Deviant peers: Does friendship stability condition the peer-delinquency link?
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14773708221128293 |
| Author | Marie Ouellet,Leah Daigle,Owen Gallupe |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Deviant peers: Does friendship
stability condition the
peer-delinquency link?
Marie Ouellet
Georgia State University, USA
Leah Daigle
Georgia State University, USA
Owen Gallupe
University of Waterloo, Canada
Abstract
Prior research demonstrates a clear association between deviant peers and delinquent behavior,
but it is unclear whether stable relationships provide stronger sources of influence than ephemeral
ties. The current study addresses this gap by testing whether individuals are more likely to adjust
their delinquent behaviors to be similar to their stable friends compared to their transient affilia-
tions. Drawing from network data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult
Health, we use Stochastic Actor Oriented Models to estimate whether stable friendships condi-
tion the peer-delinquency link. Our results suggest the stability of friendships does not impact
whether an individual will adopt the delinquency of their friends; adolescents were not more
or less likely to conform to their stable and enduring friends compared to their transient and
short-lived ties. We discuss the study’s implications for understanding peer effects and status-seek-
ing behaviors during adolescence.
Keywords
delinquency, peer influence, friendship stability, networks, stochastic actor-oriented models
Corresponding author:
Marie Ouellet, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303,
USA.
Email: mouellet@gsu.edu
Article
European Journal of Criminology
2023, Vol. 20(3) 1123–1145
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14773708221128293
journals.sagepub.com/home/euc
Introduction
Considerable evidence shows individuals exposed to deviant behaviors over longer
periods are more likely to engage in delinquency (Pyrooz et al., 2013; Thornberry
et al., 1993; Warr, 1993). Yet, while longer exposure to deviant behaviors amplifies delin-
quency, little is known about whether the peers who model the deviant behaviors are
uniformly risky. Specifically, we know little about whether longer-lasting relationships
with deviant peers are more influential than transient affiliations. The fragile and fleeting
nature of adolescent friendships (Faris and Felmlee, 2018) and the instability of deviant
peer relationships in particular (Charette and Papachristos, 2017; McGloin et al., 2008)
raises fundamental questions about the role of relationship duration in conditioning the
peer-delinquency link. Indeed, stable and enduring social ties are implicated in core crim-
inological theories that emphasize the role of strong relationships in the transmission of
norms, attitudes, and behaviors associated with delinquency (Burgess and Akers, 1966;
Sutherland, 1947). However, if deviant peer relationships undergo high turnover, how
effective are they at shaping deviant behavior?
The current study explores whether stable and enduring friendships condition the link
between deviant peers and delinquency. Specifically, we test whether stable and enduring
relationships provide stronger sources of influence than unstable and transient friendships.
We draw from longitudinal network data on adolescent friendships and use Stochastic
Actor-Oriented Models (SAOM) to estimate the role of stable friendships in conditioning
the peer-delinquency link. In doing so, we aim to identifyhow the cycling of deviant peers,
where individualsshed delinquent affiliations onlyto replace them laterally with new ones,
compared to individuals who retain the same deviant peers, shapes delinquent outcomes.
Duration and the peer-delinquency link
A long-standingassumption of the peer influence literatureis that the duration and intensity
of relationships impact the probability an individual will adjust their behaviors to those of
their peers. Dating back to Sutherland (1947), differential association theory first laid out
these assumptions withincriminology. Differential associationtheory proposes that indivi-
duals learn definitionsfavorable or unfavorable to crime in interaction with others, and the
likelihood these definitions will be adopted varies with the duration of the association.
Individuals exposed to deviant peers over longer periods are expected to be more likely
to adopt definitions of crime that align with their peer group. In its more recent reformu-
lation, social learning theory retained duration as a core modality of association.
However, social learning theorists refined the role of duration, emphasizing that relation-
ship duration wascritical to behavior adoption only to the extent it increasedthe probability
of reinforcement (Burgessand Akers, 1966, p. 144). From this perspective, an individual’s
closest relationships—defined, in part, as those theyhave known the longest—are expected
to be more salient sources of reinforcement and modeling (Akers, 2011).
Longer-lasting relationships reinforce behaviors by increasing the likelihood and
opportunities to learn more about one another and share the attitudes, values, and
norms critical for the transmission of deviant behavior (Agnew, 1991; Giordano et al.,
1986). Indeed, more enduring relationships produce repeated interactions and shared
1124 European Journal of Criminology 20(3)
To continue reading
Request your trial