NCJ Number
242800
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 41 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2013 Pages: 162-171
Date Published
June 2013
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study used a situational approach to determine the effect of peer influence on delinquent behavior in a criminogenic situation.
Abstract
Using a situational approach, this study examined the effect of peer influence on delinquent behavior for youth involved in a criminogenic situation. The study findings include the following: higher levels of substance use were more likely to occur in situations involving smaller groups of people; having friends who drank alcohol and smoked cannabis in higher amounts at parties increased the likelihood that an adolescent would drink or smoke more heavily themselves; and increases in the amount that friends drank alcohol or smoked cannabis from one party was related to increases in an adolescent's personal substance use. These findings suggest that the behavior of peers in specific situations is important when evaluating levels of substance use among adolescents. Data for the study were obtained from a sample of adolescents (n=775) in a large Canadian city. Information was obtained on the youths' alcohol and cannabis use at the last two parties they attended. Information was also obtained on the situational peer group characteristics. The data was analyzed to determine the effect that the group characteristics had on levels of substance use among the study participants. The study's findings indicate support for the idea that the substance use of the peer group at specific times and places provides teens with a mechanism for determining the situational-specific optimal behavior at that time and in that place. Study limitations are discussed. Tables, appendix, notes, and references