Peer Approval Research Articles

Understanding Men's Aggression in Bars: Development of the Beliefs and Attitudes toward Male Alcohol‐Related Aggression (BAMARA) Inventory

While several qualitative studies suggest that beliefs and attitudes are important in explaining men's alcohol-related aggression, no quantitative instrument measuring men's beliefs and attitudes about male alcohol-related aggression has been developed. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a theoretically based multidimensional inventory measuring Beliefs and Attitudes toward Male Alcohol-Related Aggression (BAMARA) consisting of 9 dimensions: (i) expected negative consequences; (ii) expected positive consequences; (iii) personal approval; (iv) perceived male peer approval; (v) perceived female peer approval; (vi) perceived normality; (vii) relaxed norms when drinking; (viii) alcohol as an excuse; and (ix) male honor/protection of masculinity. A random sample of 1,343 young adult male college and university students participated in an online survey. Item analyses using confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) and item-response theory (IRT) procedures were conducted to select a refined pool of items promoting high internal consistency and discriminant validity of the 9 scales. We evaluated the criterion validity of the 9 scales, the BAMARA total score (BAMARA-Total), and a short form of the inventory (BAMARA-SF) in terms of their association with experiences of barroom aggression and other theoretically linked constructs. CFA and IRT analyses resulted in a 53-item inventory consisting of the 9 scales with adequate model fit and good internal consistency indices. Criterion validity was demonstrated, with the BAMARA scales correlating well with reports of actual experiences of aggression in bars. BAMARA-Total and BAMARA-SF were found to be significantly associated with barroom aggression controlling for a number of important control variables. This new instrument is expected to have many important applications in the male aggression literature, with the full BAMARA being employed for the assessment of specific beliefs and attitudes and the BAMARA-SF used as a general attitudinal measure.

HIV and other co-infections among drug users attending the Integrated Counselling & Testing Centre (ICTC) at Agra, India

BackgroundThe present study was carried over a period of 2 years, from January, 2009 to December, 2010. Material and methodsThree hundred and seventy (370) drug users attending an Integrated Counselling & Testing Centre (ICTC) at Agra were screened for HIV-1/2, HBV, HCV and syphilis infections.The socio-demographic features and addiction profile of the drug users were studied. ResultsSeroprevalence of HIV infection is 4.86% (18/370), HBV was found to be 0.81% (3/370), HCV is 5.67% (21/370) and VDRL is 25.94% (96/370) among the drug users. Of these, 2 (0.54%) each were co-infected with HIV–HBV, HBV–HCV and HCV–Syphilis whereas 15 (4.05%) were co-infected with HIV–HCV and 25 (6.75%) with HIV–VDRL infections. HIV-1/2 co-infection was found in only 2 (0.54%) of the drug users. The diagnosis of co-infections was confirmed based on laboratory testing and correlated clinically, at the time of testing. The drugs most commonly used were a combination of Lupigesic, Avil and Diazepam. ConclusionThe easy availability of drugs, curiosity and peer approval were the common reasons for initiation of drug abuse among those tested at this Centre. This is the first report of the HIV, HBV, HCV and VDRL screening among drug users in Agra in this region of the country.

Self-concept in overweight adolescents

Background and objective. Adolescence is considered a critical stage of life, and one during which body image and self-concept are of particular importance for peer acceptance and approval. Body weight may impact on satisfaction or dissatisfaction in adolescent girls’ self-concept. The aim of this research was to determine the association between obesity and self-concept among adolescent girls.
 Methods. The study sample consisted of 40 overweight (BMI 25 - 30) 18-year-old girls in their last year of high school. A further 40 girls of the same age with a BMI of 18 - 25 formed a control group. The Offer Self-Image Questionnaire for Adolescents (OSIQ) was used to evaluate their self-concept. Descriptive statistical methods used in analysing the data included calculation of the median and standard deviation of variables, and t-tests were used to compare group differences, with p<0.05 taken as the level of significance.
 Results. Statistically significant differences between two groups were found in two components of the OSIQ, sexual attitudes (p=0.044) and psychopathology (p=0.020), but no differences were found in other components such as impulse control, emotional tone, body and self-image, social relations, morals, family relations, mastery of the external world, vocational educational goals and superior adjustment.
 Conclusion. Our results suggest that overweight adolescent girls are less adjusted with regard to their sexual attitudes and present with more psychopathology as measured by the OSIQ compared with their peers of average weight.

