Premium
Do Hostile School Environments Promote Social Deviance by Shaping Neural Responses to Social Exclusion?
Author(s) -
Schriber Roberta A.,
Rogers Christina R.,
Ferrer Emilio,
Conger Rand D.,
Robins Richard W.,
Hastings Paul D.,
Guyer Amanda E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12340
Subject(s) - deviance (statistics) , social connectedness , psychology , developmental psychology , social rejection , social environment , social exclusion , social psychology , social relation , clinical psychology , sociology , social science , statistics , mathematics , economics , economic growth
The present study examined adolescents’ neural responses to social exclusion as a mediator of past exposure to a hostile school environment ( HSE ) and later social deviance, and whether family connectedness buffered these associations. Participants (166 Mexican‐origin adolescents, 54.4% female) reported on their HSE exposure and family connectedness across Grades 9–11. Six months later, neural responses to social exclusion were measured. Finally, social deviance was self‐reported in Grades 9 and 12. The HSE –social deviance link was mediated by greater reactivity to social deviance in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, a region from the social pain network also implicated in social susceptibility. However, youths with stronger family bonds were protected from this neurobiologically mediated path. These findings suggest a complex interplay of risk and protective factors that impact adolescent behavior through the brain.