Susceptibility to Antisocial Peer Pressure and Its Relation to Acculturation in Mexican-American Adolescents

Abstract

Antisocial hypothetical situations modeled after those developed by Thomas Berndt and an abridged version of an acculturation questionnaire by Susan Keefe and Amado Padilla were used to examine the relation between susceptibility to antisocial peer pressure and acculturation among a sample of low socioeconomic status (SES) and working-class Mexican-American adolescents (Grades 9 through 12). Multiple regression was used to predict susceptibility to antisocial peer pressure from gender, grade, generational status, and acculturation. Amongfirst-generation immigrants, more acculturated adolescents within each grade were more susceptible to antisocial peerpressure. Generally, susceptibility decreased with advances in grade. Further, boys were more susceptible than were girls. Unexpectedly, there was no main effect for generational status. The findings mirror the gender and grade trends reported in the literature for Anglo adolescents. The findings for acculturation are discussed in terms of cultural differences in the relative influence of parents and peers.