Delinquent Peers Research Articles

Child maltreatment mediates the relationship between HIV/AIDS family dysfunction trajectories and psychosocial problems among adolescents.

The relationship between parental HIV/AIDS status or death and child mental health is well known, although the role of child maltreatment as a confounder or mediator in this relationship remains uncertain. This study examined the potential path mechanism through child maltreatment mediating the link between HIV/AIDS family dysfunction trajectories and psychosocial problems. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Lower Manya Municipal Assembly of Ghana. A questionnaire which consisted of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Social and Health Assessment (SAHA), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) was completed by 291 adolescents. Controlling for relevant sociodemographic confounders, mediation analyses using linear regression were fitted to examine whether the association between family dysfunction and psychosocial problems is mediated by child maltreatment. The results indicate that, among adolescents, child maltreatment fully mediated the association between being orphaned by AIDS and self-esteem (b = .59 [95%CI .32, .91]), delinquency and risky behaviours (b = .56 [95%CI .31, .86]) and peer problems (b = .74 [95%CI .48, 1.03]). Similarly, child maltreatment fully mediated the association between living with an HIV/AIDS-infected parent and self-esteem (b = .78 [95%CI .43, 1.23]), delinquency and risky behaviours (b = .76 [95%CI .45, 1.11]), depression/emotional problems (b = .64 [95%CI .40, .92]) and peer problems (b = .94 [95%CI .66, 1.26]). Partial mediation was found for hyperactivity. Child maltreatment mediates the association between the family dysfunction trajectories of parental HIV/AIDS or death and psychosocial problems among adolescents. This implies that efforts to address child maltreatment among families affected by HIV/AIDS may be helpful in the prevention of psychosocial problems among these children, thus enhancing their wellbeing. The findings therefore underscore the need for comprehensive psychosocial interventions that addresses both the unique negative exposures of HIV/AIDS and maltreatment for children affected by HIV.

An examination of associations between sexual assault and health problems, depression or suicidal ideation in a large nationally representative cohort of male and female 20-30-year-olds.

A long line of research has examined whether being the victim of sexual assault is associated with negative and maladaptive outcomes, but has mainly focused on women and girls. To replicate and extend prior research by examining whether various measures of sexual assault are related to physical ill-health, depression and/or suicidal ideation, regardless of sex or age of victim. Our research questions were (1) is sexual assault related to health problems, depression and suicidal ideation and (2) do these associations differ between men and women? We analyse data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a longitudinal study of a US nationally representative sample of nearly 21,000 young people recruited for the first wave of interviews when most of the participants were between ages 12 and 18years. We used Wave 4 data, collected for participants who were in their 20s and 30s, on experience of both physical sexual assault and non-physical sexual assault and mental state, allowing for some characteristics measured in Wave 1. Allowing for missing data, sample sizes were between 6868 and 10,489 for the women and 6024 and 10,263 for the men. Statistically significant associations were revealed between the physical and non-physical measures of sexual assault and the health problems scale, the depression scale and the measure of suicidal ideation. These associations remained statistically significant even after controlling for key covariates measured at Wave 1, including exposure to delinquent peers, poverty and demographic characteristics. Sexual assault at some time and of whatever kind, although more commonly reported by women than men, is similarly associated with serious physical and mental health problems during their 20s and 30s. More sequencing detail is required for better prevention of harms.

The ties that bind: mediating the connection between perceived parental support/monitoring and perceived peer delinquency with two forms of antisocial cognition

ABSTRACT Prior research has shown that social variables are linked to delinquent and criminal outcomes by facets of antisocial cognition. The current study set out to determine if a person’s perception of different social variables, in this case parental support/monitoring and peer delinquency, are likewise linked by some of these same variables, cognitive insensitivity specifically. Analyses performed across three time periods measured one year apart using data from the Pocono Bullying Study (N = 845, 406 boys and 439 girls, mean age at baseline = 11.2 years) revealed that one of the two pathways (parental monitoring → cognitive insensitivity → peer delinquency) predicted to be significant, was, in fact, significant. Conversely, the two pathways predicted to be non-significant (i.e. the ones mediated by cognitive impulsivity) were non-significant, although the difference between the one significant insensitivity-mediated pathway and its corresponding impulsivity-mediated pathway failed to achieve significance. The results of this study provide partial support for the notion that facets of antisocial thinking may not only mediate relationships between social context variables and delinquent outcomes, but relationships between certain groups of perceived social context variables as well.

