Strong Peer Research Articles

Perspectives of Young Men With Spina Bifida on Fertility Potential and Future Parenthood

ObjectivesTo explore the perspectives of young adult males with spina bifida on their fertility potential and parenthood. MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted between 2/2021-5/2021 with men ≥18 years of age with spina bifida on perspectives on fertility potential and parenthood. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from a survey and chart review. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and assessed through conventional content analysis framework. ResultsOf 30 eligible individuals approached, 20 agreed to participate. Median age was 22.5 years (range 18-29), and 80% had myelomeningocele. Most reported not being in a relationship (14/20, 70%), not being currently sexually active (13/20, 65%), and no participant reported a history of paternity. Many reported a desire for future fertility. Uncertainty and areas of concern were identified regarding their physiologic and psychosocial ability to be a parent. Perceived barriers to achieving parenthood included: 1) uncertainty around fertility potential and the hereditary nature of SB; and 2) concerns with being a parent and raising a child. Facilitators to help overcome uncertainty, such as gaining knowledge on fertility testing options and understanding means of preventing neural tube defects, were identified. Participants expressed the importance of strong peer and family support to help overcome challenges related to parenthood. ConclusionsMen with spina bifida are interested in future fertility, yet uncertainty exists around the physiologic and psychosocial ability to be a parent. Facilitators to help overcome uncertainty and concerns should be a focus of patient counseling around future fertility with young men with spina bifida.

The path of depression in rural children: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis across multiple provinces in China

ObjectivesThis study explores the combinations of conditional variables contributing to depressive symptoms in rural children. MethodsWe analyzed data from 715 children from a rural mental health database, conducting detailed follow-up investigations on 129 children in Zhejiang and Henan provinces. We used fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and regression analysis to identify causal pathways leading to depression. ResultsThe results indicate that depression in rural children does not stem from a single, necessary condition but arises from multiple factors. Our findings highlight significant contributions from both maternal and paternal involvement. Specifically, maternal involvement, combined synergistically with peer support and problematic behaviors, as well as paternal involvement, together with peer support and anxiety, significantly affects depressive outcomes. Additionally, anxiety and strong peer relationships independently have a substantial impact on these outcomes. Effective mitigation strategies involve active parental engagement and robust peer support, reducing the influence of risk factors such as problematic behaviors and anxiety. LimitationsThe generalizability of the results is limited by cultural and geographical variations. The study also does not account for all potential factors influencing depression in rural children. ConclusionDepression in rural children results from multiple interacting factors. Tailored interventions addressing these specific combinations are recommended.

“You are the company you keep”: A study of peer pressure on driving

Peers play an important role in shaping the behaviours of their counterparts at different stages of life. Studies have shown that peer influence/pressure has a significant role in the traffic environment as well as in many other social settings, especially for risky behaviours. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine age and sex differences in respect of peer pressure and the role of peer pressure on driver behaviour in Türkiye. A total of 405 drivers with a mean age of 23.84 (SD=4.82) years completed an online survey consisting of the Peer Pressure on Risky Driving Scale (PPRDS), the Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale (BSSS) and the Short Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (S-DBQ, measuring aberrant and positive driver behaviour). First, the psychometric structure of the PPRDS, used for the first time in Turkish, was found to support the original structure, addressing direct pressure in the form of risk-encouraging or risk-discouraging and indirect pressure. Indirect pressure was seen to decrease with age for both males and females, whereas risk-discouraging direct pressure increased with age only for males. Sensation-seeking was positively related to aberrant behaviours. Risk-encouraging direct peer pressure and indirect pressure were positively associated with aberrant (risky) driver behaviour, whereas indirect peer pressure was associated with decreased aberrant driving behaviour and increased positive (helpful, polite) driving behaviour. The findings suggested that drivers feel strong peer pressure in traffic, but it varies by age and sex, and this pressure is stronger for young males. These findings have important implications for road safety and intervention studies.

