Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct

“Warr (2002) concluded that associating with deviant peers was consistently a correlate of the initiation into and continuation of a wide variety of criminal and deviant behaviors.”

“The identification of these traits in adolescence is intriguing because adult psychopathy is linked to both criminality and disturbed relationships (Cleckley, 1976), but in adolescence criminality commonly takes place with close peers (Warr, 2002).”

“8 Warr (2002) also discussed the idea of relative ‘moral universes’.”

“…social normswithin the peer group is based on fear of expulsion or negative reactions from the group (Real & Rimal, 2007), fear of shaming or ridicule, the desire to demonstrate loyalty, and the desire to maintain status or rank, all characteristics of social control methods (Warr, 2002).”

“The relationship between peers and delinquent behaviour is one of the most researched and debated issues in criminology (Warr, 2002).”

“Given that a great deal of youth offending involves co-offending, (Reiss, 1988; Warr, 2002), it seems reasonable to suppose that that there was a good deal of co-offending among those in Battin-Pearson et al.’s study who reported having two or more delinquent best friends but did not report gang…”

“This approach can be seen as an application of social learning theories and is supported by other research on peer influences for example on delinquency (Haynie, 2002; Haynie & Osgood, 2005; Warr, 2002).”

“Homophily has also been detected in a range of criminological studies (Cairns & Cairns, 1994; Glueck & Glueck, 1950; Warr, 2002).”

“The association between having delinquent peers and likelihood of engaging in delinquent behaviors is well established (Brendgen, Vitaro, & Bukowski, 2000; Coie & Miller-Johnson, 2001; Warr, 2002).”

“Second, individuals may anticipate feelings of guilt and shame for non-offending when they believe that offending is needed to demonstrate loyalty to friends and to prevent ridicule (Warr, 2002).”

“The importance of these elements is perhaps most apparent in adolescent friendships, which, as formative and unpracticed social relationships, are often more rule-oriented than those of adults (Warr, 2002).”

“Given the strong relationship between individual behavior and peer behavior (Warr, 2002), it seems likely that © 2007 SAGE Publications.”

“…the importance of the peer group (e.g., Corsaro and Eder 1990; Crockett, Losoff, and Petersen 1984; Dornbusch 1989; Sebald 1992; Thornberry 1987; Warr 2002; Youniss and Smollar 1985), peer attention may be construed as a positively valued stimulus above and beyond the economic and visceral…”

“, school system, colleagues and work groups, mass media, Internet, computer games) can be equally important to the normative definitions in the learning process (Akers, 1997; Hwang & Akers, 2003; Warr, 2002).”

“Criminologists now find great utility in the theoretical perspective that links within individual change to larger social forces (Sampson & Laub, 1993; Warr, 2002).”

“…has been very successful in explaining participation in a variety of deviant activities (Akers, 1998; Akers, Krohn, Lanza-Kaduce, & Radosevich, 1979; Akers & Lee, 1996; Elliott, Huizinga, & Menard, 1989; Hwang & Akers, 2003; Krohn, Skinner, Massey, & Akers, 1985; Verrill, 2008; Warr, 2002).”

“Much of the research suggests that having association with deviant peers is one of the strongest predictors of crime (e.g., Akers and Lee 1996; Pratt et al. 2009; Warr 2002).”

“To be clear, individuals do often develop friendships with those who are similar on key dimensions (Cairns and Cairns 1994; Warr 2002), and some studies indicate that self-control influences peer group affiliations (Chapple 2005; Wright et al.”

“…have limited geographic mobility and, accordingly, neighborhoods are part of an expanding circle of contexts (including families, friends, peer networks, and schools) to which individuals are exposed during adolescence (Arnett, 2000; Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Giordano, 1995; Manning et al., 2005).”

“We know that delinquent youths flock together outside of work (Warr, 2002) and do not need the labor market to help them sort into delinquent groups.”

