Friends, Cognition, and Delinquency: Proactive and Reactive Criminal Thinking as Mediators of the Peer Influence and Peer Selection Effects among Male Delinquents

AbstractThe peer influence and peer selection effects are two widely replicated findings in the criminological literature that refer to the predictive relationship between antisocial behaviour and delinquent peer association as well as between delinquent peer association and antisocial behaviour, respectively. Research suggests that antisocial cognition might constitute a causal mechanism underlying part of these effects. This study investigated the extent that the peer influence and peer selection effects are mediated by one key aspect of antisocial cognition—beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict. This study examined whether beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict mediated the relationship between delinquent peer association and volume of self-reported antisocial behaviour and vice-versa, across a 1-year follow-up period, in 683 (433 male, 250 female) British adolescents (mean age: 13.8 years) with a history of serious antisocial behaviour. Participants completed measures at baseline and 6, 12 and 18 months thereafter. Findings indicated that beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict partially mediated the peer influence and peer selection effects, explaining a substantial proportion of the total effect in the peer influence (i.e., 26%) and peer selection (i.e., 17%) models. These results suggest that beliefs and attitudes supporting peer conflict could explain part of the mechanism underlying the peer influence and peer selection effects in adolescents with a history of serious antisocial behaviour.

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Deviant Peer Preferences: A Simplified Approach to Account for Peer Selection Effects

Deviant Behavior ◽

10.1080/01639625.2019.1597321 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (9) ◽

pp. 1143-1156 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Owen Gallupe ◽

John H. Boman IV ◽

Rebecca Nash ◽

Erin D. Castro

Keyword(s):

Selection Effects ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Simplified Approach

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The Sibling Effect for Delinquency: Mediation by Proactive Criminal Thinking and Moderation by Age

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology ◽

10.1177/0306624x19872963 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (2-3) ◽

pp. 265-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Glenn D. Walters

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Mediation Analysis ◽

Early Adolescent ◽

Criminal Thinking ◽

Causal Mediation ◽

Influence Effect ◽

Causal Mediation Analysis ◽

Significant Pathway ◽

At Home

This study tested whether the sibling delinquency effect, like the peer influence effect, is mediated by proactive (planned, calculated, and amoral) criminal thinking. Youth who completed the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) and had a sibling living at home were divided into an early adolescent subsample ( n = 795) and a mid-adolescent subsample ( n = 532) after it was determined that age moderated the effect of sibling delinquency on proactive criminal thinking and serious offending. The results of a causal mediation analysis revealed a significant pathway running from sibling delinquency at Wave 1, to proactive criminal thinking at Wave 2, to serious offending at Wave 3, but only in the early adolescent subsample. These results suggest that the sibling delinquency effect may be the result of learning proactive criminal thinking in association with a delinquent sibling while still an early adolescent.

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Perceived peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.11.016 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 32 (8) ◽

pp. 1546-1554 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

Beth R. Hoffman ◽

Peter R. Monge ◽

Chih-Ping Chou ◽

Thomas W. Valente

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Adolescent Smoking ◽

Peer Selection

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The Assessment of Peer Selection and Peer Environmental Influences on Behavior Using Pairs of Siblings or Twins

Twin Research ◽

10.1375/twin.5.1.38 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 38-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Pamela A. F. Madden ◽

Kathleen K. Bucholz ◽

Alexandre A. Todorov ◽

Julia D. Grant ◽

Andrew C. Heath

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Problem Behaviors ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Environmental Influences ◽

Peer Influences ◽

Selection Effects ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significance Level ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Patterns Of Behavior

AbstractMany studies have found strong peer correlations for a variety of problem behaviors that begin in adolescence (e.g. substance use). Such correlations are commonly attributed to peer influences, but could also be explained by selective (‘assortative’) friendship: the tendency for those with similar patterns of behavior to become friends. Here we show how, under certain assumptions, cross-sectional data from pairs of siblings or twins and their peers may be used to resolve the contributions of peer selection and reciprocal peer environmental influences to peer resemblance. We performed power calculations to determine necessary sample sizes for rejecting with 80% power, at the 5% significance level, the hypothesis of only peer selection effects, or only reciprocal peer environmental effects. A false hypothesis of only selective friendship effects was always easier to reject than a false hypothesis of only reciprocal peer environmental influences. Limitations of these simulations, including uncertainty about the most appropriate way to model peer selection, are discussed.

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Peer influence in adolescent drinking behavior: A meta-analysis of stochastic actor-based modeling studies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0250169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0250169

Author(s):

Valeria Ivaniushina ◽

Vera Titkova

Keyword(s):

Peer Influence ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Drinking Behavior ◽

Selection Effect ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Peer Selection ◽

Influence Effect ◽

Log Odds

Objectives To measure the effects of peer influence and peer selection on drinking behavior in adolescence through a rigorous statistical approach designed to unravel these interrelated processes. Methods We conducted systematic searches of electronic databases, thesis collections and conference proceedings to identify studies that used longitudinal network design and stochastic actor-oriented modeling to analyze drinking behavior in adolescents. Parameter estimates collected from individual studies were analyzed using multilevel random-effects models. Results We identified 26 articles eligible for meta-analysis. Meta-analyses for different specifications of the peer influence effect were conducted separately. The peer influence effect was positive for every specification: for average similarity (avSim) mean log odds ratio was 1.27 with 95% confidence interval [0.04; 2.49]; for total similarity (totSim) 0.46 (95% CI = [0.44; 0.48]), and for average alter (avAlt) 0.70 (95% CI = [-0.01; 1.41]). The peer selection effect (simX) was also positive: 0.46 (95% CI = [0.28; 0.63]). Conversion log odds ratio values to Cohen’s d gives estimates from 0.25 to 0.70, which is considered as medium to large effect. Conclusions Advances in methodology for social network analysis have made it possible to accurately estimate peer influence effects free from peer selection effects. More research is necessary to clarify the roles of age, gender, and individual susceptibility on the changing behavior of adolescents under the influence of their peers. Understanding the effects of peer influence should inform practitioners and policy makers to design and deliver more effective prevention programs.

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