Gender differences concerning Wikipedia: A follow‐up study

AbstractThis follow‐up study of Lim and Kwon (2010) examined whether gender differences persist in certain aspects concerning Wikipedia. Additionally, this study examined other new variables, such as satisficing (satisfying and sufficing) and peer approval in relation to gender. Data were collected using a web survey in fall 2011. A total of 123 surveys were usable for this study. The key findings show that two data sets collected three years apart were consistent with each other, demonstrating that the persistence of gender differences in college students with respect to Wikipedia use, their perceived credibility of Wikipedia, and self‐evaluation of their ability discerning the credibility of Wikipedia information. In addition, this study found that male students showed a higher level of satisficing with Wikipedia and tended to report a higher level of their peer's approval for Wikipedia than their female counterparts did. The findings call for attention to educational interventions to narrow the gender gap concerning Wikipedia or user‐generated content (UGC).

The influence of confidence on associations among personal attitudes, perceived injunctive norms, and alcohol consumption.

Social norms theories hold that perceptions of the degree of approval for a behavior have a strong influence on one's private attitudes and public behavior. In particular, being more approving of drinking and perceiving peers as more approving of drinking, are strongly associated with one's own drinking. However, previous research has not considered that students may vary considerably in the confidence in their estimates of peer approval and in the confidence in their estimates of their own approval of drinking. The present research was designed to evaluate confidence as a moderator of associations among perceived injunctive norms, own attitudes, and drinking. We expected perceived injunctive norms and own attitudes would be more strongly associated with drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of peer approval and own attitudes. We were also interested in whether this might differ by gender. Injunctive norms and self-reported alcohol consumption were measured in a sample of 708 college students. Findings from negative binomial regression analyses supported moderation hypotheses for confidence and perceived injunction norms but not for personal attitudes. Thus, perceived injunctive norms were more strongly associated with own drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of friends' approval of drinking. A three-way interaction further revealed that this was primarily true among women. Implications for norms and peer influence theories as well as interventions are discussed.

Talk About “Hooking Up”: The Influence of College Student Social Networks on Nonrelationship Sex

This research considers how communication within college student social networks may encourage high-risk sexual relationships. Students (n = 274) described sexual scripts for hooking up and reported on peer communication, sexual behavior, and sexual attitudes. Students described varied hookup scripts, expressed ambivalent attitudes, and reported moderate participation in hookups overall. However, the most common hookup script, suggesting high-risk sexual activity (i.e., unplanned, inebriated sex), was featured in most accounts of students who themselves participated in hookups. Students overestimated how often others were hooking up, and these estimates were especially inflated by students who frequently talked about hooking up with friends. Among students with strong ties to peers, frequent peer communication about sex predicted participation in hookups and favorable attitudes about hooking up. Peer approval also predicted hookup behavior and attitudes.

P5-S6.30 HPV catch-up vaccination among a community sample of young adult women

BackgroundDespite the high efficacy of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, uptake has been slow and little data on psychosocial barriers to catch-up vaccination exist.MethodsA community sample of 428 women enrolled...

33. The Course Challenge Procedure: A Fast but Not Furious Way to Update University Curriculums

Universities want to encourage faculty to keep curricula up-to-date and innovative, yet faculty dread the prospect of arguing about course and program changes with college and university curriculum committees – which are overworked and overwhelmed with detail. The Course Challenge Procedure (CCP) at the University of Saskatchewan is a collegial yet autonomous way for peer review and approval of new courses, and pre-requisite and program changes. It encourages more faculty members to be informed about curricular changes in other units, yet also allows for faster approval. The CCP can be implemented as a web-based, email, or paper distribution system, and used as the basis for integrated curriculum approval processes at the department, college, and university level.

HPV vaccination among a community sample of young adult women

ObjectivesDespite the high efficacy of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, uptake has been slow and little data on psychosocial barriers to vaccination exist. MethodsA community sample of 428 women enrolled in a longitudinal study of social development in the Seattle WA metropolitan area were interviewed about HPV vaccine status, attitudes, and barriers to HPV vaccination in spring 2008 or 2009 at ∼age 22. ResultsNineteen percent of women had initiated vaccination, 10% had completed the series, and ∼40% of unvaccinated women intended to get vaccinated. Peer approval was associated with vaccine initiation (adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) 2.1; 95% confidence interval 1.4–3.2) and intention to vaccinate (APR 1.4; 1.1–1.9). Belief the vaccine is <75% effective was associated with less initiation (APR 0.6; 0.4–0.9) or intention to vaccinate (APR 0.5; 0.4–0.7). Vaccine initiation was also less likely among cigarette smokers and illegal drug users, whereas intention to vaccinate was more common among women currently attending school or with >5 lifetime sex partners, but less common among women perceiving low susceptibility to HPV (APR 0.6; 0.5–0.9). ConclusionsHPV vaccination uptake was low in this community sample of young adult women. Increasing awareness of susceptibility to HPV and the high efficacy of the vaccine, along with peer interventions to increase acceptability, may be most effective.

