Susceptibility to peer influence as a value-neutral phenomenon: Preliminary validation of a novel self-report measure.

Although the link between adolescent susceptibility to peer influence and delinquent behavior is often assumed, virtually all research using self-report measures of susceptibility has confounded susceptibility with propensity to engage in risky behavior. Thus, we introduce a value-neutral (i.e., free from references to risky behavior) measure of susceptibility to peer influence: the Susceptibility to Peer Influence Scale (SPIS). The SPIS was preliminarily validated via confirmatory factor analysis and convergently validated via bivariate correlations with perceived pressure toward both risky and prosocial behavior, peer reports of the SPIS, desires for increased popularity, and self-worth. As an initial test of the SPIS, this study utilized two waves of longitudinal data to assess the link between susceptibility to peer influence and actual conformity toward close friends' delinquent behavior. A sample of racially and ethnically diverse adolescents in the Southeastern United States (N = 156; 82 female; 63% White, 24% Black, 13% other) from 15 to 16 years of age participated. A hierarchical regression supported the primary moderation hypothesis: that more susceptible adolescents demonstrated greater alignment with their friends' reported delinquency-whether that led to increases or decreases-than youth who were not susceptible. No main effect of susceptibility on delinquency was revealed, however, indicating that, when assessed using a value-neutral measure, high susceptibility may only be maladaptive following exposure to risk behavior. Results are interpreted as supporting a reconceptualization of susceptibility to peer influence from a value-neutral perspective. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).