The company you keep: The influence of popular delinquents and deviant brokers on offending trajectories

Although criminologists have long recognized the strong correlation between a person's delinquency and the delinquency of his or her friends, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain elusive. The current study adds to research on peers and delinquency by exploring the behaviors of adolescents isolatedfrom schoolfriendship networks. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) allow me to identify an isolated population and test theoretically derived hypotheses. Results suggest that low peer attachment in and of itselffails to increase future delinquency. However, isolation in conjunction with problematic peer encounters at school was found to significantly increase delinquency and delinquent peer associations. The theoretical implications of this interaction are discussed. Understanding the relationship between peers and individual delinquency has been one of criminology's most rigorously pursued and controversial research areas. Studies have consistently found that the delinquency of a person's friends is among the strongest correlates of his or her own delinquent behavior (Akers 1979; Gleuck & Gleuck 1950; Gold 1970; Haynie 2001; Hirschi 1969; Matsueda & Heimer 1987; Short 1957; Warr 1993). However, the causal significance of this relationship remains a point of considerable contention. For socialization theories (e.g., differential association, learning, subcultural, and interactional theories), delinquent peers are thought to be a primary mechanism whereby adolescents acquire the techniques, attitudes, and opportunities necessary for criminal behavior. In contrast, control and propensity theories question the causal role of peers in explaining individual delinquency. Researchers from this * I thank Ross Matsueda, Kate Stovel and the reviewersfor their helpful advice and comments on this project. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris and funded from the National Institute of

Due to the recent expansion of the Web 2.0 -based services, along with the widespread of smartphones, online social network services are being popularized among users. Online social network services are the online community services which enable users to communicate each other, share information and expand human relationships. In the social network services, each relation between users is represented by a graph consisting of nodes and links. As the users of online social network services are increasing rapidly, the SNS are actively utilized in enterprise marketing, analysis of social phenomenon and so on. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the systematic way to analyze social relationships among the members of the social network using the network theory. In general social network theory consists of nodes and arcs, and it is often depicted in a social network diagram. In a social network diagram, nodes represent individual actors within the network and arcs represent relationships between the nodes. With SNA, we can measure relationships among the people such as degree of intimacy, intensity of connection and classification of the groups. Ever since Social Networking Services (SNS) have drawn increasing attention from millions of users, numerous researches have made to analyze their user relationships and messages. There are typical representative SNA methods: degree centrality, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality. In the degree of centrality analysis, the shortest path between nodes is not considered. However, it is used as a crucial factor in betweenness centrality, closeness centrality and other SNA methods. In previous researches in SNA, the computation time was not too expensive since the size of social network was small. Unfortunately, most SNA methods require significant time to process relevant data, and it makes difficult to apply the ever increasing SNS data in social network studies. For instance, if the number of nodes in online social network is n, the maximum number of link in social network is n(n-1)/2. It means that it is too expensive to analyze the social network, for example, if the number of nodes is 10,000 the number of links is 49,995,000. Therefore, we propose a heuristic-based method for finding the shortest path among users in the SNS user graph. Through the shortest path finding method, we will show how efficient our proposed approach may be by conducting betweenness centrality analysis and closeness centrality analysis, both of which are widely used in social network studies. Moreover, we devised an enhanced method with addition of best-first-search method and preprocessing step for the reduction of computation time and rapid search of the shortest paths in a huge size of online social network. Best-first-search method finds the shortest path heuristically, which generalizes human experiences. As large number of links is shared by only a few nodes in online social networks, most nods have relatively few connections. As a result, a node with multiple connections functions as a hub node. When searching for a particular node, looking for users with numerous links instead of searching all users indiscriminately has a better chance of finding the desired node more quickly. In this paper, we employ the degree of user node vn as heuristic evaluation function in a graph G = (N, E), where N is a set of vertices, and E is a set of links between two different nodes. As the heuristic evaluation function is used, the worst case could happen when the target node is situated in the bottom of skewed tree. In order to remove such a target node, the preprocessing step is conducted. Next, we find the shortest path between two nodes in social network efficiently and then analyze the social network. For the verification of the proposed method, we crawled 160,000 people from online and then constructed social network. Then we compared with previous methods, which are best-first-search and breath-first-search, in time for searching and analyzing. The suggested method takes 240 seconds to search nodes where breath-first-search based method takes 1,781 seconds (7.4 times faster). Moreover, for social network analysis, the suggested method is 6.8 times and 1.8 times faster than betweenness centrality analysis and closeness centrality analysis, respectively. The proposed method in this paper shows the possibility to analyze a large size of social network with the better performance in time. As a result, our method would improve the efficiency of social network analysis, making it particularly useful in studying social trends or phenomena.