Associations between trajectories of adolescent conduct problems and psychological well-being in young women.

Despite the clinical relevance, little is known about variability in positive adult outcomes (i.e., flourishing, life satisfaction) of female adolescent conduct problems (CP), or interpersonal factors that promote these types of well-being. We hypothesized differential associations between adolescent CP trajectories and indicators of adult well-being due to level of positive relationships with caregivers during ages 12-17. Data were drawn from participants (N = 1965) of the Pittsburgh Girls Study, a longitudinal study of girls' development. Caregiver reported CP, adolescent reports of parental trust and positive parenting, and adolescent-reported peer delinquency were assessed annually between ages 12-17. Well-being in young adulthood was measured using self-reported flourishing and life satisfaction between ages 18-22. Latent class growth analysis of adolescent CP revealed four trajectories characterized as low stable (20.0%), moderate stable (63.9%), adolescent-onset (8.1%), and high quadratic (8.0%). Main effects of trust and positive relationships with caregivers during adolescence on well-being in early adulthood were found. Positive parenting was found to moderate the association between CP trajectory and flourishing. The magnitude of the negative association between the high quadratic trajectory group and life satisfaction decreased as positive parenting increased. These results support the importance of intervention in adolescence to focus on increasing trusting and positive relationships with caregivers for all females, as this may increase well-being in adulthood regardless of adolescent CP history.

Gender-based differences in abstention and desistance from drug use among American Indian adolescents

Informed by the social control theoretical perspective, this study intends to identify the factors more likely to differentiate American Indian (AI) adolescents who never used illicit drugs (abstainers) and those who used drugs in the past but did not report recent drug usage (desisters) from their peers who reported lifetime and recent drug usage (persisters). This secondary analysis is based on data from a multi-site study conducted between 2009 and 2013. It is based on a gender-balanced sample (N = 3,380) of AI adolescents (50.50% male; Mean age = 14.75; SD = 1.69) representing the major AI languages and cultural groups in the U.S. Half of the AI adolescents reported lifetime drug use (50.40%), 37.50% never used drugs, and 12.10% stopped using drugs. When controlling for the variables included in the analysis, AI boys were significantly more likely than AI girls to desist from drug use. Both boys and girls who never used drugs tended to be younger, were less likely to have delinquent friends and a lower level of self-control, had stronger bonds to school, but lower levels of family attachment, and reported increased parental supervision. Compared to drug users, desisters associated significantly less with delinquent peers. While school attachment, self-control, and parental monitoring did not differentiate female desisters from female drug users, adolescent boys who desisted from drug use were more likely to report higher levels of school attachment and parental monitoring and their level of self-control was less likely to be low.

194. Adult Perceptions of Youths' Attitudes Toward Violence and Peer Delinquency and Youth-Reported Violence Experiences

194. Adult Perceptions of Youths' Attitudes Toward Violence and Peer Delinquency and Youth-Reported Violence Experiences

Early exposure to adverse childhood experiences and delinquent peer association among youth

AbstractObjectiveThis 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.

The Associations between Self-Silencing and Delinquency in Adolescent Who Experienced Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT A large body of research reveals that child sexual abuse is an adverse experience associated with many negative socioemotional and behavioral consequences during adolescence. Notably, adolescent victims of child sexual abuse are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior, which has importance for their adaptation later in life. While research on the psychological antecedents of delinquent behavior has independently considered each core feature of silencing the self (i.e., low assertiveness and self-expression, conflict avoidance, presenting a non-authentic self, anger, and hostility), it has failed to jointly consider these as potential predictors of delinquent behaviors in adolescent victims of child sexual abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the two dimensions of self-silencing (i.e., divided self and silencing the self) and delinquency in adolescent victims of child sexual abuse. A sample of 110 adolescents seeking services following child sexual abuse completed self-reported questionnaires, and case files were analyzed to gather information regarding child sexual abuse severity. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for the effect of age, gender, parental monitoring, and child sexual abuse severity, self-silencing was positively associated with delinquent behaviors, affiliation with delinquent peers, as well as alcohol and drug use. Divided self contributed to the prediction of aggressive behaviors. Implementing interventions aimed at increasing adolescents’ assertiveness, conflict management skills, and emotion regulation and promoting congruence between their behaviors and authentic selves may lower their involvement in delinquency.

