Delinquent Peers Research Articles

The Impact of Life Domains on Delinquent Behaviors in Five Caribbean Countries: A Partial Test of Agnew's General Theory of Crime and Delinquency.

The current study tests the applicability of Agnew's (2005) general theory of crime and delinquency to a sample of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) youths and explains the hypothesized direct and indirect/mediated effects of family attachment and peer delinquency on delinquent behaviors. Data for this study were obtained from a 2014 cross-sectional survey of 512 adolescents from the five members of the CARICOM. This study utilizes mediation analysis. Results reveal that adolescents with abuse experience from family members and unsafe school environments are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Furthermore, peer delinquency is significantly related to delinquent behavior and mediates the link between child abuse, family history of violence, unsafe school environment, and subsequent delinquent behavior. Finally, child abuse generated a lower level of family attachment, and then a higher level of family attachment led to a lower likelihood of subsequent delinquent behavior.

Chasing Environmental Influences on School Grades in Childhood and Adolescence

School performance in childhood and adolescence is an important indicator for social inequality and various life outcomes in adulthood. Previous research confirmed genetic as well as environmental influences on individual differences in school grades, yet little is known on what lies behind the environmental influences. The aim of this study is to identify external covariates that account for variance in school grades and to disentangle genetic and (non–)shared environmental components in the association between these often assumed “environmental” variables and school grades. The sample consists of 2101 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic same-sex twins (aged 11 and 17) from the German TwinLife study. Multiple regression analysis showed that our measured external variables (e.g., parental behavior, home environment, peer characteristics) explain about 7–9% of variance in the grade point average (GPA) in both age groups. In order to determine genetic and environmental sources of this variance components, we applied a bivariate Cholesky decomposition. Results indicate that after correcting for parental socio-economic status the relation between external covariates and the GPA is entirely due to shared environmental effects at age 11, while the association between the same set of covariates and GPA at age 17 is due to common genetic sources. This pattern largely remains when considering the covariates individually: Effects are strongest for home environment and negative parental involvement in both age groups and additionally for delinquent peer affiliations at age 17. We discuss possible underlying effects of gene × environment interactions and provide implications for further research.

Digital Disclosure of Delinquency: Online Peers and the Sharing of Offline Crime

Digital communication poses challenges for scholars interested in the link between peers and crime since youth are often less inhibited online and can more easily share their opinions and experiences with offline activities. Drawing on longitudinal data from middle and high school students, this study explores how online communication impacts the sharing of personal and peer delinquency. Criminogenic risk factors are largely unrelated to the digital disclosure of personal delinquency among those who offend; however, peer online disclosure is related to self-reported delinquency, independent of perceived peer delinquency. These findings suggest cyberspace may extend offline mechanisms of peer influence beyond providing a unique source of online influence.

Female Arab teenagers' involvement in antisocial behavior: Intersection of perceived ethnonational discrimination, sexual victimization, and affiliation with delinquent peers.

Based on intersectionality theory, the present study examined the contribution of direct, indirect, and interactive effects of individual, family, peer, and contextual factors on violence against others among female Arab teenagers. The study is based on a sample of 193 at-risk teenagers aged 12-21 (M = 16.5), who completed questionnaires in their out-of-home care settings. Almost 60% of participants reported having perpetrated at least one moderate act of physical violence against others at least once during the preceding month. More than one-third (40%) had experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization during their lives. In addition, almost two-thirds (61%) reported experiencing at least one incident of ethnonational discrimination at least once during the past year. The findings also showed that the association between sexual victimization and moderate physical violence against others was mediated by the teenagers' affiliation with delinquent peers and moderated by perceived ethnonational discrimination. Finally, for participants with medium or high levels of perceived ethnonational discrimination, the associations between sexual victimization and perpetration of moderate physical violence, and between sexual victimization and peer delinquency, were stronger than for participants with low perceived discrimination. Examining the association between sexual victimization and violence perpetration is important, especially among at-risk teenagers in a conservative society, which expects victimized adolescents and young women to remain silent, given that silencing increases the risk of victims' involvement in delinquency and antisocial behavior. Intervention programs should be sensitive to the special situation of at-risk teenagers who experience marginalization consisting of several risk factors, including membership in an ethnonational minority and a traditional society in the context of a political conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Within-Person Predictors of Same-Day Alcohol and Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Among Youth Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department