Maternal Immunization Decision-Making Among Pregnant and Lactating People in Kenya: A Qualitative Exploration of Peer Influences on Vaccine Decision-Making for a Future RSV Vaccine

IntroductionRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of respiratory illness in infants globally, with new maternal RSV vaccines on the horizon. Vaccine decision-making during pregnancy is shaped by individual, interpersonal, community, and societal factors. This study explored key interpersonal influences on maternal vaccine decision-making among pregnant and lactating people (PLP) and community members in Kenya.MethodsThis qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with six pregnant people, 18 lactating people, and 10 community members in one rural and one urban county in Kenya. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.ResultsParticipants identified the pregnant person themself, male partners, other family members, peers, and healthcare providers (HCPs) as key influences on the maternal immunization decision-making process. The majority of interviewed PLP believed that decision-making during pregnancy should be left to themselves due to autonomy and their role as the primary caregiver. Community members, including male partners, also identified pregnant people as the key decision-maker. While some PLP said they deferred to male partners to make vaccine decisions, more felt that men were not as informed on maternal and child issues as themselves or other female peers and relatives. HCPs emerged as important influences and information sources for PLP during decision-making.DiscussionUnderstanding who influences vaccine-decision making during pregnancy will help inform demand generation strategies, and in turn, uptake of future maternal vaccines, including RSV vaccines. Given the strong role HCPs and peers have in the decision-making process, targeting key potential influences is essential to improve vaccine acceptance.

Rethinking peer influence and risk taking: A strengths-based approach to adolescence in a new era.

The ways that psychopathology manifests in adolescence have shifted dramatically over the past twenty-five years, with rates of many externalizing behaviors declining substantially while rates of anxiety and depressive disorders have skyrocketed. This paper argues that understanding these changes requires rethinking the field's historically somewhat negative views of intense peer connections, peer influences, and adolescent risk-taking behavior. It is argued that intense peer connections are critical to development, and that peer influence and risk taking have important, often overlooked, adaptive components. The shift in observed manifestations of adolescent psychopathology over this period can be viewed at least partly in terms of a shift away from strong peer connections and toward greater risk aversion. Implications for research and intervention based on a focus on the adaptive aspects of peer influences and risk taking are discussed.

Investigating peer recognition across an introductory physics sequence: Do first impressions last?

Students’ beliefs about the extent to which meaningful others, including their peers, recognize them as a strong science student are correlated with their persistence in science courses and careers. Yet, prior work has found a gender bias in peer recognition, in which student nominations of strong peers disproportionately favor men over women, in some instructional science contexts. Researchers have hypothesized that such a gender bias diminishes over time, as determined by students’ academic year: studies have found a gender bias in peer recognition in science courses aimed at first-year students, but not in science courses aimed at beyond first-year students. This hypothesis that patterns of peer recognition change over time, however, has yet to be tested with longitudinal data—previous studies only examine snapshots of different students in different science courses. In this study, we isolate the effect of time on peer recognition by analyzing student nominations of strong peers across a two-semester introductory physics course sequence, containing the same set of students and the same instructor in both semesters, at a mostly women institution. Using a combination of social network analysis and qualitative methods, we find that while many students receive similar levels of peer recognition over time, the four most highly nominated students—the recognition celebrities—exhibit some change between semesters even in this highly controlled setting. Furthermore, we observe that these changes in the celebrities track closely with changes in student outspokenness and that being outspoken is likely more important for gaining recognition than earning a high grade in the class. These findings lend support to prior work’s hypothesis that peer recognition changes over time, but also challenge the generalizability of previous results (i.e., that patterns of recognition are related to students’ academic year). Instead, peer recognition seems highly sensitive to variables such as individual students’ participation and, therefore, may be course specific. We provide recommendations for both when and how instructors may intervene on peer recognition based on our results. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Cyberbullying and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in Adolescence: Exploring Moderators and Mediators through a Systematic Review.

(1) Objective: This systematic review explores the intricate relationship between cyberbullying and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents, acknowledging the dynamic nature of these phenomena in the evolving landscape of technology and social norms. (2) Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched, and 14 studies were selected based on the eligibility criteria, focusing on participants aged 10 to 19, cyberbullying roles, and NSSI as the predictor and outcome variables, respectively. (3) Results: Internalizing symptoms, specifically depression and anxiety, emerged as the most prominent mediators. However, factors such as externalizing symptoms, stress, and negative emotional responses (emotion reactivity, negative emotions) were also identified to play a significant role in the relationship between cyberbullying and NSSI. On the other hand, protective factors against the negative impact of cyberbullying on NSSI risk, such as strong peer connections and school engagement, were identified. (4) Discussions: This review underscores the multidimensional nature of the cyberbullying-NSSI association, emphasizing the roles of potential risk factors such as internalizing and externalizing symptoms, stress, and negative emotional response. Internalizing symptoms played a central role as pathways between cyberbullying victimization and NSSI. Additionally, social factors, including peer connections and school engagement, were found to act as protective elements. (4) Conclusion: Continuous investigation is crucial in order to adapt interventions to the evolving technological and social landscape. The study advocates for targeted interventions that prioritize positive social connections to mitigate the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent well-being.

What Does a Quality Education Look Like in Rural Schools?

