Gender-specific Normative Misperceptions of Risky Sexual Behavior and Alcohol-related Risky Sexual Behavior

This research examined gender-specific perceptions of risky sexual behavior norms among college students and their relationship with one’s own sexual behavior. We expected that students would misperceive the risky sexual behavior of their peers and that these perceptions would positively relate to their sexual behavior. Undergraduate students from the United States (N?=?687; 57.6% female) completed measures assessing perceived sexual behavior, sexual behavior, and other behaviors (e.g., marijuana use, alcohol consumption). Findings demonstrated that students perceived that others engaged in more risky sexual behavior than they do and that perceived norms were positively associated with one’s own behavior. The incorporation of personalized normative feedback regarding risky sexual behavior into brief interventions aimed at reducing risky sexual behavior is discussed.     

The Role of Parental Mediation and Peer Norms on the Likelihood of Cyberbullying

ABSTRACT

Cyberbullying is a disturbing behavior associated with the use of communication technologies among adolescents. Many studies have been devoted to the activities of cyber victims as risk factors, while others have considered parental mediation a protective factor. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating the joint contribution of parental mediation, peer norms and risky online activities to the likelihood of being bullied on the Internet. To fill this gap, we conducted a study among a representative sample of 495 sixth to eleventh grade adolescents. We measured risky behavior online with items indicating the frequency of posting personal details, sending an insulting message and meeting face-to-face with a stranger met online. Respondents reported their perceptions about their peers. attitudes toward these risky online behaviors. We also measured three types of parental mediation: active guidance, restrictive supervision and non-intervention. Binary logistic regression findings show that risky online behaviors and peer norms regarding these behaviors had a significant effect, suggesting that the likelihood of being bullied on the Internet is associated with both risky behavior online and the norms prevalent within the adolescents. peer group. Restrictive supervision had a significant effect, implying that parents who feel their children are being bullied online may increase their oversight. The results emphasize the critical role of peers and the declining influence of parents in adolescence.     

Why male adolescent bicyclists perform risky stunts? A qualitative study

Stunts are one of the main reasons for traffic accidents, particularly among male adolescent bicyclists (ABs). Nonetheless, there are limited data about the theoretical framework of its contributing factors. Moreover, the theoretical frameworks explaining the factors contributing to other risky behaviors have not been used in the area of risky bicycle stunts. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the factors contributing to risky stunts among male ABs in Iran. This qualitative study was conducted from September 2019 to December 2020 using conventional content analysis. Participants were 29 male ABs purposively selected from Isfahan, Iran. Data were collected through eighteen interviews with sixteen ABs and three focus group discussions with thirteen ABs. Data analysis was conducted concurrently with data collection through conventional qualitative content analysis. The mean of participants’ age was 16.4 ± 1.1 years. Factors contributing to their engagement in risky stunts were grouped into three main themes, namely predisposing personal factors (such as risk underestimation, perceived superiority, sensation seeking, emotional condition, and previous stunt-related experiences), reinforcing social factors (such as supportive social norms and weaknesses of traffic regulations), and environmental conditions (such as time conditions and structural factors). This study provides a new classification of the facilitators to risky stunts among male ABs and reveals new facilitators to these stunts, namely perceived superiority and police non-deterrent reactions to stunts. Therefore, programs on the improvement of safe bicycling should focus not only on perceptual and emotional factors and correction of false perceived superiority through education, but also on social norms and beliefs, regulations, and environmental factors.     

A stress and coping perspective on health behaviors: theoretical and methodological considerations

Health behaviors such as eating and exercising have been linked to stress in many studies, and researchers suggest that these links are in large part due to the use of health behaviors to cope with stress. However, health behaviors in the context of coping have received relatively little research attention. In this paper, we briefly survey the literature linking stress, coping, and health behaviors, noting that very little research has explicitly examined health behaviors as coping with stress. We address critical theoretical and methodological issues that arise in applying a stress and coping perspective to health behaviors. We conclude with potential directions for interventions, including the need for conceptually solid and methodologically rigorous research and the development of new measures, and with suggestions for future research. The concepts of self-regulation and stress management and their implications in health behavior research and interventions are also discussed.     

