Age differences in resistance to peer influence.

Social influence occurs when an individual's thoughts or behaviours are affected by other people. There are significant age effects on susceptibility to social influence, typically a decline from childhood to adulthood. Most research has focused on negative aspects of social influence, such as peer influence on risky behaviour, particularly in adolescence. The current study investigated the impact of social influence on the reporting of prosocial behaviour (any act intended to help another person). In this study, 755 participants aged 8–59 completed a computerized task in which they rated how likely they would be to engage in a prosocial behaviour. Afterwards, they were told the average rating (in fact fictitious) that other participants had given to the same question, and then were asked to rate the same behaviour again. We found that participants' age affected the extent to which they were influenced by other people: children (8–11 years), young adolescents (12–14 years) and mid‐adolescents (15–18 years) all significantly changed their ratings, while young adults (19–25 years) and adults (26–59 years) did not. Across the three youngest age groups, children showed the most susceptibility to prosocial influence, changing their reporting of prosocial behaviour the most. The study provides evidence that younger people's increased susceptibility to social influence can have positive outcomes.

L’adolescence est souvent le berceau de plusieurs conduites déviantes cooccurrentes. La consommation de substances psychoactives (SPA) et la délinquance figurent parmi ces conduites et entretiennent des liens multiples et parfois complexes. Cette étude vise à explorer le modèle drogue-délinquance économico-compulsif auprès des jeunes. Plus précisément, elle a pour but de : 1) dresser un portrait des habitudes de consommation de SPA et de la délinquance lucrative des jeunes de l’échantillon ; 2) documenter la relation entre la gravité de la consommation de SPA et la commission de délits lucratifs ; ainsi que 3) celle entre le type de SPA consommées et la commission de délits lucratifs ; et de 4) vérifier l’interaction entre le type de SPA consommées et le genre dans la prédiction de la commission de délits lucratifs. Un instrument de mesure sur la gravité des habitudes de consommation de SPA (DEP-ADO) et un autre sur la délinquance (MASPAQ) des adolescents ont été administrés à 1447 jeunes âgés de 15 à 18 ans. Les résultats permettent d’observer en partie le modèle explicatif économico-compulsif chez les jeunes tout en lui apportant certaines nuances.Adolescence is often the cradle for several co-occurring deviant behaviours. Substance use (SU) and delinquency are among these behaviours and have multiple, sometimes complex, relationships. This study explores the economic-compulsive drug-delinquency model among youth. More specifically, its goal is to 1) draw a portrait of SU habits and the monetary-gain oriented delinquency of the youth in the sample ; 2) document the relationship between SU severity and the commission of lucrative crimes ; and 3) document the relationship between the type of substance used and the commission of lucrative crimes. Finally, this article 4) looks at the interaction between the type of substance used and gender in predicting lucrative crimes. A questionnaire on the severity of SU (DEP-ADO) and another on delinquency (MASPAQ) were administered to 1,447 youth aged from 15 to 18 years. The results make it possible to both consider and nuance the economic-compulsive model of SU among youths.La adolescencia es frecuentemente cuna de varias conductas desviadas. El consumo de sustancias psicoactivas (SPA) y la delincuencia figuran entre estas conductas, manteniendo lazos múltiples, a veces complejos. El presente estudio explora el modelo droga-delincuencia económico-compulsivo en los jóvenes. Más especificament, tiene como objetivo : 1) establecer un retrato de los hábitos de consumo de SPA y de la delincuencia lucrativa de los jóvenes de la muestra ; 2) documentar la relación entre la gravedad del consumo de SPA y la comisión de delitos lucrativos y, también ; 3) entre el tipo de SPA consumido y la comisión de delitos lucrativos. Finalmente, este articulo intenta 4) verificar la interacción entre el tipo de SPA consumidos y el género en la predicción de la comisión de delitos lucrativos. Una escala de medida de gravedad de los hábitos de consumo de SPA (DEP-ADO) y otra sobre la delincuencia...

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