Can at-risk young adolescents be popular and anti-social? Sociometric status groups, anti-social behaviour, gender and ethnic background.
This study aimed to extend the understanding of anti-social behaviour and its association with popularity and sociometric status in a sample of at-risk adolescents from diverse ethnic backgrounds (n = 1491, average age 14.7 years). Both overt and covert types of anti-social behaviour were used to distinguish subgroups. These subgroups were created on the basis of anti-social behaviour profile scores, using Latent Class Analysis. Moderator effects of gender and ethnic background were investigated using a log-linear analysis. The main finding was that each sociometric status group consisted of subgroups that differed in terms of prevalence of self-reported anti-social behaviour. At-risk young adolescents who reported involvement in anti-social behaviour appeared in every status group, including the popular group. Implications for school prevention programmes for anti-social behaviour are discussed.
van de Schoot
Rens
R
Department of Methods and Statistics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. a.g.j.vandeschoot@uu.nl
van der Velden
Floor
F
Boom
Jan
J
Brugman
Daniël
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D012737:Sex Factors; D012925:Social Conformity; D012928:Social Desirability; D012933:Social Identification; D012963:Sociometric Techniques