Understanding the Behavioral Determinants of Mental Health Service Use by Urban, Under-Resourced Black Youth: Adolescent and Caregiver Perspectives

Black adolescents with mental health problems are less likely than non-Black adolescents with mental health problems to receive treatment, primarily for non-financial reasons including negative perceptions of services and providers, and self-stigma associated with experiencing mental health problems. To better understand these obstacles, 16 adolescents and 11 caregivers, recruited from two K-8th grade elementary-middle schools, participated in four focus groups guided by the unified theory of behavior to explore mental health help-seeking behaviors and perceptions of mental health services. In the focus groups, caregivers acknowledged more positive attitudes about seeking mental health services than adolescents, but both expected the experience of actually doing so to be negative. Adolescents and caregivers also acknowledged social norms that inhibit their mental health help-seeking. Therefore, we conclude that interventions targeting expectancies and social norms might increase the connection of urban, under-resourced Black adolescents and their families to mental health services, and be particularly important given the long-term consequences of untreated mental health problems for this group.     

The social psychology of disordered eating: The Situated Identity Enactment model

Eating disorders and subclinical behaviours such as dangerous dieting are a significant public health burden in the modern world. We argue that a social-psychological model of disordered eating is needed to explain how sociocultural factors are psychologically represented and subsequently reflected in an individual’s cognitions and behaviour. We present evidence that three central elements shape disordered eating – social norms, social identity and social context – and integrate these within a Situated Identity Enactment (SIE) model. Specifically, the SIE model states that social context determines the salience of both social norms and social identities. Social norms then influence disordered eating behaviour, but only to the extent that they are consistent represented in the content of a person’s social identities. We conclude by outlining the implications of the SIE model for researchers and practitioners in the domain of disordered eating, focusing in particular on the need for, and potential value of, theory-derived social interventions.     

Effectively using death in health messages: Social loss versus physical mortality salience

Research based on the terror management health model demonstrates that highlighting death as a consequence of risky behavior can lead to unintended responses to health communications. In two studies, we investigate whether a form of social loss message frame can motivate someone to change his or her behavior to prevent negative health consequences. In Study 1, we compare social loss and physical mortality print messages in the context of “texting while driving.” Overall, social loss as opposed to physical mortality messages facilitate greater intent to reduce risky health behaviors when death‐related cognitions have been removed from conscious awareness. In Study 2, we manipulate message framing and self‐affirmation in the context of “smoking.” We find that highlighting family members' inability to cope when one dies can result in health messages that facilitate the acknowledgment of the health risk and reduce risky health behaviors. This effect is enhanced when individuals affirm on the importance of “relationships with family and friends” prior to viewing health messages. The implications for the terror management health model are discussed noting that death can be effectively used in health communication when framed as relationship protection rather than one's physical mortality.     

Misperceptions in intergroup conflict. Disagreeing about what we disagree about

Two studies examined misperceptions of disagreement in partisan social conflicts, namely, in the debates over abortion (Study 1) and politics (Study 2). We observed that partisans tend to exaggerate differences of opinion with their adversaries. Further, we found that perceptions of disagreement were more pronounced for values that were central to the perceiver's own ideology than for values that were central to the ideology of the perceiver's adversaries. To the extent that partisans assumed disagreement concerning personally important values, they were also inaccurate in perceiving their adversaries' actual opinions. Discussion focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying misperceptions of disagreement and strategies for reducing intergroup conflict.     

青少年风险决策的发展认知神经机制

随着认知神经科学技术的发展, 青少年风险决策的发展认知神经机制成为了新近的一个热点课题。从双系统理论模型(社会情感神经网络系统、认知控制神经网络系统)出发, 对与青少年风险决策相关的大脑结构、功能的变化进行了阐述, 重点分析了新近的大脑功能连接、脑网络的研究; 阐述了青少年风险决策认知神经机制的主要理论模型：双系统模型和三角模型。未来研究还应加强对认知神经机制理论模型的检验、整合和创新, 从社会认知神经科学的角度深入研究社会参照系统(同伴关系、亚文化等)在青少年风险决策中的作用及机制, 以及从认知神经层面如何预防和干预青少年高风险行为。     

Modeling social rejection,physiological arousal,and peer influence on risky driving among adolescents and young adults

Peer passengers are a significant risk factor for young drivers to experience adverse driving outcomes. However, few studies have manipulated social evaluation contexts and individual susceptibilities to peer influence, such as physiological arousal, to measure effects on driving. The current study explored whether social evaluation affects driving outcomes and if the type of evaluation affects perception of peer norms. Young drivers (N = 75) were randomized to control, social acceptance, or social rejection conditions and observed risky or risk-averse driving norms. Results indicated that peer passengers and peer driving norms, regardless of the social-evaluative context, affected variability in driving outcomes, particularly in intersections. Physiological arousal and perceptions of social acceptance also predicted more variability in driving outcomes. These findings suggest that passengers increase irregular driving patterns, perhaps due to passengers distracting young drivers from road conditions. Further, social acceptance increases the strength of the relationship between the presence of peer passengers and inconsistent driving patterns, indicating that social rewards may precede risky behavior more often than social threats do.     