Adesão ao uso do primeiro par de óculos por estudantes da primeira série do ensino fundamental

OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a adesao dos escolares do primeiro ano do ensino fundamental ao uso do primeiro par de oculose identificar barreiras ao uso da correcao optica. METODOS. Foi realizado um estudo transversal descritivo em populacao de 62 escolares do primeiro ano do ensino fundamental da cidade de Santana do Ipanema (Alagoas) que tiveram a prescricao do primeiro par de oculos durante a realizacao da Campanha olho no Olho-2002. Para a escolha da armacao dos oculos utilizou-se um kit composto por armacoes de tres tamanhos (pequeno, medio e grande), um modelo com cor sugestiva para o sexo feminino, um sugestivo para o sexo masculino e outro unissex. Apos 3 meses da entrega dos oculos, voltou-se as escolas publicas, em data previamente marcada, quando as criancas responderam a um questionario com questoes abertas sobre a melhora ou piora da visao com os oculos, razoes do nao uso dos oculos, frequencia do uso dos oculos, razoes de gostar ou nao dos oculos, comentarios sobre o que os seus colegas de classe e seus pais pensam sobre o uso dos oculos e se tem familiar usuario de oculos. Para o processamento dos dados foi construido um banco de dados com o software Access do Office 2000. As analises estatisticas foram feitas com o programa SPSS 10.0. RESULTADOS: A idade, o sexo, ter familiar usuario de oculos e AV sem correcao menor do que 1,0 em ambos os olhos, ou AV sem correcao 1,0 em pelo menos um dos olhos, nao influenciaram na adesao ao uso dos oculos. Os comentarios dos colegas de classe sobre o uso de oculos foram principalmente negativos (45,16%), enquanto o dos pais foram principalmente positivos (79,03%). O gostar dos oculos influenciou na adesao ao uso dos oculos. As razoes apontadas pelos que nao gostaram dos oculos foram dificuldade de ajuste da armacao no rosto e preconceito dos colegas de classe. CONCLUSAO: A adesao ao primeiro par de oculos tem pouco a ver com a melhora da AV e muito com o mundo social da crianca. Os principais fatores relacionados com a adesao parecem ser uma armacao de oculos bem adaptada a face e a aprovacao pelos colegas estudantes.

Vulnerability to peer influence: A moderated mediation study of early adolescent alcohol use initiation

Affiliation with deviant peers is a correlate of adolescent alcohol use; however, the mechanism accounting for this association remains unclear, particularly with respect to initiation of alcohol use in early adolescence. This prospective study examines perceived peer attitudes and use as a mediator between peer delinquency and initiation of alcohol use, and how parenting may moderate vulnerability to this risk pathway. Participants included 371 11–13 year-old adolescents (55.5% female, 83.0% Caucasian). Results suggested that high levels of peer delinquency prospectively predicted perceived peer approval and use of alcohol and that peer approval and use of alcohol prospectively predicted initiation of alcohol use. Thus, reinforcement and modeling of alcohol use appear to be important mechanisms by which delinquent peers influence the initiation of drinking. There was no support for parental warmth or control as moderators of peer influence.

Diagnosis and Management of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis

The purpose of this statement is to provide an overview of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and to provide recommendations for its diagnosis, management, and treatment. The intended audience is physicians and other healthcare providers who are responsible for the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Members of the panel were appointed by the American Heart Association Stroke Council's Scientific Statement Oversight Committee and represent different areas of expertise. The panel reviewed the relevant literature with an emphasis on reports published since 1966 and used the American Heart Association levels-of-evidence grading algorithm to rate the evidence and to make recommendations. After approval of the statement by the panel, it underwent peer review and approval by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee. Evidence-based recommendations are provided for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of recurrence of cerebral venous thrombosis. Recommendations on the evaluation and management of cerebral venous thrombosis during pregnancy and in the pediatric population are provided. Considerations for the management of clinical complications (seizures, hydrocephalus, intracranial hypertension, and neurological deterioration) are also summarized. An algorithm for diagnosis and management of patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is described.