The company you keep: The neglected role of affiliating with delinquent friends in the development of the cannabis-violence link

오피니언 마이닝과 네트워크 분석을 활용한 상품 커뮤니티 분석: 영화 흥행성과 예측 사례

This analysis examines the dynamic reciprocal relationship between delinquent peer associations and delinquent behavior. It tests the hypothesis, derived from learning and interactional theories, that delinquent peers and delinquent behavior are reciprocally related—delinquent peer associations foster future delinquency, and delinquency increases the likelihood of associating with delinquent peers. It also tests the competing hypothesis, derived from control theories, that delinquent peers do not cause delinquency, but instead, the relationship is (1) spurious due to individual criminal propensity, (2) a result of the effects of delinquent behavior on future associations with delinquent peers, or (3) an artifact of problems of measuring delinquent peers. To test these propositions, we use data from the National Youth Survey and estimate a cross‐lagged panel model that corrects for measurement error in indicators of delinquent peers and delinquent behavior. The model species a covariance structure model for ordinal measures. Parameters are estimated by (1) estimating a threshold model relating ordinal measures to continuous latent variables; (2) estimating a matrix of polychoric correlations relating observed variables, and (3) using an asymptotic distribution‐free estimator to estimate structural parameters. The results suggest that delinquent peer associations and delinquent behavior are reciprocally related, but the effect of delinquency on peer associations is larger than that of peer associations on delinquency.

Group-based trajectory models are increasingly being applied in clinical research to map the developmental course of symptoms and assess heterogeneity in response to clinical interventions. In this review, we provide a nontechnical overview of group-based trajectory and growth mixture modeling alongside a sampling of how these models have been applied in clinical research. We discuss the challenges associated with the application of both types of group-based models and propose a set of preliminary guidelines for applied researchers to follow when reporting model results. Future directions in group-based modeling applications are discussed, including the use of trajectory models to facilitate causal inference when random assignment to treatment condition is not possible.

Delinquent peer association and criminal/delinquent behaviors are highly intertwined. The directionality and mechanisms underlying this relationship, however, have been debated in the literature for decades. The current study seeks to further inform this debate by examining whether individual differences at the level of the genome can help to explain the association between delinquent peer affiliation and delinquency. Using the twin and full-sibling subsample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), behavioral genetic methodology is used to examine whether delinquent peer affiliation and delinquency in adolescence covary as the result of common genetic factors. Results indicate that delinquent peer association and delinquency are moderately influenced by additive genetic factors, and that common genes are in fact influencing the covariance between the two outcomes. The importance of incorporating genetic explanations into traditional theories of delinquency is discussed.

In addition to science citation indicators of journals like impact and immediacy, social network analysis provides a set of centrality measures like degree, betweenness, and closeness centrality. These measures are first analyzed for the entire set of 7,379 journals included in the Journal Citation Reports of the Science Citation Index and the Social Sciences Citation Index 2004 (Thomson ISI, Philadelphia, PA), and then also in relation to local citation environments that can be considered as proxies of specialties and disciplines. Betweenness centrality is shown to be an indicator of the interdisciplinarity of journals, but only in local citation environments and after normalization; otherwise, the influence of degree centrality (size) overshadows the betweenness‐centrality measure. The indicator is applied to a variety of citation environments, including policy‐relevant ones like biotechnology and nanotechnology. The values of the indicator remain sensitive to the delineations of the set because of the indicator's local character. Maps showing interdisciplinarity of journals in terms of betweenness centrality can be drawn using information about journal citation environments, which is available online.

