Two Routes to Delinquency: Differences Between Early and Late Starters in the Impact of Parenting and Deviant Peers

• NCJ Number: 148441
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1994) Pages: 247-276
• Author(s): R L Simons; C Wu; R D Conger; F O Lorenz
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH43270; DA05347
• Sponsoring Agency: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

To test the hypothesis that the effect of deviant peers on serious delinquency is limited largely to adolescents with antisocial tendencies, or that youths with such tendencies are most likely to engage in delinquency through their involvement with a deviant peer group, this study used four waves of data collected on 177 adolescent boys living in small towns in the Midwest.

Abstract

For adolescents who had a later onset of delinquency, quality of parenting predicting affiliation with delinquent peers, which was correlated with criminal justice system involvement. Oppositional or defiant behavior was not related either with affiliation with delinquent peers or with criminal justice system involvement. For youths who displayed an early onset of delinquency, quality of parenting was associated with oppositional or defiant behavior. Oppositional behavior was correlated with affiliation with delinquent peers, which in turn predicted criminal justice system involvement. For this group of boys, criminal justice system involvement was highest for those who displayed oppositional behavior and who had deviant friends. 1 table, 3 figures, 2 notes, 45 references, and 1 appendix