NCJ Number
255830
Journal
Criminology Volume: 58 Issue: 2 Dated: 2019
Date Published
2019
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study tested its hypothesis that when viewed through a symbolic interactionist lens, variations in primary social groups, through which individuals filter official labels like arrest, may generate patterns for subsequent self-concept and delinquency that are contrary to what labeling theory indicates.
Abstract
In testing this hypothesis, the study developed a moderated mediation model in which gang membership is expected to differentially impact the effect of arrest on future delinquency through an intermediary mechanism: self-esteem. The study tested a gang–nongang dichotomy and then probed further to test whether hypothesized effects were gang-specific or occurred similarly for non-gang youths with highly delinquent peer groups. Analyzed using Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) data (N = 961), comparisons between gang members and nonaffiliated youths with similarly high delinquent peer groups revealed no significant differences in conditional indirect effects of arrest on self-esteem and future delinquency; the two groups were similarly insulated from any negative impact of arrest on self-esteem. For non-gang youths with fewer delinquent peers, however, arrest significantly reduced later self-esteem, which in turn increased their future delinquency. (publisher abstract modified)