Do Peers Protect People or Put Them at Risk of Recidivism? Friendship Quality and Peer Crime Among Justice-Involved Youth

Despite theoretical acknowledgments that peers can be either “good” or “bad” for criminal offending and recidivism, criminological research most often models peers as a criminogenic influence on offending behaviors. To explore the impact of peer relationships and to expand on theoretical conceptualization of peer relationship quality, the current study uses Pathways to Desistance data to examine the effects of peer quality and peer delinquency in recidivism over time among a sample of 1,272 individuals adjudicated during adolescence. Findings from a series of mixed-effects models demonstrate that peer quality is significantly predictive of increased aggressive offending. However, quality mitigates the relationship between peer delinquency and income offending, highlighting a need for further research considering potential protective aspects of peer relationships.

Religion and Hate Crime Victimisation: A Representative Study of Young People in Finland

Key societal macro-trends, such as immigration and the increasing salience of post-secular and identity-based religiosity, are converging to increase the relevance of religion in everyday life. Such developments call for a reassessment of the religion–victimisation link. We analyse the prevalence and severity patterns of hate victimisation in different groups defined by religion and explore the links between routine activities and lifestyle factors in hate crime victimisation. Our research site, Finland, is a country with a long history of religious homogeneity, recently interrupted by religious pluralisation. We draw on the 2020 sweep of the Finnish Self-Report Delinquency Study (FSRD), a nationally representative crime survey targeting 15–16-year-olds (N = 5482). We found that religiously unaffiliated and Muslim youths have an above-average risk of hate crime victimisation. There were some indications that the patterns of victimisation are different across religious denominations. For instance, Muslim youths were more likely to be attacked by adults. Hate crime victimisation risk was not mediated by routines and lifestyles. Independent of religion, there was, however, a strong and direct positive association between hate victimisation and a risky lifestyle, i.e. substance use and interaction with delinquent peers. Comparing the findings with assault victimisation, we observed that the results are largely specific to hate crime offending rather than assault victimisation in general. We discuss the findings from the perspective of criminological theory, future research needs, and policy implications.

Qualitative Exploration and Correction Strategies of the Criminal Psychological Mechanism of the Burglars

In order to explore the criminal psychological mechanism of burglars, this study adopts the qualitative research method of grounded theory to conduct in-depth interviews with 41 burglars in two prisons in Jiangxi Province, China. Nvivo 11.0 was used to code-construct and qualitatively analyze the interview content in order to refine the influencing factors and psychological evolution process of burglary behavior. The findings revealed that (1) burglary risk factors include burglary cognition, burglary motivation, burglary decision-making, delinquent peers, burglary opportunity, and incomplete reformation. (2) There are three stages in the psychological evolution process of burglars: cognitive formation, motivational dominance, and behavioral decision. (3) The interpretation of the criminal psychological mechanism of burglars is a comprehensive and dynamic outcome of the interaction of internal and external factors that shape the individual. Participants’ inspection and non-participants’ inspection were adapted to verify the research results’ validity, which showed that the results were reliable.

Parents, peers, and low self-control: Exploring the impact of time varying factors associated with deviance in early- and middle-adolescence

Prior research finds an association between parental attachment, peer delinquency, low self-control, and deviant behavior among adolescents. However, longitudinal research related to these associations typically examines only one specific developmental period or explores multiple waves without considering changes across developmental periods. The failure to account for shifting periods in development can lead to conclusions regarding the correlates of deviance that ignore their age-graded impact. This study demonstrates how exploring all six-waves of data from a longitudinal study of Korean adolescents leads to conclusions regarding parents, peers, and low self-control that may misrepresent their influence. Alternatively, when the data is examined based on stages of adolescence—divided into early and middle adolescence—a clearer picture of the age-graded influence of parents, peers, and low self-control emerges. Specifically, when analyzed as a whole, parental attachment appears to have an enduring significant association with deviance. When analyzed by stage of adolescence, it becomes clear that parental attachment is significantly associated with deviance only in early-adolescence, and in middle-adolescence, peer delinquency emerges as most relevant. Importantly, low self-control is consistently associated with delinquency across all stages.

