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ERIC Number: EJ1141212
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Dec
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0279-6015
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Role of Peers in Predicting Students' Homophobic Behavior: Effects of Peer Aggression, Prejudice, and Sexual Orientation Identity Importance
Poteat, V. Paul; Rivers, Ian; Vecho, Olivier
School Psychology Review, v44 n4 p391-406 Dec 2015
Drawing from an ecological framework, there has been growing attention on the role of peers in accounting for adolescents' homophobic behavior. In this study, we considered whether individuals' homophobic behavior could be attributed to their peers' collective levels of aggression, sexual prejudice, and importance placed on their sexual orientation identity among 437 high school students (89% White, 61% female, mean age = 15.72 years) in 62 peer groups identified through social network analysis. Using multilevel modeling, we found that individuals in more homophobic and aggressive peer groups engaged in even more homophobic behavior than accounted for based solely on their own individual prejudice attitudes and aggressive behavior. Furthermore, individuals' sexual prejudice was a stronger predictor of their engagement in homophobic behavior for those in groups whose peers collectively placed greater importance on sexual orientation identity and were more aggressive. These findings begin to provide a fuller sense of how individual and peer attributes combine and interact in ways that account for individuals' engagement in homophobic behavior.
National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A