A Meta‐Analysis of Susceptibility to Peer Influence Effects in Adolescence: The Role of Method of Influence and Type of Behavior
Zachary M. Meehan, Julie A. HubbardABSTRACT
Introduction
Decades of research have extensively explored how and why adolescents alter their behaviors to align with their peers. This meta‐analysis aimed to: (1) assess the degree to which adolescents are influenced by their peers in experimental studies of immediate behavioral outcomes and (2) explore potential moderators of susceptibility to peer influence, including the method of peer influence (feedback, norms, presence) and the type of behavior (risk‐taking, prosocial, antisocial).
Methods
To ensure transparency and rigor, we pre‐registered our study on the Open Science Framework. Our meta‐analysis encompassed 79 independent reports and over 9500 participants.
Results
A significant overall effect of peer influence emerged ( g = 0.47) with notable heterogeneity ( I 2 = 85%, τ 2 = 0.20), prompting further investigation of moderators. Backward stepwise regression with robust variance estimation revealed that peer norms emerged as a significant moderator ( β = 0.36, p < 0.05), suggesting that adolescents are more likely to engage in a behavior after observing their peers exhibit it (or otherwise receiving communication about the norm) than when they are simply in their peers' presence or after they receive their peers' feedback. Moderation by type of behavior did not emerge; however, most studies investigated risk‐taking ( k = 196) as opposed to prosocial ( k = 16) or antisocial behavior ( k = 11), suggesting the pressing need for more work on peer influence of behaviors other than risk‐taking.
Conclusion
This study contributes to our understanding of how different methods of peer influence can heighten adolescents' susceptibility to conforming to their peers across a range of behaviors.