The Role of Adolescent Friends, Romantic Partners, and Siblings in the Emergence of the Adult Antisocial Lifestyle.

Abstract

This study investigated the contribution of social processes in boys' adolescent relationships in 3 key domains-same-sex friends, cross-sex romantic partners, and younger siblings-to continued association with delinquent peers in young adulthood and, therefore, to continuance of an antisocial lifestyle. It was hypothesized that levels of negative interaction and antisocial talk observed during problem-solving discussions would be associated across the 3 domains. The influences of negative interactions and antisocial talk in the adolescent relationships on youngadult delinquent peer association were compared in 2 mediational models. It was posited that antisocial talk would be more predictive of continued association with delinquent peers than would negative interactions. Hypotheses were tested on an at-risk sample of young men (the Oregon Youth Study). Findings were generally in keeping with the hypotheses.Involvement with delinquent peers plays a critical role in the developmental trajectories of conduct-disordered children, regardless of age of onset of their problem behaviors (Moffitt, 1993;Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991), and has been associated with escalating delinquent behaviors (Elliott, Huizinga, & Ageton, 1985;Keenan, Loeber, & Green, 1999;Simons, Whitbeck, Conger, & Conger, 1991) and related problems such as substance abuse in adolescence (Dishion & Andrews, 1995). Thus far, little is known about the continuity of delinquent peer association and antisocial behavior from adolescence into young adulthood and the social processes that influence its continuity. The prevalence of delinquent behavior declines in late adolescence and young adulthood; however, continued interactions with delinquent peers have been associated with persistence in offending in young adulthood (Wiesner & Capaldi, 2001) and characterize a delinquent style of life (West & Farrington, 1977). Understanding the processes related to continued offending in adulthood is a critical issue and one for which we have sparse information. In this study, we investigated social processes embedded within key adolescent relationships that may influence the continuance of social risk context into adulthood and also continued association with delinquent peers. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe influences of two different social processes in these relationships, namely negative interactions (as previously learned within the family) and delinquency training (as previously learned within the peer group), were examined for their effect on young-adult delinquent peer association. Family NegativityChildren learn many of their social behaviors in their family of origin (e.g., Maccoby & Martin, 1983); thus, the family plays an important role in the development of peer relations (e.g., Parke & Ladd, 1992). Children socialized in family environments characterized by coercive exchanges and poor family management behaviors (e.g., inconsistent, ineffective discipline; poor monitoring and supervision), in which...

Risk models of dating aggression across different adolescent relationships: A developmental psychopathology approach.

“…This is not surprising, as peer environments foster and support emerging dating dyads (Brown, 1999;Connolly & Goldberg, 1999). Aggressive and delinquent peer involvement facilitate aggression training among adolescents, and processes such as hostile talk or modeling in turn influence romantic interactions, specifically, dating aggression (Capaldi, Dishion, Stoolmiller, & Yoerger, 2001;Dishion, Spracklen, Andrews, & Patterson, 1996;Shortt, Capaldi, Dishion, Bank, & Owen, 2003). Characteristics of the dating relationship are also important to our understanding of the context in which early intimate aggression occurs.…”

The Moderating Effect of Sibling Delinquency on Risky Behavior during Emerging Adulthood

“…The development of risky or delinquent behavior usually begins in the early years by an individual associating with those that are delinquent (Shortt et al, 2003). Without intervention, the negative behavior is likely to continue from one developmental period to another.…”

Predicting Sibling Relationship Quality from Family Conflict: A Longitudinal Study from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood

“…The frequent use of retrospective report of family conflict may be particularly subject to bias given the length of time since exposure and involvement in the conflict being reported. With one notable exception [31] the studies also fail to assess conflict between multiple family member dyads. Most previous studies generally include only parental conflict as a predictor (excluding parent-child and sibling conflict) and typically focus on only intimate partner relationships as the outcome (excluding sibling relationships).…”

“…In a two-year longitudinal study with adolescents, [60] reports that sibling conflict negatively predicted romantic intimacy during late adolescence among girls. In another longitudinal study, this one using the OYS data, [31] found that the OYS boys had 3 times more observed negative interaction with intimate partners and siblings than with friends during late adolescence. The OYS boys had been exposed to high levels of family negativity (e.g., verbal attacks, physical aggression) in middle childhood and had histories of deviancy and antisocial behavior.…”

“…For instance, attributes of siblings or the sibling relationship can increase the risk for delinquent and antisocial behaviors, including alcohol and substance use [23][24][25][26] early sexual activity [27,28] as well as aggression towards peers, deviant peer associations, and criminal arrests [1,[29][30][31]. Importantly, a number of these studies controlled for influences of other prominent socialization agents, namely parents and peers, and twin and adoption studies control for shared genetics, parenting, and environments, suggesting that siblings contribute uniquely to the development and maintenance of deviancy.…”