Friends’ influence on adolescent theft and minor delinquency: A developmental test of peer-reported effects

Abstract

Most theories about adolescent involvement in delinquent behaviors afford a prominent role to peers or friends and their behaviors. In this article I explore the age-graded role that actual friends’ behavior plays in explaining respondents’ theft and minor delinquency during middle and later adolescence, paying special attention to the potentially mitigating effects of social control measures. Results suggest that the influence of friends’ own reported theft and minor delinquency in explaining respondents’ behavior is relatively modest despite employing several different measures of friends’ behaviors. Family influences proved weaker than expected during middle adolescence. The influence of friends’ behavior was only modestly influential, and slightly more noticeable during later adolescence. The sheer amount of time spent with friends, on the other hand, was influential throughout adolescence. The results reinforce skepticism concerning the accuracy of self-reports about peer behavior, and suggest that perceptions of peers’ behavior may be more influential than the behaviors themselves.