This issue of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education features articles that describe and critically analyse rural education, the common thread being 'What Does a Quality Education Look Like in Rural Schools?'. The education settings discussed include Australia, Czechia, Iraq, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States. The studies presented reflect the huge diversity of rural schooling and the many factors that work to support quality education. What does quality rural education look like? It looks like teachers who have a strong connection to place, with strategies for teaching that connect with students from the place. It looks like teachers who are flexible and open to learning. It looks like a supportive system. It looks attractive to parents. It looks like contextualised learning. It looks like parents and communities engaged in their children's learning at school. It is potentially transformative. It looks like a workforce that has good access to professional learning options. It looks like good governance, with local Elders and community leaders involved and driving a vision for education. It looks like strong peer relationships, and a culturally safe learning environment. It does not necessarily look like the narrowly defined metrics that are often used to define success or the deficits that are too often described in association with rural education.

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON ADOLESCENTS’ IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Identity development is significant during adolescence, which requires strong peer relationships through social interactions. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc in human life, where people distanced from each other to save themselves. To overcome this situation, adolescents already born into a digital era who used technology for fun previously increased their dependency on it to learn and develop.This literature review study was conducted using specific criteria that included literature before and after the pandemic and addressed the problem of how adolescents could develop their identity while shifting from face-to-face to virtual platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, this study aimed to observe the adolescent’s identity development before and after the pandemic while considering Erikson’s theory of eight psychosocial stages and Marcia’s identity statuses.Research findings revealed complex positive outcomes and significant negative consequences. The authors argued that whether positive or negative, adolescents’ identity development became weak and pushed them to a new social and historical context that impaired their ability to develop their identity.

Contribution of peer group supervision to nursing practice: An interpretive phenomenological study

AimTo provide insight into peer group supervision practices through understanding the lived experience of community health nurses. BackgroundThe recent Covid-19 health crisis highlights the importance of supportive mechanisms to sustain and retain nurses in the workforce. While the support of quality clinical supervision for registered nurses is recognised, the benefits and challenges of peer group supervision are less clearly articulated. DesignNurses’ experiences of peer group supervision in an Australian tertiary health service were explored using a Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutic approach. MethodSemi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in 2021 and provided nurses with the opportunity to share their experiences of using the New Zealand Coaching and Mentoring Model of peer group supervision. The study included a total of 31 nurse participants across multiple community health contexts. Interview data were analysed using a hermeneutic approach from which themes arose. FindingsThe findings demonstrated that strong peer group supervision foundations that include personal and professional preparation and active participation are essential. Dual pillars of “the unique individual” and “the unique group” with responsibilities identified in each pillar that enable interactions and worthiness in peer group supervision practice. The foundations and pillars support peer group supervision in nursing practice to provide a mechanism for reflection, support and professional guidance. ConclusionsPeer group supervision is a worthy, contributory process in community health nursing when implementation processes are supported and teams are educated and prepared. Perceptions of peer group supervision are unique and varied across individuals. The individual experience has an impact on the group experience and vice versa. Knowledge of the process and group by participants is required to enable professional reflection through nursing peer group supervision.

Peer and Social Correlates of Smoking among Saudi Youth

Smoking declines are uneven around the world, and we have few studies on the correlates of youth smoking in contexts like Saudi Arabia, where declines have been slowest. Using a broadly socio-ecological framework and network data, we report on one of the few studies to simultaneously examine peer, family, and school features associated with smoking in the Saudi context. We find strong and consistent peer and family associations with both occasional and regular smoking via direct modeling (level of peers/family that also smoke) and substantive interactions (lying to parents in the family domain, engaging in unsupervised youth-centric activities, or seeking popularity in the peer domain). Although our design precludes causal claims, our results are consistent with smoking initiation being driven by occasional use surrounding attempts to gain youth social status, whereas regular use depends on implicit family and peer acceptance.

The Role of Plyometric Training in Improving Explosive Power in Sprinters: A Qualitative Analysis

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the role of plyometric training in enhancing explosive power among sprinters. Methods and Materials: This qualitative research employed semi-structured interviews to gather data from 17 sprinters aged 18 to 30 years, with at least three years of competitive experience. Participants were recruited from local athletic clubs and universities. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the impact of plyometric training. Thematic analysis was used to identify and analyze patterns within the data, providing detailed insights into the participants' experiences and perceptions. Findings: The study revealed significant physical improvements attributed to plyometric training, including enhanced muscle strength, increased speed, improved jumping ability, and reduced injury risk. Psychological benefits such as increased confidence, enhanced motivation, and improved mental resilience were also noted. Participants reported a better training experience with diverse and efficient routines, improved technique understanding, and strong peer support. Performance outcomes showed notable improvements in competition results, skill application, and recovery times. These findings align with existing literature, confirming the comprehensive benefits of plyometric training for sprinters. Conclusion: Plyometric training significantly enhances explosive power and overall performance in sprinters. The physical, psychological, and performance-related benefits make it a crucial component of athletic training programs. Despite limitations such as the small sample size and reliance on self-reported data, the study provides valuable insights into the multifaceted advantages of plyometric exercises.