Relatively few studies have investigated the safety awareness and behavior that are substantially influenced by the characteristics of safety communication. It is very important to comprehend what kind of attributes play a role in adequate safety information flow in a communication network. For these reasons, the current study aimed to explore the effectiveness of safety communication on safety awareness and behavior. The data were collected by performing interviews with employees of teams at a liquefied natural gas terminal located in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. A social network analysis (SNA) was applied to visualize the pattern of the safety communication network and calculate the typical SNA metrics such as density, tie strength, betweenness and degree centrality. In addition, the number of communication channels was also considered as a crucial differentiator between teams. Then, a correlation analysis was applied to investigate the impact of calculated SNA metrics on safety awareness and behavior. As a result, density, tie strength, degree centrality and the channel variety showed a direct influence on safety awareness and behavior. Conversely, betweenness centrality was not an active metric. This study demonstrated that raising the level of SNA metrics such as density, tie strength and degree centrality, and using various channels to communicate safety information within teams, could support better safety awareness and behavior.

Despite the fact that low self-control and exposure to delinquent peers are two of the most robust and consistent predictors of crime, delinquency, and antisocial behavior, much remains unknown about what causes self-control to develop and what causes youths to befriend antisocial peers. This study estimated the relative effects of environmental and genetic factors on levels of self-control and contact with delinquent peers in a sample of twins from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). DeFries-Fulker analysis of the Add Health data revealed that both self-control and contact with drug-using friends were influenced by genetic factors and the nonshared environment, whereas the shared environment exhibited relatively small and inconsistent effects. Implications for self-control theory and social learning theory are discussed.

BackgroundSexual assault is one of potential factors that may greatly affect an individual’s sport participation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of experiencing physically or non-physically forced sexual activity on trajectories of sport participation from adolescence to young adulthood.MethodsThis study used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data. Group-based trajectory modeling was utilized to examine the effect of experiencing sexual assault on trajectories of sport participation from adolescence to young adulthood.ResultsA three-group trajectory model (high-stable group, high-decreasing group, and low-stable group) best fit sport participation among male participants and a two-group trajectory model (high-decreasing group and low-stable group) best fit sport participation among female participants. Both physically and non-physically forced sexual activity did not have significant effect on trajectories of sport participation among male participants. On the other hand, non-physically forced sexual assault significantly affected sport participation trajectory among female participants.ConclusionsSpecial care is required in developing sport promotion program for women victims of non-physically forced sexual activity. The results of this study also suggest that group-based trajectory modeling is a useful technique to examine distinct trajectories of sport participation from adolescence through young adulthood.

Longitudinal associations of parental monitoring and delinquent peer affiliation: The potential influence of parental solicitation and monitoring rules.

Introduction to the special issue on "Statistical approaches and methodological issues in longitudinal analysis of substance use and related behaviors"

Although the relationship between delinquency and deviant peers has long been an important topic in criminology, there remain unresolved issues including theoretical incongruences and a lack of rigorous empirical studies examining the interplay between the two. Acknowledging this gap in the literature, the primary purpose of this study is to examine the dynamic interrelationship between delinquency and delinquent peers over time. Using five waves of a Korean adolescent sample, we employ two methodologies with different benefits: group-based trajectory models and cross-lagged dynamic panel data models. Results show that heterogeneous developmental patterns of delinquency and peer delinquency are closely related and suggest reciprocal interactions between delinquent peers and delinquency. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

ObjectiveThis study examines the relationships between cumulative, timing of, and duration of early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and delinquent peer association among youth.BackgroundNegative life outcomes associated with delinquent peer affiliation among youth are well established; however, less research has considered how or whether ACEs influence these processes.MethodsData were from the longitudinal Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3,060). Negative binomial regression models were to assess the relationship between early ACEs (i.e., accumulation, timing/duration) and delinquent peer association.ResultsOur results indicate that as the number of ACEs (by age 5) incrementally increase, the likelihood of reported involvement with delinquent peers increases. Moreover, when it comes to timing and duration of ACE exposure, ACEs that are high but late, intermittent, or chronically high significantly increase the risk of delinquent peer association.Conclusion and implicationsOverall, early ACEs play an important role in delinquent peer association during adolescence. Interventions and preventions strategies, such as psychological first aid and trauma‐informed health care, can help reduce the negative consequences of early ACE exposure, including the risk of associating with delinquent peers.