Simultaneous alcohol and nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU) increases acute risks (e.g., overdose) associated with each; understanding social, substance use, and mental health predictors of same-day use may suggest intervention targets. At an urban emergency department, research assistants recruited youth ages 14-24 reporting past-6-month substance use (n = 599; 58.8% male). Participants self-administered validated measures of alcohol consumption, cannabis use severity (quantity and consequences), mental health symptoms, and social influences at baseline and at four biannual follow-ups. In addition, participants completed Timeline Followback calendars that assessed same-day use of alcohol and prescription drugs. We used negative binomial regression with person-level fixed effects to isolate within-person predictor effects on same-day use frequency. Between 6.0% (baseline) and 8.6% (6-month follow-up) of youth reported same-day alcohol use and NMPDU across follow-ups. Within-person increases in alcohol consumption, cannabis use severity, and depression and anxiety symptoms all corresponded to greater same-day alcohol and NMPDU frequency, with consistent findings across genders. Increased positive peer behaviors corresponded to decreased same-day use frequency among males but not females. Decreased parental support and increased delinquent peer exposures corresponded to greater same-day use frequency among females but not males. Substance use and mental health symptom escalation are robust predictors of greater same-day use frequency, whereas the roles of social factors appear gender-specific. Interrupting worsening trajectories of substance use and mental health symptoms, and enhancing social support and reducing delinquent peer exposures, may reduce same-day use frequency.

Contributing Factors in Violent Youth Behaviour: A Study in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background: Violent behaviour in youth is regarded as a significant public health problem associated with severe physical and psychological consequences. Despite the availability of rehabilitation programmes rendered at child and youth care centres (CYCC's) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, there is an escalation and repetition of violent behaviours among the youth due to some underlying socio-economic factors. Objective: The study sought to explore and describe the factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth. Methods: A qualitative, explorative, and descriptive research design was used. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select participants in this study. The study population consisted of youth, from the age of 15-20 years old, who were admitted to the child and youth care centres due to violent behaviours. Focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data from participants. A semi-structured interview guide and focus group discussion guide were used to collect data until data saturation which occurred after interviewing 48 participants. Data were analysed following Tesch’s open code data analysis technique. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical principles were adhered to. Results: Two themes emerged from the analysed data, namely, the socio-economic factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth in CYCCs and the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes for violent youth behaviours in CYCCs. Eight sub-themes were derived from the two main themes. The home environment, the influence of delinquent peers, availability, and misuse of drugs and alcohol were most cited as the factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth in CYCCs in the Limpopo Province. The study's findings revealed that youth had little knowledge of the impact that violent behaviour has on the victim, themselves, their families, and society. Conclusion: Rehabilitation programmes for violent behaviours among the youth will have better outcomes by involving the youth's family, especially the parents/guardians. Also, the child and youth care centres and youth violence policymakers need to emphasise family education as one of the most crucial violence prevention strategies in vulnerable youth.

Does adolescents’ Internet addiction trigger depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior, or vice versa? The moderating roles of peer relationships and gender

This longitudinal cross-lagged research attempts to examine the directions of relations between Internet addiction and both internalizing and externalizing problems, with attention to the potential moderating effects of peer relationships and gender. 897 Chinese junior middle school students (56.97% boys, Mage = 12.73 years, SD = 0.42) completed self-reported Internet addiction, depressive symptoms, and peer-nominated aggressive behavior at two time points, one year apart, as well as self-reported friend support/conflict and positive/delinquent peers at baseline. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that adolescents’ Internet addiction would elevate both depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior over time, rather than vice versa. Furthermore, friend conflict (rather than support) moderated these unidirectional relationships that when individuals perceived lower friend conflict, these links were no longer significant. Moreover, similar results were found for adolescents who possessed more positive peers or fewer delinquent peers. In addition, gender differences were found that addicted boys were more vulnerable to aggressive behavior, while addicted girls were more vulnerable to depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that establishing and maintaining good peer social networks would help adolescents keep away from the harmful impacts of Internet overuse on maladjustment.