Smoking Behavior Among Adolescents at A Public Junior High School

The purpose of this study is to determine smoking behavior among adolescents, particularly in a public junior high school of SMP Negeri 9 Palu City. This type of research was qualitative research with a case study approach. The informants in this study consisted of 10 people using a purposive sampling technique. The variables in this study consisted of knowledge, attitudes, facilities and infrastructure, and peers. The results showed that knowledge of smoking behavior was quite good regarding the dangers of smoking. The attitude of most of the informants towards smoking behavior was not good because they still accepted peer invitations to smoke. Access to cigarettes is quite easy by buying retail cigarettes at stalls near the school. Peers have a major influence on smoking behavior at school. Adolescents at SMP Negeri 9 Palu City, despite having good knowledge about the dangers of smoking, demonstrate inconsistent behavior due to positive attitudes, easy access to cigarettes, and strong peer influence. This highlights the need for interventions that address not only knowledge dissemination but also address attitudes and peer pressure, making it harder to access cigarettes near schools.

Physician practice migration and changes in practice style: An empirical analysis of inappropriate diagnostic imaging in primary care

Much interest exists in physicians’ ability and willingness to adapt their practice styles, as research demonstrates that many physicians practice in ways that are not aligned with the best available scientific evidence. We exploit migration patterns of primary care physicians in Massachusetts over a span of 8 years by tracking physician migrations to practice sites comprised of new peers who shared actual physical working space. We examined whether a patient's likelihood of receiving an inappropriate referral for diagnostic imaging, specifically a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was associated with a change in the work environment of the referring physician. Study results indicate that migrating physicians changed their practice style for imaging relatively soon after migration in conformance with the average practice style of their new peer group regardless of whether or not the practice style was aligned with evidence‐based standards for diagnostic imaging. To place our results in context, a 1 percentage point difference in average inappropriate MRI referral rates between a migrating physician's new and previous work environment was associated with approximately a 14% change in the probability that a patient received an inappropriate MRI referral. The effect diminished with greater variability in inappropriate MRI referral rates within the new peer group. The results show that physician practice style may deviate from evidence‐based standards and vary markedly among physicians within a work environment. At the same time, physician practice style is also malleable in either direction—more or less likely to deviate from evidence‐based standards in conformance with the average practice style of their new peer group. These results imply that healthcare managers can employ various institutional‐level interventions to influence physician behavior in the direction of evidence‐based practice by including strategies directed towards developing strong peer influence in physicians’ work environments.

Influence of CrossFit and Deep End Fitness training on mental health and coping in athletes.

Physical exercise is known to improve mental health. Athletes can experience unique physical and emotional stressors, which can deteriorate mental health and cognitive function. Training apathy can lead to cognitive dissonance and further degrade performance by promoting maladaptive, avoidance coping strategies. Introduction of psychosocial and training variables, such as those used in CrossFit (CF) and other community-based fitness programs with strong peer support have been shown to help reduce training apathy and negative affect. Here, we explored whether addition of psychophysiological variation, experienced as "hunger for air" during underwater breath-hold exercises, could provide unique mental health benefits for athletes. We studied the influence of CF and Deep End Fitness (DEF), a community-based underwater fitness program, on several outcome measures of mental health and emotional well-being in volunteer athletes. We observed a significant reduction in stress scores of both the control CF training group and the experimental DEF group. We found that DEF produced a significant improvement in positive affect while CF training did not. Further supportive of our hypothesis that the psychological and biological stressors experienced in underwater, breath-hold training cause positive adaptive changes and benefits, DEF training uniquely increased problem-based coping. While our observations demonstrate both CF and DEF training can improve mental health in athletes, DEF produced additional, unique benefits to positive coping and attitudes of athletes. Future studies should further evaluate the broader benefits of community-based, underwater training programs on psychological and physiological health in athletes and the public.