The Case for Academic Integrity in Physical Therapist Education

Background and Purpose. Cheating has become more prevalent in the last several years at all levels of the education system in the United States. Cheating in professional programs and on professional licensure examinations also has increased. Advancements in technology have created unique opportunities for cheating, as well as for cheating prevention. Although there are a number of reasons why students choose to cheat, peer approval and peer behavior have a strong influence on cheating behavior. The purpose of this article is to review student cheating, identify reasons why students cheat, describe the relationship between student cheating and workplace behavior, review clinical practice violations by physical therapists, and recommend educational strategies to ameliorate cheating behaviors in physical therapist students. Position and Rationale. Recent studies of physicians and engineers suggest that student cheating and unprofessional behavior while in school was a predictor for subsequent disciplinary action by licensing boards and unethical behavior in the workplace. Because a large number of physical therapist licensure violations relate to unprofessional conduct, emphasis on academic integrity and proper professional conduct while in the educational program is essential for physical therapist students. Our position is that physical therapy academic programs must address academic integrity. Recommendations. Physical therapist educators should recognize that cheating is a life behavior that begins early and tends to perpetuate into professional education and subsequent practice and employment. Professional behavior expectations should be introduced early in the professional program along with appropriate assessment strategies and courses that develop ethical decision-making skills in students. Education programs should review and update policies relating to academic integrity and consider adopting an honor code system. Students should be made aware of professional practice violations and their consequences. Academic and clinical faculty must serve as mentors and role models demonstrating appropriate behaviors in the classroom and clinic.

Defending girlfriends, buddies and oneself: Injunctive norms and male barroom aggression

Objective Research has demonstrated that young adults tend to overestimate their peers' approval of risky behaviors (i.e., injunctive norms) and that perceived peer approval is associated with actual behavior; however, no empirical studies have assessed injunctive norms in relation to male barroom aggression. The objectives of the present study were to compare young men's own approval of male barroom aggression with their perceptions of approval by male and female peers and to determine the extent that perceived peer approval of male barroom aggression was associated with self-reported physical aggression at a bar, controlling for own approval and heavy episodic drinking. Method 525 young adult male university and community college students who reported drinking and going to a bar, club or pub rated their own approval and perceptions of peers' approval of bar aggression on items reflecting four domains of approval: (1) general approval, (2) defend self, (3) defend friend and (4) protect girlfriend. Results For all four domains, participants attributed greater approval to male peers than to themselves. Aggression was positively associated with own approval for all domains and with perceived male peer approval for general approval, defend self and defend friend, controlling for heavy episodic drinking and own approval of aggression. Perceived approval by female peers was not associated with increased likelihood of aggression. Conclusion The findings suggest that both perceived male peer approval and personal approval are factors associated with male barroom aggression and that addressing approval of barroom aggression is a critical direction for prevention programming.

Sexual Self-concept and Intended Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescent Taiwanese Girls

People begin to become aware of their sexual drive and erotic feelings as young adolescents. Such activity often has been overlooked in Taiwan, a traditional society, because sexuality is viewed as a private issue. The purpose of this study was to explore the sexual self-concept and intended sexual behavior of young adolescent girls in Taiwan. Participants included 372 girls, 12 to 14 years old, from junior high schools in Taiwan who completed two questionnaires on sexual experience and sexually related items: the Sexual Self-Concept Inventory, the Parental Approval of Sexual Behavior Scale, and the Friends' Approval of Sexual Behavior Scale, which were combined into one scale, with separate scores. Girls' self-reports showed low (negative) sexual self-concept, high perceived parental disapproval, and somewhat high perceived friends' disapproval of sexual activities. Sexual self-concept is associated with perceived parental and peer approval of sexual activities, and it is associated with sexual experience and intended sexual activities as well. A young adolescent girl who has a high score on the perceived sexual arousability factor of the Sexual Self-Concept Inventory is more likely to report the strongest intention toward sexual behavior. Sexual self-concept may play a key role in girls' intended sexual activities, including engaging in low-level sexual activities (e.g., kissing and breast fondling) that occur before intercourse, even when associated with intercourse intention. The research suggests that addressing sexual self-concept needs to be a priority to prevent young girls from engaging in sexual intercourse.