Why Do Students Become Cyberbullies? Elucidating the Contributions of Specific Developmental Risks to Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is currently considered as a widespread problem among children and adolescents; in particular, the risks of cyberbullying have recently been examined. The empirical analyses of the present work are based on data from a German longitudinal study. The self-reports of adolescents from Dortmund and Nuremberg on both cyberbullying and individual and contextual characteristics were taken into account. The two-wave panel encompasses N = 871 adolescents (44.5% male); the average age was M = 15.1 years (SD = 0.83) at t1. Data on cyberbullying refer to sending insults or threats to others via the Internet, spreading rumours or talking badly about others via the Internet, and sending private e-mails, photos or similar from others in order to embarrass or ridicule the persons concerned. Other characteristics relate to single aspects of psychopathy (egocentric egotism, low self-control, empathy deficits), acceptance of violence, and delinquent peers. The path analytical findings illustrate the predictive relationships between both individual and contextual risks and cyberbullying in adolescence. The empirical results are discussed, among others, from the perspective of developmental and life-course criminology.

The Moderating Effect of Prosocial Peers on the Relationships Between Peer Delinquency, Neutralization, and Violent Offending

The goal of the current investigation was to determine whether prosocial peer associations can serve as protective factors by interacting with key components of the peer influence effect. A moderated mediation analysis performed on 2,474 youth (52% female) from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) study (mean age = 12.13 years) revealed that Wave 2 prosocial peer associations moderated the peer delinquency–neutralization relationship. Alternately, Wave 3 prosocial peer associations moderated the neutralization–violent offending relationship. Hence, neutralization beliefs were disproportionately weaker in participants with fewer delinquent peer associations and more prosocial peer associations, whereas the effect of neutralization on delinquency was attenuated, though not eliminated, by strong prosocial peer associations. These results suggest that prosocial peer associations may serve a protective function at different points in the peer influence sequence and that they may be more than simply the converse of peer delinquency.

Early Onset Delinquency and Violent Delinquency in Adolescence: The Role of Abusive Parents and Delinquent Peer Associations

Early onset delinquency is a risk factor for offending over the life-course. This study aims to identify factors that modify the link between early onset of delinquency and later violence. Results show that engaging delinquency earlier, associating with deviant friends, and experiencing parental abuse have independent impacts on increased risk of violence. Also, early onset has positive interactions with peer delinquency and parental abuse. These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms through which early onset of delinquency is related to later violence and imply the importance of family- and school-based early interventions. Findings also highlight the importance of considering interactions between early onset delinquency and social risk factors in refining theories used to explain violence throughout the life course.

Bullying Victimization and Its Impact on Delinquency: The Case of Asian American Adolescent

Despite a great deal of research on Asian American students that mainly highlight the eccentric academic performance, previous research has not deeply shed light on the obstacles that Asian American students face in their life path. One of them that those previous studies pay less attention to is bullying victimization many Asian American students experience due to their racial and ethnic status in the U.S. Using the data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) targeting Asian American students aged between 12 and 18, this research aims to examine (1) how serious it is for Asian American adolescents to commit delinquent activities due to bullying victimization and (2) how much impact each social institution makes on young Asian Americans’ potential criminal activities after being victimized by bullying. The results suggest that bullying experience makes its victims having a higher risk of engaging in criminal activities. Especially, physical bullying makes a considerable impact on the future delinquent behavior of Asian American adolescents that leads to commit various crimes ranged from serious violent crime to nonserious misdemeanor crime. In addition, certain institutional conditions also increase the risk of criminal offense committed after being victimized by bullying, such as a consistent interaction with delinquent peers but decrease the chance of engaging in criminal activities despite having bullying victimization, such as a tight parental supervision.

Moderating effects of delinquent peer association, social control, and negative emotion on cyberbullying and delinquency: Gender differences.

