Final answer:
Early-maturing adolescents are more likely to engage in early and risky sexual behavior when they associate with older peers. These peers play a significant role in adolescents' lives, influencing their socialization and development of values.
Step-by-step explanation:
(d) Older peers
Early-maturing adolescents are more likely to engage in early and risky sexual activity if they spend time with older peers. This association stems from the fact that older peers can often exert influence and introduce younger adolescents to behaviors and social situations that they may not be developmentally ready to handle, including risky sexual behavior. Peer groups are pivotal during adolescence as they become a major socialization experience outside the family unit, and they have a significant impact on an adolescent's development of a system of moral and ethical values.
While parental influence is substantial, as adolescents seek to develop an identity separate from their parents, the impact of peers, especially older ones, can be profound. Adolescents are navigating a period of increased awareness of sexuality, and peer influences are strong during this time. Romantic involvements may also increase, with late adolescence seeing a shift towards romantic relationships with significant others taking precedence over other peer relationships.