peers in context Flashcards
peer-based theories
- learning theories
- Hirschi’s social control theory
- social disorganization
what is a peer
social equal
- often the same age or in the same age range
friends & best friends
romantic partners
co-offenders
classmates (not studied)
why do peers matter during adolescence
Warr, 2002
“companions in crime”
- peers are more open to testing new ideas than parents/families
- peers offer immediate rewards/punishments
- adolescent peer groups are important for social development: social competence, empathy, intimacy
- adolescents invest more in friends (time & social meaning)
peer pressure
- an active process
- peers directly try to get you to engage in behavior
- perceived to be negative
peer influence
- peers subtly & naturally shaping each other’s behavior
- criminologists study influence more than pressure
- can be seen as positive or negative
selection vs. socialization
how does peer influence work
selection: juveniles choose to spend time with friends similar to them, the “birds of a feather” mindset
delinquency → friendship
socialization: juveniles who socialize with friends who happen to be delinquent are more apt to become delinquent too
friendship → delinquency
opportunity perspective
how does peer influence work
socializing:
- supervised or unsupervised
- structured or unstructured
socialization occurs during any combination
the riskiest time for juveniles to become delinquent is when socializing is unstructured & unsupervised
balance perspective (McGloin, 2009)
how does peer influence work
- the “risk” a peer poses is relative, it’s dependent on the juvenile’s personal behavior
- drive to seek balance with peers and meet in the middle leads to subtle changes
- issue arises when you can’t achieve balance
impact of not having friends on delinquency
- social rejection may increase the likelihood of delinquency, especially for boys
- some studies show girls use isolation to successfully avoid delinquency (conscious choice)
