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

Richard L. Dukes and Judith A. Stein

SAGE Open, 2014, vol. 4, issue 2, 2158244014538261

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

Keywords: adolescents; tattoos; delinquent behaviors; reference group; anticipatory socialization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:4:y:2014:i:2:p:2158244014538261

DOI: 10.1177/2158244014538261

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