Formal Labeling, Deviant Peers, and Race/Ethnicity: An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Process of Secondary Deviance

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The present study examines racial and ethnic variation in the intervening effects of deviant peers on the relationship between receiving a formal label and subsequent deviance. We build on earlier research by distinguishing between violent and nonviolent deviance, drawing on peer network data to directly measure peer deviant behavior, and stratifying analyses for White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we find that overall, receiving a formal label, in the form of school sanctions, is associated only with later violent deviance but not associated with nonviolent deviance and there was no evidence of mediation by peer deviance or peer violent deviance. Results from stratified analyses for White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents are mixed. Among both White and Hispanic adolescents receiving a formal label was significantly associated with engaging in violent deviance, but this relationship was only partially mediated by peer nonviolent deviance among White adolescents. However, neither peer nonviolent deviance nor peer violence were related to violent deviance among Hispanic adolescents. In further contrast, among Black adolescents receiving a formal label was not significantly associated with engaging in violent deviance, but peer violent deviance did show a positive and significant main effect on violent deviance. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.