Disentangling peer effects in transportation mode choice: The example of active commuting

We investigate the role of peer effects in the workplace on individual active transportation mode choices. We collect original data through an online survey on networks and sustainable behaviors among 334 individuals working in ten research laboratories at the University of Grenoble Alps in February 2020. We apply linear and nonlinear models of peer effects on active modal choice, untangling the role of conformism and strategic complementarity in social influence. We show that given our data, a linear local-average specification is the preferred empirical model of peer effects, and we estimate strong and significant endogenous peer effects.

Peer effects in subjective performance evaluation

AbstractWe investigate the influence of peer quality on subjective performance evaluation using 75,413 ratings of 130 employees from 6,908 raters in a business school setting. We find that subjective performance ratings are lower for employees with higher quality peer groups in both randomized and nonrandomized settings. Using a novel long‐window setting, we observe peer effects persisting, but slowly decaying, for several months even when priming raters with the employees' previous performance information. We find that the strength of the peer effects is greater for focal employees with weaker performance, for the peers with higher attribute similarity, and when the performance of peers is more extreme. Overall, we find strong and persistent peer effects in subjective performance evaluation.

Asian American adolescent e-cigarette use and associated protective factors: Heterogeneity in a statewide sample

ObjectivesThis study characterized variation in e-cigarette use patterns and related protective factors by ethnicity among Asian American adolescents. MethodsMultivariable logistic regressions modelled associations between ethnic group, 6 protective factors (college aspirations, internal developmental assets, positive teacher engagement, family caring, and peer and parent anti-smoking norms), and past 30-day e-cigarette use, adjusting for covariates among 10,482 8th, 9th, and 11th grade Asian American respondents to the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey. Interaction terms (protective factor × ethnic group) were used in 6 subsequent regression models to examine whether the association between each protective factor and e-cigarette use differed as a function of ethnic group. ResultsRespondents included 9.0% Indian, 0.3% Burmese, 7.9% Chinese, 2.5% Filipino, 25.0% Hmong, 3.2% Karen, 4.6% Korean, 2.7% Laotian, 8.2% Vietnamese, 7.5% other, 7.5% multi-ethnic, and 21.6% multi-racial adolescents. E-cigarettes were the predominant form of tobacco use. Laotian and multi-racial groups reported the highest e-cigarette use (16.6% and 16.3%), whereas Chinese and Asian Indians reported the lowest (4.7% and 5.0%). Strong peer anti-smoking norms, higher internal developmental assets scores, and positive teacher engagement were associated with lower odds of e-cigarette use across groups, with significant interactions for internal developmental assets by ethnicity. ConclusionsE-cigarettes are the most prevalent tobacco product used by Asian adolescents in Minnesota, with notable heterogeneity by ethnicity. While most established protective factors appeared to function similarly for Asian adolescents, others differed, underscoring the importance of disaggregating data by ethnicity to inform the tailoring of prevention and control strategies for these ethnic groups.

The role of peer imitation in agricultural index insurance adoption: Findings from lab‐in‐the‐field experiments in Kyrgyzstan

AbstractFrequent climate shocks require farmers in developing countries to increase their resilience. Although index insurance is often discussed as a promising climate adaptation strategy, take‐up rates are still low. This study primarily explores the role of peer behavior as peer imitation in the demand for three marketable and unsubsidized crop index insurance options. Furthermore, the influence of trust and understanding is investigated. We collected data in lab‐in‐the‐field experiments among farmers in Kyrgyzstan, where index insurance is planned for imminent implementation. Applying ordered logit estimations, our results show significant and strong peer imitation effects. Imitation attitudes decrease with own insurance experience and received insurance payouts, but intensify with peer size, insurance trust and practical insurance understanding. While trust robustly increases index insurance adoption, understanding effects only gain significance in the dynamic perspective. These findings underline the importance of community‐based extension treatments and trust toward the uptake of innovative agricultural technologies in the first steps of dissemination.

Photovoice study of gratitude in ex-juvenile offenders

PurposeGratitude is an element of positive psychology that has been found effective in improving subjective well-being and decreasing aggression in offenders. However, there is a dearth of studies on gratitude in ex-juvenile offenders. This study aims to explore the gratitude of ex-juvenile offenders using a photovoice technique.Design/methodology/approachPhotos and stories behind pictures were collected from eight ex-juvenile offenders who reside in Kupang, Indonesia.FindingsThematic analysis resulted in four main themes: family as an oasis of gratitude, difficulty in social reintegration, strong peer support and gratitude and spirituality.Originality/valueThe results of this study indicated that family, peer support and intensive spiritual activities in prisons were influential in forming a sense of gratitude for ex-juvenile offenders. Interventions need to consider these three aspects to improve gratitude and resulting well-being in ex-juvenile offenders.