NCJ Number
208337
Journal
Criminology Volume: 42 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 805-835
Date Published
November 2004
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This study explored the relationship between female friendships and offending behavior.
Abstract
In recent years the research literature, as well as the popular media, has focused on “mean girls” and how adolescent girls use relational forms of aggression, particularly against their female peers. While this research has been beneficial in exploring previously understudied aspects of female aggression, it neglects the potentially beneficial aspects of friendships among adolescent girls. The current study explored the hypothesis that, in comparison to friendships with males, friendships with females provide greater social control, fewer opportunities, and less motivation for offending, and thus work to discourage criminal behavior. Cross-sectional self-report data from a sample of 563 high school youth in Toronto were used to probe the relationship between the gender composition of intimate friendship networks and involvement in property crime. Self-report survey data were also gathered from a sample of 390 street youth in Toronto to explore how context, in this case homelessness, impacted the relationship between gender composition of close friends and property crime. Results of regression analyses indicated that female-dominated friendship networks were associated with lower levels of property crime for both school and street females. This relationship was weaker, yet still significant, for school males involved in friendships with females. No relationship between gender composition of friendship network and crime was noted for street males. Future research should continue to assess the contribution of friends’ gender to crime through panel data on the origins of friendship and the onset of offending. Tables, references