Peer influence on gender identity development in adolescence

Article Critique Kornienko, O., Santos, C. E., Martin, C. L., & Granger, K. L. (2016). Peer influence on gender identity development in adolescence. Developmental psychology, 52(10), 1578. I. Statement of the Problem a. Research Topic The topic of the research is the impact of peer influence on the development of gender identity amongst adolescents b.

Research Question and Hypothesis The article investigates peer influence on gender identity through the use of panel data on gender identity and friendship networks gathered from students in the 7th and 8th grade from an ethnically diverse public middle school. The main hypothesis of the study is that adolescents would alter their gender identity self-concepts to become akin to their friends and that such effects would take place even when network selection impacts were controlled.

The second hypothesis of the study is that stronger peer influence effects on between-gender dimensions of gender identity than within-gender dimensions of gender identity. II. Review of Literature The authors start with a succinct review of literature that develops the multiple dimensions of gender identity, delving into within-gender GI and between-gender GI self-concepts. This is imperative as the inter-group predisposition and experienced pressure lay more emphasis on how a person deals with other gender and also his or her own gender.

The intergroup bias delineates the magnitude to which youth are inclined to associate increased positive and lesser negative characteristics to their individual gender group contrasted to the other gender. Next, the authors review literature that examines the role that peer context and peer influence play in terms of the development of gender identity dimensions. However, they give the suggestion that research has not been exhaustive. The authors evidently draw attention to the gaps in the existing literature.

They outline that despite the fact that several years of research buttress the role of peers in the context of gender socialization, no studies up until the present day have analyzed whether youth become more identical to their friends on dimensions of gender identity. The authors conclude that preceding research has shown that in relation to girls, boys validate greater levels of some of the gender identity dimensions and therefore opt to analyze whether gender differences exist in network selection and in the magnitude of peer network influence. III.

Methods In terms of methodology, the authors used a longitudinal social network modeling approach. The sample of the study comprised of 670 participants in total, with 330 students being on the 7th grade whereas the remaining 30 students being on the 8th grade. IV. Results and Conclusion The authors start by linking their findings to the general objective of the study, to examine peer influences in between- and within-gender dimensions of GI in young adolescents’ peer set-up.

In keeping with the authors’ expectations, the outcomes of the study indicated that there are significant and constructive peer socialization impacts on between-gender dimensions of GI. In addition, the outcomes showed that adolescents in both grade cohorts molded companionships with students of the similar gender, and amongst eighth graders, companionship network selection was also centered on similarity on within-gender dimensions of GI: gender typicality and contentedness. Outcomes of the study concerning peer influence on between-gender dimensions of GI indicated.