Fighting the Past: Perceptions of Control,Historical Misperceptions,and Corrective Information in the Israeli‐Palestinian Conflict

What makes people deny wrongdoing that their group has inflicted on others? Prior research argues that refusing to acknowledge past misbehavior contributes to intergroup conflict, making historical misinformation important to understand and address. In particular, feeling a lack of control may make people more vulnerable to these misperceptions—a claim we test in a preregistered survey experiment examining beliefs about the Palestinian exodus during the creation of the state of Israel. Consistent with expectations, Jewish Israelis who were asked to recall an event in which they lacked control were more vulnerable to arguments (incorrectly) denying any Jewish responsibility for the exodus. By contrast, corrective information successfully reduced misperceptions regardless of feelings of control. However, corrections had no effect on attitudes toward the outgroup or support for the peace process, which suggests that historical misperceptions may be more of a symptom of intergroup conflict than a cause of its persistence.     

Health Behaviors of Childhood Cancer Survivors: What We’ve Learned

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of childhood cancer survivors due to improved cancer treatments. However, these survivors are at risk for numerous late-effects as a result of their cancer therapy. Engaging in health-protective behaviors and limiting risky health behaviors are vitally important for survivors given their increased risks and physical late-effects. For this paper, we systematically reviewed the literature on childhood cancer survivors’ health behaviors by searching for published data and conference proceedings using computerized databases and references, and summarized these results. We examined the literature describing the prevalence of a variety of health behaviors among survivors, identifying significant covariates, and describing health behavior interventions. Finally, we provided research recommendations and discussed an ongoing study designed to address some of the limitations in the existing literature. The research to date is limited and recommendations for future studies are outlined.     

Angry rumination moderates the association between perceived ethnic discrimination and risky behaviors

Perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) is associated with increased engagement in risky behaviors in ethnic minority emerging adults. Risky behaviors may reflect efforts to cope with emotional distress like depression or anxiety resulting from PED, particularly for individuals with poor emotion regulation skills. We hypothesized that the association between PED and risky behaviors would be particularly strong for emerging adults with tendencies for angry rumination. We further hypothesized that increased depressive and anxious symptoms would mediate the effect of the PED-rumination interaction on risky behaviors. In this survey study, 155 ethnic minority college students completed measures of PED, depressive and anxiety symptoms, trait angry rumination, and risky behaviors. Analyses revealed that angry rumination moderated the association between PED and greater risky behaviors. Depressive and anxiety symptoms did not mediate this effect. Although cross-sectional, these findings suggest that individuals with poor coping skills may be especially likely to respond to stressors such as PED by engaging in risky behaviors. Implications include using rumination-focused interventions in order to prevent engagement in risky behaviors in ethnic minority emerging adults.     

Age Differences in Risk: Perceptions,Intentions and Domains

Although it is commonly assumed that older people are more cautious and risk averse than their younger counterparts, the research on age differences in risk taking is mixed. While some research has found that older adults are less risk seeking, other research has found the opposite or no differences. One explanation is that age differences vary across risk domains. In two studies, we surveyed three adult age groups ranging in age from 18 to 83 on their risk perceptions and intentions of risky behaviors across several domains. Our studies showed that compared with young adults, older adults tend to see more risk in behaviors in health and ethical domains but less risk in behaviors from the social domain. A similar pattern occurred for participants' intentions of engaging in the risky behaviors. Older adults rated risky behaviors from health and ethical domains as less enjoyable and less likely to produce gains than young adults, whereas they rated risky behaviors from the social domain as more enjoyable, less unpleasant, and less likely to produce losses than young adults. These results suggest that age differences in risk preferences may vary across domains and may result from differing motivations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge,beliefs, peer norms,and past behaviors as correlates of risky sexual behaviors among college students

