The Moderating Effect of Sibling Delinquency on Risky Behavior during Emerging Adulthood
- 1 University of Central Missouri, United States
- 2 University of Georgia, United States
- 3 University of Oklahoma, United States
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between sibling delinquency and respondent risky behavior of emerging adults. This study attempts to understand the influence a sibling has on deviant behavior, sexual behavior and substance use during emerging adulthood. Sibling support and sibling contact were the two components of sibling relationships that were examined. A social learning theory framework was used. It was hypothesized that an individual who has high contact and support from a deviant sibling would be more likely to engage in risky behavior, be more sexually active and have increased alcohol use. The sample was comprised of 690 undergraduates enrolled in a large state university. A test of the moderating effects of sibling support and contact was conducted. Results indicate that there is a moderating relationship between the influence of sibling delinquency on respondent deviance, sexual permissiveness and alcohol use for females. As contact and support with a delinquent sibling increases, the level of respondent deviance, sexual permissiveness and alcohol use also increases.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/jssp.2017.151.165
Copyright: © 2017 F. Ryan Peterson, Leslie Gordon Simons, Adriatik Likcani and Katherine Hickey. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Keywords
- Sibling
- Delinquency
- Emerging Adulthood
- Sexuality
- Alcohol