Evidence of Anticipatory Socialization Among Tattooed, Wannabe, and Non-Tattooed Adolescents

In anticipatory socialization, individuals adopt norms andbehaviors of reference groups before transitioning into them. We hypothesized thatnon-tattooed students who desired a tattoo (1,364 “wannabes”) would report attitudes andbehaviors between those of students who already had tattoos (429 tattooed) andrespondents who neither had a tattoo nor wanted one (816 resistant students) in Grades 7to 12 in an entire school district in Colorado. Tattooed respondents reported the lowestschool attitudes and educational aspirations, and the most weapons possession, substanceuse, and delinquent behaviors. Resistant students reported the most prosocial attitudesand behaviors. Consistent with anticipatory socialization toward a more antisocial,tattooed reference group, wannabes reported attitudes and behaviors between resistantand tattooed students. A majority of respondents want a tattoo, so we recommend thatschool health curricula address health and stigma issues associated withtattoos