Under the integrated model of General Strain Theory (GST), the present study sought to examine whether delinquent peer association, social control, and negative emotion moderated the relations of distinctive cyberbullying roles with delinquency, as well as whether the moderating effects varied by gender among a nationally representative sample of American adolescents. Based on the data from the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children study in the U.S., hierarchical moderated tobit regressions were conducted to test the potential moderating effects and gender differences. Adolescents involved in cyberbullying as different roles were more likely to engage in physical fight and substance use than noninvolved peers. The relationships remained significant after controlling for delinquent peer association, social control, and negative emotion, except for the relation of being cyber-victims with substance use. In addition, delinquent peer association conditioned the relationships of three cyberbullying roles with physical fight, while negative emotion moderated the relations of being cyberbullies or cyberbully-victims with substance use. Certain gender differences were found for the moderating effects of social control/delinquent peer association on cyberbullying roles related to physical fight and substance use. The findings suggest that GST may be useful for explaining the relations of distinctive cyberbullying roles with delinquency. Differentiating such relationships and the relevant moderating effects can be important in understanding adolescent violence and substance use. Cyberbullying-involved boys and girls under certain conditions are more vulnerable to react with violence and substance use in response to strains derived from cyberbullying experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Developmental Trajectories and Predictors of Delinquent Peer Association

ABSTRACT Although the important relationship between age and peers is well-known, relatively little empirical attention has focused on heterogeneous patterns of deviant peer association over time. In light of this, the current study assessed developmental trajectories of peer delinquency and examined criminological factors that explain such patterns. Five waves of data from the Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) were analyzed through group-based trajectory modeling. Results identified six delinquent peer trajectory groups and revealed that juveniles are likely to associate with peers with similar levels of criminal propensity (such as self-control and early onset of delinquency), but this relationship was also influenced by unstructured socialization. Such findings suggest that the nature of delinquent peer association is complex and shaped by a range of factors which require comprehensive examination. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Identifying revictimization trajectories among adolescent girls using latent class growth analysis: An examination of state dependence and population heterogeneity

This study examines the relationship between prior varying forms of victimization (physical abuse) and subsequent bullying victimization (i.e., state dependence) among 574 adolescent girls, and tests how risky lifestyles (family violence, sibling aggression, peer delinquency, self-report delinquency) (i.e., population heterogeneity) mediate this relationship. A diverse, majority African American sample of adolescent girls in grades 5–7 in the Midwest were followed into middle school. The current study uniquely explores the gendered and racial contexts through which bullying victimization is experienced and occurs. Latent class growth analysis revealed four distinct bullying trajectory subgroups: early onset-stable, early onset declining, low-late peak, and normative. Prior victimizations and risky lifestyles had a significant positive effect for all three groups when compared to the normative group. Risky lifestyles partially mediated the relationship between prior physical abuse victimizations and class membership for all groups when compared to the normative group.

Involvement in Crime and Delinquency and the Development of Technological and Computer Skills: A Longitudinal Analysis.

A body of research has revealed that involvement in crime and delinquency is associated with a wide number of social, economic, and health consequences. The current study built off this knowledge base and examined whether measures of adolescent violent delinquency and contact with the criminal justice system were related to the access of basic, and experience with, technology, and computers. To do so, longitudinal data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed. The results revealed that self-reported violent delinquency in adolescence was associated with a decreased probability of owning a computer and having an email account 10 to 12 years into the future. Additionally, measures of contact with the criminal justice system, low self-control, delinquent peers, and governmental public assistance were also associated with the probability of owning a computer and having an email account.

Cyberbullying and Delinquency in Adolescence: The Potential Mediating Effects of Social Attachment and Delinquent Peer Association

Adopting the integrated model of General Strain Theory (GST), the current study tested the relations between cyberbullying roles (i.e., cyberbully, cybervictim, and cyberbully-victim) and delinquent behaviors (i.e., physical fighting and substance use), as well as the potential mediating effects of delinquent peer association and perceived social attachment from parents, friends, and teachers. This was conducted in a cross-sectional sample of 12,642 American adolescents via the use of structural equation models. The results indicated that being involved in cyberbullying might be not only directly associated with an increase in delinquent behaviors, but also indirectly via delinquent peer associations and perceived social attachment from parents, friends, and teachers. Furthermore, both direct and indirect (mediating) relationships between cyberbullying and delinquency might depend upon specific cyberbullying roles and the types of delinquency. Potential implications for prevention and intervention strategies were discussed.