A mother’s role in child morality development: Effect of explaining the wrongfulness of antisocial behavior on future adult offending

Morality, as discussed by mothers with their adolescent children, was tested as a disincentive for future adult crime via its effect on the antisocial thought processes of cognitive insensitivity (CINS) and cognitive impulsivity (CIMP). In this study, the ability of CINS and CIMP to mediate the effect of a mother’s discussions of ethics with her child on future adult offending was assessed in a group of 3,958 adolescents (1,785 males, 2,173 females) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). A path analysis was performed, controlling for maternal warmth, encouragement of independence, communication, and knowledge, as well as peer delinquency. Consistent with predictions, the results showed that CINS, but not CIMP, negatively mediated the mother ethical discussions–participant offending relationship. These results highlight the salience of inductive parenting in the form of mother-child discussions on ethics and the wrongfulness of antisocial behavior in preventing future adult offending by inhibiting CINS in late adolescence.

Low Self-control and Moderated Mediated Effects of Child Maltreatment on Delinquency

Low self-control theory, one of the most prominent and influential criminological theories, posits that monitoring of child behaviors and discipline of child misbehaviors by parents are the key drivers of instilling self-control in children. The developmental neuroscience literature, however, demonstrates that parental attachment behaviors, or lack thereof (child maltreatment), are causally associated with the development of self-control. In the present study, drawing on the developmental neuroscience literature, we introduce the role that the orienting network in an infant's brain plays in the development of self-control. And then, in order to examine the complex pathways child maltreatment is linked to the two key correlates of delinquency, namely, low self-control and peer delinquency, we examined a mediated moderation as well as a moderated mediation using a South Korean adolescents sample. Results indicate that the indirect association between child maltreatment and delinquency via low self-control is conditioned by the level of peer delinquency.

South Korean adolescents' delinquency, disclosure, parental knowledge, parent-child closeness, and delinquent peer associations.

The present study sought to examine longitudinal associations among delinquency, children's disclosure to parents, parent-child relationship quality, and parental knowledge in a South Korean sample. Longitudinal research shows that in Western samples, delinquency is negatively associated with the latter three variables. We also sought to test whether the associations varied across gender. We found little evidence of significant reciprocal relationships among the variables and no differences in associations across gender. A second analysis revealed that adolescents' involvement with delinquent peers was a good predictor of subsequent delinquency for males and females. Implications of the findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Deviant peer affiliation mediates the prospective association from impulsivity to alcohol use in late adolescence.

Previous research has found that impulsivity and deviant peer affiliation predict alcohol use among adolescents. However, it remains unclear to what extent these risk factors predict alcohol use in conjunction with one another, and to what extent they predict over and above correlated risk factors, such as pre-existing externalizing problems and sociodemographic characteristics. The present study tested the hypothesis that deviant peer affiliation would mediate the prospective association between impulsivity and alcohol use in adolescence (ages 13-18 years), controlling for a wide range of family and child-level covariates. Analyses were conducted using data from 2318 participants from the Longitudinal Cohort Study of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Participants were approximately 9, 12, or 15 years of age at wave 1 of the study, with waves 2 and 3 taking place at approximately 2-year intervals. The sample composition was 50.3% male, 46.1% Hispanic, 35.6% Black, non-Hispanic, 14.4% White, non-Hispanic, and 3.9% other race/ethnicity. Results from path analyses indicated that the prospective association between impulsivity and alcohol use was mediated by peer deviance, but only for the oldest (age 15) cohort. Findings from the present study suggest that despite impulsivity being a dispositional characteristic, its effects on alcohol use in later adolescence are achieved through a social pathway, via affiliation with deviant peers. It further suggests that this pathway, especially the link from impulsivity to affiliation with deviant peers, may not operate until late adolescence. Findings suggest that alcohol use may be prevented or reduced among impulsive adolescents by reducing their exposure to delinquent peers.

