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- Title
Autism and Accuracy in Adolescent Perceptions of Friends' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior.
- Authors
Wilcox, Steven; Udry, J. Richard
- Abstract
This study uses data from adolescents matched with data from their friends to examine whether reference group effects on adolescent sexuality should thought of as operating through the sharing of norms or the modeling of behavior. We observe that perception of attitudes has such a trivial reality component and such a strong autistic component that it cannot serve as a mechanism of peer influence. Perception of sexual behavior has a reality component which is as large as its autistic component, and large enough to serve as a route of influence. We reach two conclusions: (l) Reference group effects on adolescent sexual behavior probably work through behavior modeling rather than through normative influence. (2) Studies which infer peer influence on sexual behavior using only perception of peers will arrive at erroneous conclusions.
- Subjects
AUTISM; TEENAGERS' sexual behavior; ADOLESCENT psychology; SOCIAL groups; SOCIAL norms; HUMAN sexuality
- Publication
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1986, Vol 16, Issue 4, p361
- ISSN
0021-9029
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1559-1816.1986.tb01146.x