Delighted when approved by others, to pieces when rejected: children’s social anxiety magnifies the linkage between self- and other-evaluations

Socially anxious children tend to attach great importance to others' evaluations of them. However, the extent to which they base their momentary feelings of self-worth (i.e., state self-esteem) on social (dis)approval is unclear. It is also unclear whether this exceedingly approval-based self-esteem is a common correlate of social anxiety and depression, or specifically linked to one or the other. Changes in children's state self-esteem were obtained in response to a manipulated peer evaluation outcome. Participants (N = 188) aged 10 to 13 took part in a rigged online computer contest and were randomized to receive positive or negative peer feedback. Self-reported state self-esteem was assessed via computer at baseline and immediately post-feedback. The predictive effects of self-reported social anxiety and depression symptoms on changes in state self-esteem were investigated. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that children with higher social anxiety, as indexed by the fear of negative evaluation component, experienced significantly stronger increases in state self-esteem following peer approval (β = .26, p < .05), and significantly stronger decreases in state self-esteem following peer disapproval (β = -.23, p < .05). In both conditions depressive symptoms did not predict changes in state self-esteem (ps > .20). Socially anxious children's state self-esteem is strongly contingent on social approval. Because basing one's self-esteem on external validation has multiple negative consequences, these findings highlight the importance of teaching these children skills (e.g., making cognitive reappraisals) to weaken the linkage between other- and self-evaluations.

Drink-driving in Vietnam: perceptions and risk

Rapidly increasing motorisation and an expanding alcohol industry in Vietnam have placed traffic injury among the leading causes of death. However, there is little local research into the specific contribution...

The malleability of injunctive norms among college students

Alcohol use among college students has been associated with injunctive norms, which refer to the perceived acceptability of excessive drinking, and descriptive norms, which refer to perceptions of actual drinking. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a brief injunctive norms manipulation on both injunctive and descriptive norms about drinking alcohol and to explore differences in the malleability of norms across referent groups, sex, and gender role. Participants were 265 undergraduates (43% male, 70% freshmen) who completed a web-based survey for course credit. A randomly selected half was exposed to a page of information-based feedback about typical student injunctive norms. Relative to the control condition, the manipulation produced lower injunctive and descriptive norms related to typical students' drinking but no change in either type of norm related to close friends. Femininity was associated with less permissive normative beliefs about the acceptability of excessive drinking whereas masculinity was associated with elevated perceptions of peer drinking, but neither sex nor gender role moderated the manipulation effect. We conclude that perceptions of peer approval of drinking are malleable with a very brief information-based manipulation.

Peer norms and consistent condom use with female sex workers among male clients in Sichuan province, China

Despite their crucial role in HIV infection and transmission, commercial sex male clients (CSMCs) are rarely studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between peer norms and consistent condom use with female sex workers (FSWs) among CSMCs in Sichuan province, China. Male clients with peers who had paid for sex (n = 562) were recruited by local health workers through snowball sampling. Measures of peer norms included 1) descriptive norms which were evaluated by perceptions of peer's condom attitudes and behaviors with FSWs; 2) injunctive norms which were assessed by the perceived peer approval of using condoms with FSWs; and 3) communication of HIV-related topics with peers. The outcome was consistent condom use with FSWs. Results of multivariate logistic regression models revealed that consistent condom use with FSWs was significantly more likely among male clients who perceived more pro-condom descriptive and injunctive norms among their peer groups. In addition, the pattern of commercial sex visits moderated the relations between peer norms and consistent condom use with FSWs. More peer approval of condom use and more HIV-related communication were significantly associated with consistent condom use among clients who visited FSWs with friends but not among those who visited FSWs alone. The findings suggest that social activities surrounding commercial sex visits may provide an entry point for HIV prevention intervention with men who patronize FSWs and that such efforts should tap into existing dynamics of social interaction to promote pro-condom norms.

I Like Me If You Like Me: On the Interpersonal Modulation and Regulation of Preadolescents’ State Self‐Esteem

This experiment tested whether peer approval and disapproval experiences can cause immediate change in children's state self-esteem. Children's narcissistic traits and evaluator perceived popularity were examined as potential moderators. A total of 333 preadolescents (M = 10.8 years) completed personal profiles on the Internet that were ostensibly judged by a jury consisting of popular and unpopular peers. Participants randomly received negative, neutral, or positive feedback from the jury. Next, they could examine the feedback that each individual judge gave them. As expected, peer disapproval decreased self-esteem, especially in children high in narcissism. In contrast, peer approval increased self-esteem. Moreover, disapproved children's self-esteem recovery was dependent on the extent to which they subsequently viewed positive feedback from popular judges. These findings support sociometer theory.