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The stability and predictors of peer group deviance in university students

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Abstract

Background

Peer group deviance (PGD) is strongly associated with current and future externalizing behaviors. Debate remains about the degree to which this association arises from social selection. The first year of university constitutes a social experiment in which most individuals leave their home environment and recreate for themselves a new peer group.

Methods

PGD was measured in newly arrived university students and then 6 and 18 months later. Other personality and family traits were also assessed.

Results

PGD reported for high school friends at the start of university and university friends 6 months later were substantially correlated (+0.60). This correlation was only slightly diminished if restricted to students whose home was greater than 50 miles from the university. PGD was strongly predicted across three cohorts by male sex (+), extraversion (+), conscientiousness (−), a family history of alcohol use disorders (+) and depression (+), and religiosity (−).These predictors of PGD had a relatively stable impact over 18 months and, aside from sex, differed only modestly in males and females.

Conclusions

As individuals change social groups from high school to university, the level of PGD remains relatively stable, suggesting that individuals play a strong role in selecting peer groups with consistent characteristics. PGD is also predicted cross-sectionally and longitudinally by personality, family background and religiosity. Our results suggest that the association between personal and peer deviance is due at least in part to the effects of social selection.

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Acknowledgments

Spit for Science: The VCU Student Survey is funded by R37AA011408 (to KSK) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with support for DMD through K02AA018755. Additional support for the project was obtained through National Institutes of Health P20 AA107828, Virginia Commonwealth University, and UL1RR031990 from the National Center for Research Resources and National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. We would like to thank the VCU students for making this study a success, as well as the many VCU faculty, students, and staff who contributed to the design and implementation of the project.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 800 E. Leigh Street, Room 1-123, Box 980126, Richmond, VA, 23298-0126, USA

    Kenneth S. Kendler, John Myers & Danielle Dick

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA

    Kenneth S. Kendler, John Myers & Danielle Dick

  3. Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA

    Kenneth S. Kendler & Danielle Dick

  4. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Danielle Dick

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  1. Kenneth S. Kendler
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  2. John Myers
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Correspondence to Kenneth S. Kendler.

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Kendler, K.S., Myers, J. & Dick, D. The stability and predictors of peer group deviance in university students. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 50, 1463–1470 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1031-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1031-4

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