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DELINQUENCY AND THE STRUCTURE OF ADOLESCENT PEER GROUPS
Derek A Kreager1, Kelly Rulison, James Moody
1Pennsylvania State University.
Criminology : an Interdisciplinary Journal
|May 17, 2011
Summary
Delinquent groups are less cohesive and central in school networks, but this is often due to factors like gender and socioeconomic status. Drinking groups, however, show higher cohesion and status.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Network Analysis
Background:
- Criminological research historically focused on gangs and group processes.
- A shift occurred mid-1970s towards individual behavior studies, sidelining group dynamics.
- This study revisits group-level analysis to examine delinquent group structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test competing theoretical claims regarding the structure of delinquent groups.
- To investigate the relationship between group network measures and delinquency/drinking behaviors.
- To understand the role of group characteristics in explaining observed correlations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized network-based clustering to identify 897 friendship groups from two ninth-grade cohorts.
- Collected data from 27 schools in Pennsylvania and Iowa.
- Related group delinquency and drinking to network metrics (size, reciprocity, transitivity, cohesion, stability, popularity, centrality).
Main Results:
- Found significant negative correlations between group delinquency and network measures, indicating less solidarity and centrality in delinquent groups.
- These correlations were largely explained by group attributes like gender composition and socioeconomic status.
- Drinking behaviors positively correlated with most network measures, suggesting higher status and cohesion in drinking groups.
Conclusions:
- Structural differences in delinquent groups may be coincidental with other attributes, not inherent to delinquency itself.
- Drinking groups appear to offer greater social capital and cohesion within peer contexts.
- Findings contribute to criminological debates on group structure and behavior.
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