NCJ Number
225535
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 35-72
Date Published
February 2009
Length
38 pages
Annotation
After developing several hypotheses, this study examined self-control’s potential role in deviant peer structure.
Abstract
The analyses suggest many things but overall point to the notion that no one perspective is singularly correct. On the whole, the investigation provides four key “takeaway” points: (1) both deviant peers and self-control are important criminogenic risks for offending behavior, risks that are interrelated; (2) deviant peer structure may play a role in promoting offending behavior, though a more modest one than suggested by previous studies and the social process perspective; (3) self-control appears to affect more dimensions of friendship than whether the friends are deviant; and (4) researchers interested in studying self-control and deviant peer effects should be sensitive to gender and race differences. This investigation brought self-control into the spotlight with regard to a particular focus on the linkages among deviant peers. Though limited to self-control, this research contributes to the knowledge about variations in criminogenic social processes within peer groups. It determined whether including self-control altered or modified the conditioning effect of network structure. The study developed three hypotheses and tested these hypotheses using data from a longitudinal sample of adolescents containing peer self-reports of delinquency. Tables, appendixes A and B, notes, and references