Peer Networks: Impact on Juvenile Delinquency
Open Access
- Author:
- Roney, Michelle Marie
- Area of Honors:
- Criminology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- D. Wayne Osgood, Thesis Supervisor
Stacy Silver, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Peer Networks; Juvenile Delinquency
- Abstract:
- This study analyzes the potential relationship between peer friendship networks and juvenile delinquency through secondary analysis of data collected by the PROSPER Peers Project. Although the PROSPER project has collected data from over 11,000 students on five occasions, this research utilizes the final wave of data, collected when participants were in ninth grade. Focus was placed on this grade-level as students are at an age where delinquent behaviors are formed and more likely to occur when compared to other grade-levels. Using this data, the study looked at a number of factors related to peer networks and juvenile delinquency including: size of friendship networks, type of friendship network (cohesive or not) and delinquency of friends. The data analysis was conducted using linear regressions. Some hypotheses required two linear regressions for testing with alternative measures of the key concepts. The results support two of the four hypotheses. They demonstrate a strong positive association between delinquency of friends and juvenile delinquency. In addition, there is small negative association between size of friendship network and juvenile delinquency. This implies that adolescents part of large friendship networks experience a decrease in juvenile delinquency. These findings suggest that addressing peer relations would be a useful direction for developing interventions and preventative programs to combat problem behaviors and juvenile delinquency.