Peer group association, the acceptance of norms and violent behaviour: A longitudinal analysis of reciprocal effects

Abstract

Differential association and social learning theory assume delinquent peers to be instigators and reinforcers of delinquent behaviour and norms favourable of delinquency. Control theory, on the other hand, assumes that delinquents will group together with peers that share a common normative and behavioural background. Interactional theory as an integrative paradigm argues that both -influence and selection -processes might be active simultaneously and are embedded in a reciprocal causal relationship. This paper tests the reciprocity between the association with delinquent peer groups, the acceptance of pro-violent norms and violent delinquency during adolescence with data from a German longitudinal panel study in a longitudinal structural equation model. Results indicate that peers, norms and violence are interactionally related and that influence and selection processes are active simultaneously. Moreover, further structural dimensions are able to explain delinquent peer group association, the acceptance of pro-violent norms and violence in early adolescence. Peer group association, the acceptance of norms and violent behaviour:A longitudinal analysis of reciprocal effects Abstract Differential association and social learning theory assume delinquent peers to be instigators and reinforcers of delinquent behaviour and norms favourable of delinquency. Control theory, on the other hand, assumes that delinquents will group together with peers that share a common normative and behavioural background. Interactional theory as an integrative paradigm argues that both -influence and selection -processes might be active simultaneously and are embedded in a reciprocal causal relationship. This paper tests the reciprocity between the association with delinquent peer groups, the acceptance of pro-violent norms and violent delinquency during adolescence with data from a German longitudinal panel study in a longitudinal structural equation model. Results indicate that peers, norms and violence are interactionally related and that influence and selection processes are active simultaneously. Moreover, further structural dimensions are able to explain delinquent peer group association, the acceptance of pro-violent norms and violence in early adolescence.

Comparing Violence-Related Norms

“…Such a distinction is important to clarify from the outset, as the distinction may inform when, how, and why individuals may pursue specific actions or hold certain beliefs, and further provide a rationale for their decisions and give insight into how they may view and respond to those they deem a threat or enemy (Wright and Fagan 2013). Violence-related norms may, in this last format, help serve as guides to behavioral patterns or practices, and further offer avenues which can be strategically formulated in the development of critical responses to violent or destructive actions, especially insofar as individuals may justify their actions by understanding them in terms of these norms (Brookman et al 2011;Seddig 2014;Wilkinson 2011). Gaining insights into such drivers allows, at least in the context of policing, for predictive modeling.…”

“…Spatial and ethnic segregation in Germany's urban areas further entrenches these differences, and may indeed act as triggers for the further sense of alienation that young people may feel and express through antisocial forms of behavior themselves justified through artificial cultural claims (Roberts 2014). While the country is still widely perceived as relatively equal in socioeconomic terms, perhaps a result of both its economic growth and significant social welfare expenditure, many young people who live or have grown up in areas economically segregated from broader urban areas are more likely to have difficulties in school-thus undermining their potential ability to join the formal economy-and are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors so as to occupy themselves and because alternative activities by which to garner recognition may not be available to them (Zdun 2007a(Zdun , 2008Seddig 2014). Parental neglect and a lack of parental responsibility as well as the institutional failure to compensate for individual deficits with regards to child rearing have further magnified these issues, with only a relative minority overcoming these hurdles.…”

Delinquency in Emerging Adulthood: Insights into Trajectories of Young Adults in a German Sample and Implications for Measuring Continuity of Offending

“…The current analysis uses data from the German prospective panel study "Crime in the Modern City" (CrimoC) (Boers et al 2010;Seddig 2014Seddig , 2016. It is funded by the German Research Foundation and started in 2002 with the first representative survey targeting all seventh-grade pupils in Duisburg (Germany).…”

Values, Attitudes Toward Interpersonal Violence, and Interpersonal Violent Behavior

“…Data for the current analysis are taken from the “Crime in the modern city (Crimoc)” study (for details, see Boers et al, 2010 ; Seddig, 2014 , 2016 ). 7 The main objective of the study was to investigate the level and development of adolescent criminal behavior over time and into adulthood.…”

“… 10 A self-generated code that consisted of six time-invariant personal characteristics was used to link panel waves and grant anonymity. Some participants were not able to reproduce the code in the surveys across waves, and their data could not be linked across time (see Seddig, 2014 , 2016 ). …”