Dataset Information

Boundary violations and adolescent drinking: Observational evidence that symbolic boundaries moderate social influence.

ABSTRACT: Scholars of social influence can benefit from attending to symbolic boundaries. A common and influential way to understand symbolic boundaries is as widely shared understandings of what types of behaviors, tastes, and opinions are appropriate for different kinds of people. Scholars following this understanding have mostly focused on how people judge others and how symbolic boundaries align with and thus reproduce social differences. Although this work has been impressive, I argue that it might miss important ways in which symbolic boundaries become effective in everyday social life. I therefore develop an understanding of how symbolic boundaries affect people's ideas and decisions about themselves and their own behavior. Based on this, I argue that focusing on boundary violations-that is, what happens if people express opinions or enact behavior that contravenes what is considered (in)appropriate for people like them-might offer an important way to understand how symbolic boundaries initiate and shape cultural and social change. Using data from Add Health, I demonstrate the utility of this line of argument and show that boundary violations play an important role in channeling social influence. Conservative/Evangelical Protestants and to a lesser degree Catholics, but not Mainline Protestants are highly influenced by the drinking of co-religionists. I consider the implications for cultural sociology.

SUBMITTER: Edelmann A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6830941 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Boundary violations and adolescent drinking: Observational evidence that symbolic boundaries moderate social influence.

Edelmann Achim A

PloS one 20191105 11

Scholars of social influence can benefit from attending to symbolic boundaries. A common and influential way to understand symbolic boundaries is as widely shared understandings of what types of behaviors, tastes, and opinions are appropriate for different kinds of people. Scholars following this understanding have mostly focused on how people judge others and how symbolic boundaries align with and thus reproduce social differences. Although this work has been impressive, I argue that it might m ...[more]

PMID: 31689333

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe influence of social media among adolescent peer groups can be a powerful change agent.ObjectiveOur scoping review aimed to elucidate the ways in which social media use among adolescent peers influences eating behaviors.MethodsA scoping review of the literature of articles published from journal inception to 2019 was performed by searching PubMed (ie, MEDLINE), Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and other databases. The review was conducted in three steps: (1) identification of the research question and clarification of criteria using the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) framework; (2) selection of articles from the literature using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines; and (3) charting and summarizing information from selected articles. PubMed's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and Embase's Emtree subject headings were reviewed along with specific keywords to construct a comprehensive search strategy. Subject headings and keywords were based on adolescent age groups, social media platforms, and eating behaviors. After screening 1387 peer-reviewed articles, 37 articles were assessed for eligibility. Participant age, gender, study location, social media channels utilized, user volume, and content themes related to findings were extracted from the articles.ResultsSix articles met the final inclusion criteria. A final sample size of 1225 adolescents (aged 10 to 19 years) from the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Brazil, and Australia were included in controlled and qualitative studies. Instagram and Facebook were among the most popular social media platforms that influenced healthful eating behaviors (ie, fruit and vegetable intake) as well as unhealthful eating behaviors related to fast food advertising. Online forums served as accessible channels for eating disorder relapse prevention among youth. Social media influence converged around four central themes: (1) visual appeal, (2) content dissemination, (3) socialized digital connections, and (4) adolescent marketer influencers.ConclusionsAdolescent peer influence in social media environments spans the spectrum of healthy eating (ie, pathological) to eating disorders (ie, nonpathological). Strategic network-driven approaches should be considered for engaging adolescents in the promotion of positive dietary behaviors.

Dataset Information

Boundary violations and adolescent drinking: Observational evidence that symbolic boundaries moderate social influence.

Publications

Boundary violations and adolescent drinking: Observational evidence that symbolic boundaries moderate social influence.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets