Age differences in resistance to peer influence.

Prior research describes the development of susceptibility to peer pressure in adolescence as following an inverted U-shaped curve, increasing during early adolescence, peaking around age 14, and declining thereafter. This pattern, however, is derived mainly from studies that specifically examined peer pressure to engage in antisocial behavior. In the present study, age differences and developmental change in resistance to peer influence were assessed using a new self-report instrument that separates susceptibility to peer pressure from willingness to engage in antisocial activity. Data from four ethnically and socioeconomically diverse samples comprising more than 3,600 males and females between the ages of…

• RW
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• JD
  John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• WP
  William Penn Foundation
• WT
  William T. Grant Foundation
• CF
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• NI
  National Institute on Drug Abuse
• NI
  National Institute of Justice
• OO
  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention