Teen Friendship Networks, Development, and Risky Behavior

by Feinberg, Mark E.; Osgood, D. Wayne

• ISBN13: 9780197602317
• ISBN10: 0197602312
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780197602331
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2023-09-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

The PROSPER study is the premier study of adolescent peer networks in the world, with a scope of over 12,000 youth in 28 school districts, and with 8 annual waves of data collection covering grades 6-12. Research output from the PROSPER study has provided extensive new insights in the areas of adolescent development, risky behaviors, and social networks.

Through the lens of the PROSPER study, Teen Friendship Networks, Development, and Risky Behavior describes the many ways that adolescent friendship networks channel and facilitate the spread of adolescent substance use, delinquent behaviors, mental health problems, educational success, romantic relationships, and future development. Introductory chapters explain the theories of adolescent development and the elements of peer network science. The chapters of the main part of the book each focus on a domain of adolescent behavior, providing background on the topic and highlighting the contribution of the PROSPER study to understanding the way teen friendships operate to promote initiation or diffusion of the behavior or attribute.

With coverage of major themes such as the ways that teens select friends based on particular characteristics or similarity between them, and the ways that friends, once selected, influence each other, as well as discussion of how friendship and network patterns are linked to the uptake and spread of positive prevention messages, Teen Friendship Networks, Development, and Risky Behavior will appeal to researchers and students across several fields.

Author Biography

Mark E. Feinberg, PhD, is Research Professor at the Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University and Director of the International Center for Coparenting Policy and Research, The Pennsylvania State University. He has made contributions to theory and research in areas such as co-parenting, sibling relationships, the epidemiology of adolescent behavior problems, and the efficacy of community prevention initiatives. He also developed the evidence-based Family Foundations program to promote positive co-parenting relations.

D. Wayne Osgood, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Criminology and Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. His research has focused on peers and risky behavior, time use and offending, crime and the life course, evaluating programs to prevent and reduce delinquency, and quantitative research methods. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology, received its Sutherland Award in 2022, and was Lead Editor of the journal Criminology for 2012DS2017.

Table of Contents

Section I: Setting the Stage

Chapter 1: Friendships and Peer Groups in the Teen Years-Our Perspective
D. Wayne Osgood

Chapter 2: Overview of the PROSPER Prevention Trial's Rationale, Methods, and Findings: The Context for Friendship Network Study
Richard Spoth, Lisa M. Schainker, Mark Greenberg, and Janet Welsh

Chapter 3: Network Methods: Explanations and Issues
James Moody and D. Wayne Osgood

Chapter 4: A Descriptive Overview of Social Networks and Behavior Among PROSPER Youth
Erin Tinney

Section II: Risky Behaviors, Relationships, and Development

Chapter 5: Teen Friendships, Networks, and Substance Use
Daniel T. Ragan and D. Wayne Osgood

Chapter 6: Does Criminal Justice Contact Alter Friendship Ties?
Wade C. Jacobsen and Erin Tinney

Chapter 7: Depression, Isolation, and Self-Harm
Molly Copeland and Sonja Siennick

Chapter 8: The Role of Parenting in Shaping the Friendship Context of Adolescent Substance Use
Kelly L. Rulison, Avery Chahl, and Evelien M. Hoeben

Chapter 9: Dating, Sexuality, and Adolescent Friendship Networks
Nayan G. Ramirez, Rose Wesche, and Derek A. Kreager

Chapter 10: Variation in Network Processes Across Community and School District Contexts
Cassie McMillan, Daniel Ragan, and Alana Colindres

Chapter 11: Peer Networks and the Diffusion of Intervention Outcomes
Kelly L. Rulison and Mark E. Feinberg

Chapter 12: Genetic Susceptibility to Peers
Gabriel L. Schlomer, Amanda M. Griffin, H. Harrington Cleveland, and David J. Vandenbergh

Section III: Discussion and Conclusions

Chapter 13: Future Directions for Research on Networks and Adolescent Health
Thomas W. Valente

Chapter 14: The Growth of Longitudinal Social Network Analysis
René Veenstra, Teresa Bertogna, and Lydia Laninga-Wijnen

Chapter 15: Social Capital and Adolescent Development
Mark Feinberg

Publications of the PROSPER Peers Project
PROSPER Peers Project Personnel