(Re)Recognizing the multidimensional roles of family and peers on crime

Social scientists have long recognized the salience of family and peers in understanding the etiology of crime and delinquency. Although criminologists universally acknowledge that family and peers can each exert prosocial and antisocial influences on offending behaviors, this area of study has gradually divided into a "good" and "bad" dichotomy. Specifically, family tends to be viewed and measured as a key factor that protects against offending. In stark contrast, peers tend to be viewed and measured as key correlates toward offending. In the following discussion, we explore the historical roots of this tendency through examining how key theoretical perspectives have shaped this dichotomy and informed current perspectives on the link between family, peers, and crime. We then highlight how some studies have stepped outside of this dichotomy to consider the independent and interdependent roles of family and peers as both positive and negative influences on offending behaviors. Overall, there is nothing new about understanding peers and family as both prosocial and criminogenic in their influences; rather, there is a greater need to (re)recognize these multifaceted roles in modern criminological studies.