Risky sexual behaviour among Russian adolescents: association with internalizing and externalizing symptoms

BackgroundRisky sexual behaviour (RSB) is regarded as a major health problem during adolescence. Russia has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, abortion and newly diagnosed HIV infections in the world, but research on RSB in Russian youth has been limited. To address this deficit, this study examined the role of several factors, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms, in RSB among Russian adolescents.MethodsSelf-reported data were collected from 2573 Russian adolescents aged 13–17 years old (59.4 % girls; Mean age = 14.89) regarding RSB (unprotected sex, early pregnancy, multiple sexual partners and substance use during sexual encounters). Information was also obtained on externalizing (conduct problems and delinquent behaviour) and internalizing (depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress) symptoms, as well as interpersonal risk and protective factors (affiliation with delinquent peers, parental involvement and teacher support). Hierarchical multiple binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between these variables and RSB.ResultsBoys reported engaging in more RSB than girls. Externalizing symptoms and affiliation with delinquent peers were most strongly associated with RSB, whereas symptoms of anxiety were negatively associated with RSB. There was an interaction effect for sex and affiliation with delinquent peers on RSB with boys reporting RSB when having more delinquent peers. Neither parental involvement nor teacher support were protective against RSB.ConclusionsEarly detection of and interventions for RSB and associated externalizing symptoms may be important for adolescent physical and mental wellbeing. Affiliation with delinquent peers should, especially among boys, be regarded as a risk marker for RSB.

Change in Juvenile Offending Versatility Predicted by Individual, Familial, and Environmental Risks

Developmental and life-course criminology elucidate the developmental course and change of antisociality over time, considering that longitudinal trajectories differ. Specific relations between risks and different antisociality outcomes are emphasized. We assume that adolescents have different longitudinal trajectories considering the change of offending over time and that risks contribute variably to offending pathways. The current study is based on a German research project in which adolescents (N = 577) were interviewed in two German cities. Based on self-reported crime data, we utilized the slope values of offending versatility (OV) over time as outcome values in regression mixture models capturing the trends for participants over age and exhibiting two components of offending adolescents. We explored the contribution of different risks to OV, defining specific risk patterns: Acceptance of violence and peer delinquency have significant negative effects on the emergence of OV within the group of adolescents with decreasing OV. Acceptance of violence has a significant negative effect, and corporal punishment has a significant positive effect on the emergence of OV within the group of adolescents with increasing or rather stable OV. The results underline the relevance of the violence-related risk factor corporal punishment for the emergence of OV within the last-mentioned group.

Explaining Chinese Delinquency: Self-Control, Morality, and Criminogenic Exposure

This study extends the testing of situational action theory (SAT) to a Chinese population, and sheds new light on the directions of the moderation relationships between self-control and morality, and between crime propensity and criminogenic exposure on delinquency. Relying on a large, representative sample of middle school students from two areas of Guizhou, China ( N = 2,498), we find that both self-control and morality have significant inhibiting effects on delinquency. Moreover, self-control has a more profound curbing effect on delinquency among adolescents with higher levels of morality. Meanwhile, the promoting effect of crime propensity on delinquency decreases when levels of risky exposure increase. When adolescents have more unsupervised activities and delinquent peers, their crime propensity affects delinquency to a lesser extent. Our study confirms that individual and situational factors interlock in determining delinquency, and reiterates the value of empirical testing across cultures to validate and possibly improve general theories of crime.

Mediating the Low Verbal Intelligence–Early Adult Offending Relationship With Pro-Aggression Attitudes

This study was designed to explore a possible mechanism for the well-documented relationship between low verbal intelligence and early adult offending. It was hypothesized that low verbal intelligence, as measured by a brief vocabulary test, would predict higher pro-aggression thinking, which would then encourage future antisocial behavior. This hypothesis was tested in a longitudinal analysis of 411 male youths from the Cambridge Study of Delinquent Development (CSDD). After controlling for school performance, truancy, impulsivity, peer delinquency, and nonverbal intelligence, a path analysis revealed that low verbal intelligence at age 14 or 15 predicted violent offending (fighting) and property offending at age 21 or 22 by way of late adolescent pro-aggression attitudes. From these results, it was speculated that one mechanism linking low verbal intelligence to early adult offending is an attitude favorable to personal violation of the rights of others, in line with predictions from general personality and cognitive social learning (GPCSL) theory.