offering a new model, group socialization theory, and supporting it by citing a wide variety of research.

Parents, peer groups, and other socializing influences.

Three propositions that are central to J. R. Harris's group socialization theory (1995, 1998) are considered in this review. These propositions are as follows: (a) Parental behaviors have no long-term effects on children's psychological characteristics, (b) peer groups are the primary environmental influence on psychological functioning, and (c) dyadic relationships are situation-specific and do not generalize. The evidence that J. R. Harris has outlined in support of each of these propositions is reviewed, as is additional empirical research not considered by J. R. Harris. Serious limitations to each proposition are identified. The available evidence is more consistent with a model of multiple socialization agents. An expanded research agenda that permits a more definitive test of J. R. Harris's propositions and social relationship theory is proposed.

Socialization, personality development, and the child's environments: Comment on Vandell (2000).

Although many socialization agents influence children's behavior (D. L. Vandell, 2000), the evidence (e.g., from intervention studies) indicates that each exerts its influence only within its own domain. Context effects and genetic effects are among the confounding factors that make it impossible, given current data, to reject the null hypothesis of zero long-term effects of parenting on child outcomes. Problems with the prevailing view of development cannot be solved by invoking within-home environmental differences or gene- environment interactions. Group socialization theory can account for findings that do not fit the prevailing view. The theory attributes outside-the-home socialization to identification with a peer group and assimilation of group norms, but attributes nongenetic variation in personality to differentiation within the group. The latter proposition is still largely untested but other aspects of the theory are well supported by evidence.

Socialization, personality development, and the child's environments: Comment on Vandell (2000).

Although many socialization agents influence children's behavior (D. L. Vandell, 2000), the evidence (e.g., from intervention studies) indicates that each exerts its influence only within its own domain. Context effects and genetic effects are among the confounding factors that make it impossible, given current data, to reject the null hypothesis of zero long-term effects of parenting on child outcomes. Problems with the prevailing view of development cannot be solved by invoking within-home environmental differences or gene- environment interactions. Group socialization theory can account for findings that do not fit the prevailing view. The theory attributes outside-the-home socialization to identification with a peer group and assimilation of group norms, but attributes nongenetic variation in personality to differentiation within the group. The latter proposition is still largely untested but other aspects of the theory are well supported by evidence.

Where is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development.

Do parents have any important long-term effects on the development of their child's personality? This article examines the evidence and concludes that the answer is no. A new theory of development is proposed: that socialization is context-specific and that outside-the-home socialization takes place in the peer groups of childhood and adolescence. Intraand intergroup processes, not dyadic relationships, are responsible for the transmission of culture and for environmental modification of children's personality characteristics. The universality of children's groups explains why development is not derailed by the wide variations in parental behavior found within and between societies.

Where is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development.

Where is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development.