Examining the mediating role of peer antisocial behavior on the relationship between parenting and bullying behaviors

ABSTRACT Although prior research has established the influence of parents and peers on adolescents’ bullying behaviors, there is a void in the literature of the potential mediating effect of negative peer influence in the relationship between parenting practices and bullying behaviors among a United States sample. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study, the present study examines the mediating role of peer antisocial behavior in the association between parenting (i.e., parental monitoring and maternal warmth) and adolescents’ bullying behaviors (i.e., bully perpetration, bully victimization, bully-victim, and non-involved). Results indicate that the effect of parental monitoring on youth who engaged in bully perpetration (vs. non-involved) was mediated by peer antisocial behavior. That is, poor parental monitoring increased delinquent peer association, which in turn predicted a high risk of engaging in bully perpetration. However, peer antisocial behavior did not mediate the relationship between parental monitoring and bully victimization (vs. non-involved) nor bully-victim (vs. non-involved). The findings have important implications for adolescents’ bullying behavior and possible intervention programs by informing researchers and practitioners about the mechanisms surrounding multiple types of bullying behaviors.

Gender Discrimination towards Female Arab Teenagers in Israel and Their Involvement in Severe Violence: The Mediating Role of Closeness to Parents

Abstract The field of antisocial behaviour has been systematically ignoring women, particularly from ethnic minorities, probably because they occupy a lower position in society. Based on intersectionality theory, the current study examined perceptions of being discriminated against as a result of being a female in a conservative society, which restricts familial support, and the contribution of such discrimination towards violence against others amongst female Arab adolescents. The present study is based on a sample of 404 Arab female adolescents and young women (aged 12–21 years) in Israel. Participants completed a structured, anonymous self-report questionnaire. The results showed that perpetration of severe violence by female participants was correlated significantly and positively with affiliation with delinquent peers, perceived ethnonational discrimination and sexual victimisation. Conversely, closeness to parents was significantly and negatively correlated with perpetration of severe violence by female participants. The findings also showed that the association between gender discrimination and severe physical violence was mediated by closeness to parents. The findings suggest that traditional patriarchal attitudes towards gender roles might be a risk factor for antisocial behaviour and involvement in delinquency. They also highlight the critical role of parental factors in mediating violent behaviours amongst female adolescents experiencing gender discrimination in a patriarchal society.

Exploring sex differences between dimensions of psychopathy, executive functioning and youth gang membership

ABSTRACT Previous investigation has not considered potential sex differences for psychopathy facets and executive functioning related to gang membership. Although empirical inquiry has begun to focus on psychopathy’s role in youth gang membership, this research is male-focused. The present study uses the baseline of the Pathways to Desistance study to investigate the relationship between psychopathy facets, executive functioning and gang membership across sex. Logistic regression in all boys and girls samples is performed to examine the potential relationship between the constructs across sex. Following this, Long’s test of predicted probabilities is implemented to examine potential differences across sex for key variables robustly. The findings suggest the socially/deviant facet of psychopathy is associated with gang status in girls only; the effect was smaller than for both peer delinquency and violent victimization. Further executive functioning and the interpersonal facet were not significantly associated with gang status in boys and girls. The results of Long’s test show no robust differences that exist across sex for variables of interest. Although sex differences are not robustly found in the current study it is suggested intervention strategies should consider the needs of girls, because strategies do not make these considerations.

“In Police We Trust?”—Confidence in the Police Among Adolescents With and Without a Migration Background in Germany

Overall, adolescents exhibit a high level of confidence in the police. Nevertheless, it is problematic when certain social groups show lower levels of confidence in the police as this can affect police legitimacy. Based on a representative survey of ninth-grade students in Lower Saxony (N = 12,444), conducted in 2019, the current study examines confidence in the police among adolescents with and without a migration background. As well as an examination of the correlation, the study analyses whether the lower rate of confidence in the police among adolescents with a migration background can potentially be explained by them being exposed to a greater share and burden of influencing factors which impact confidence in the police (e.g. police contact, involvement with delinquent peers and neighbourhood characteristics). It is shown that adolescents with a migration background exhibit lower levels of confidence in the police than adolescents without a migration background. Although the correlation decreases upon the inclusion of other factors that influence confidence in the police, this relationship cannot be fully explained by the fact that young people with a migration background are also more burdened by the other determinants. However, the strongest correlations with confidence in the police are found for affinity for violence, friendship with delinquent individuals, police contact, property offenders, fear of crime and incivilities.