Abstract

HIV/AIDS knowledge, age at onset of sexual activity, perceptions of personal risk and peer norms were explored as correlates for risky sexual behaviors among college students. Ninety-nine male and 185 female college students completed a 66-item questionnaire. A majority reported being sexually active with most in mutually monogamous relationships or not currently in a sexual relationship. Multiple regression correlation analyses showed knowledge about HIV/AIDS to be very high but that this knowledge did not independently relate to the extent of risky behaviors. Perceptions of risk were positively related to number of partners and single-time partners but not condom usage. In contrast to previous studies, perceived peer norms did not independently relate to behaviors. Instead, age at first intercourse was found to have substantial overlap with current perceptions, attitudes, and likelihood for engaging in risky behaviors. The necessity for including previous behaviors in analyses of the impact of attitudes and perceived norms on behavioral intentions is discussed.     

Misperceptions of opposite-sex preferences for thinness and muscularity

Thin and muscular have been characterized as ideals for women and men, respectively. Little research has investigated whether men and women have accurate perceptions of opposite-sex preferences of thinness and muscularity. Further, no study has explored whether opposite-sex perceptions of thinness and muscularity preferences differ for short-term and long-term relationships. The present study set out to address these questions. We used interactive 3D human models to represent bodies varying in size (body mass index/BMI weight scaled by height) and body composition. University-aged (18–31) White European heterosexual men and women were asked to choose their own and ideal body shape, the ideal body shape for a short- and a long-term partner, and the body shape they thought the opposite-sex would most like for short- and long-term partners. Women overestimated the thinness that men prefer in a partner and men overestimated the heaviness and muscularity that women prefer in a partner. These misperceptions were more exaggerated for short-term relationships than for long-term relationships. The results illustrate the importance of investigating misperceptions of opposite-sex preferences and raise the possibility that correcting misperceptions might have utility in reducing body dissatisfaction or eating disorders.     

Mandated Interventions with Drug-Dependent, Pregnant Women

Increased concern about the influence of pregnant women's substance use on fetal health has prompted a variety of actions, including calls for legal interventions against some pregnant women with chronic substance abuse problems. In this paper I examine the legal and social science arguments used to support and oppose these interventions. Several assumptions about the behaviors of pregnant women that are used to support the arguments are described. The types of social science research that could inform the ongoing debate about interventions with pregnant women are explored.     

The effects of perceived social norms on handwashing behaviour in students

Handwashing is widely considered the most effective method of preventing the spread of infectious illness. Exploring the determinants of handwashing is vital to the development of interventions to increase this behaviour. A survey based on Social Norms Theory assessed handwashing frequency and perceptions of peer handwashing in 255 university students. Participants reported their own handwashing frequency, and how often they thought their peers washed their hands in particular circumstances, to determine whether misperceptions around handwashing exist, and whether these influence the behaviour of individuals. Gender was found to be a significant determinant of handwashing frequency as females reported washing their hands significantly more often than males. Participants also believed they washed their hands significantly more frequently than their peers. Perceived peer handwashing frequency was significantly correlated with participants’ own behaviour. This effect was seen in overall handwashing and in food, waste and illness-related hand washing. These results suggest perceived social norms around hand washing have a clear association with individual behaviour. Future research might test the effectiveness of a social norms intervention in other settings which carry an increased risk of infection spread.     

The evolutionary basis of risky adolescent behavior: implications for science, policy, and practice

This article proposes an evolutionary model of risky behavior in adolescence and contrasts it with the prevailing developmental psychopathology model. The evolutionary model contends that understanding the evolutionary functions of adolescence is critical to explaining why adolescents engage in risky behavior and that successful intervention depends on working with, instead of against, adolescent goals and motivations. The current article articulates 5 key evolutionary insights into risky adolescent behavior: (a) The adolescent transition is an inflection point in development of social status and reproductive trajectories; (b) interventions need to address the adaptive functions of risky and aggressive behaviors like bullying; (c) risky adolescent behavior adaptively calibrates over development to match both harsh and unpredictable environmental conditions; (d) understanding evolved sex differences is critical for understanding the psychology of risky behavior; and (e) mismatches between current and past environments can dysregulate adolescent behavior, as demonstrated by age-segregated social groupings. The evolutionary model has broad implications for designing interventions for high-risk youth and suggests new directions for research that have not been forthcoming from other perspectives.