More than Risk? Longitudinal Changes in Friendship Support with Serious Adolescent Offenders

Research on the friendships of adolescents who offend has overwhelmingly focused on delinquency, despite developmental evidence that friendships are a large source of support for youth. In order to understand between- and within-individual differences in friendship support over time with adolescents who offend, the present study used multi-level modeling techniques on data from male youth in the Pathways to Desistance study. Participants were a racially and ethnically diverse (43% Black, 35% Hispanic, and 21% White) group of 1040 male youth adjudicated or convicted of serious offenses between age 14 and 18. Youth reported high levels of support, which modestly declined over time, and they reported less support from delinquent peers. Black and Hispanic youth reported higher levels of friendship support than White youth, but the trajectory of support did not statistically differ by race or ethnicity. The friendships of youth who commit serious offenses are nuanced relationships that should not be viewed dichotomously as delinquent or supportive.