NCJ Number
163424
Date Published
1995
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Associational theories and their implications for juvenile delinquency prevention and crime prevention policies are explored.
Abstract
Associational theories rest on the 1947 work of Sutherland, who postulated nine statements that emphasized that criminal behavior and all other behavior is learned in interaction with other persons, especially intimate groups. Subsequent researchers reformulated differential association theory into differential association-reinforcement theory, social learning theory, and mixed theories. Empirical research focusing on parental influence and the influence of peers has revealed that parents influence their children's behavior, which in turn affects their choice of peer group and whether others choose to associate with them. Typical peer-based prevention programs in delinquency and drug use are of minimal effectiveness and conceptually limited in that they fail to address the complexity of the relationship between group associations and delinquency. Instead, it is important to identify and have an impact on the factors that lead adolescents to involvement with antisocial peers and to delinquent behavior. Family-based and community programs have been developed that recognize that both delinquency and associating with antisocial peers are factors in a complex developmental sequence that begins in early childhood. These programs have both promise and limitations, although their effectiveness remains to be demonstrated by a consistent body of empirical research. Notes and 99 references