“How well are offenders organized? What are the characteristics of the group in offenses where multiple offenders are involved in committing a crime? The criminological literature is replete with discussions of group offending (McCord & Conway, 2002; Reiss, 1988; Warr, 2002).”

“First, group survival depends on effective channels of recruitment to replace ranks as they are depleted, which is an important factor in illicit contexts characterized by highly transient membership (e.g., Shaw & McKay, 1931; Warr, 2002).”

“http://www.bgsu.edu/organizations/cfdr Phone: (419) 372-7279 cfdr@bgsu.edu Bowling Green State University Working Paper Series 08-04 PARENTS, FRIENDS, AND ROMANTIC PARTNERS: ENMESHMENT IN DEVIANT NETWORKS AND ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY INVOLVEMENT Robert A. Lonardo Peggy C. Giordano Monica A.…”

“as a key justification for, attending to the peer group’s potent ability to influence delinquency (Warr, 2002).”

“…crime is committed in pairs or in groups, a process known as co-offending (Andresen & Felson, 2010; Felson, 2009; van Mastrigt & Farrington, 2009; Warr, 2002), the statistical modeling of co-offending networks is still surprisingly rare (for a discussion, see Carrington, 2011; McGloin & Kirk,…”

“It is well documented that crime is, to a large extent, a group phenomenon, and the source of crime is located in the intimate social networks of individuals (see, e.g., Warr, 2002; Bayer et al., 2009; Damm and Dustmann, 2014).”

“During adolescence, as individuals experience increasing independence, peers (and peer deviance) become particularly influential (Warr 2002).”

“Indeed, Warr (2002) has called peer influence the “principal proximate cause” of delinquency (p. 136).”

“…of criminal events involve more than one offender has been bserved in many eras and geographic regions (Breckinridge and bbott, 1912; Carrington, 2002; Sarnecki, 2001; Shaw and McKay, 942; Warr, 2002) and is one of the few conclusions often considred as “criminological fact” (McGloin et al., 2008).”

“It is likely that being social in and of itself places the individual at an increased risk of becoming involved in physical confrontations with others (Warr, 2002).”

“Perhaps the strongest predictor of crime is unstructured time spent with deviant peers, and discontinuing affiliation with deviant friends is one of the best predictors of desistance (Warr, 2002).”

“Given the increasing importance of peers during the adolescent years, (Dishion et al. 1996; Labile et al. 2000; Sullivan 1953; Warr 2002) it is not surprising that most youth commit crimes in groups (Erickson 1971; McCord and Conway 2005; Reiss 1986; Reiss and Farrington 1991; Shaw and McKay 1942, 1969; Zimring 1981;…”

“Indeed, peer delinquency is one of the strongest correlates of one’s own delinquent behavior (Elliot and Menard 1996; Pratt and Cullen 2000; Warr 2002).”

“Many studies examining adolescent delinquency have focused on the role of delinquent behavior of adolescents’ best friends (e.g., Fergusson et al. 2002; Kandel 1978; Landsheer and Van Dijkum 2005; Van Lier et al. 2005; Van Lier et al. 2007; Warr 2002).”

“For example, the structure and properties of co-offending networks appear to influence subsequent levels of co-offending (McGloin and Stickle 2011), the selection of future crime partners (Warr 1996), and even violence victimization (Papachristos andWildeman 2014).”

“Although both family and school factors have been shown to be related to problematic behavior, the strongest and most consistent predictor of adolescent delinquency and drug use is adolescent relationships with delinquent peers (Akers 1998; Akers and Sellers 2007; Thornberry and Krohn 1997; Warr 2002).”

“A wealth of empirical research (see Akers, 1998; Warr, 2002) indicates that peer influence can play a critical role in promoting delinquency and a subset of this research explores the degree to which each gender influences the other's delinquency in crosssexed groups.”

“Indeed, Warr (2002) has stated that “[t]echnological developments have greatly increased opportunities for communication among adolescents” and “[t]oday the internet offers round-the-clock communication with friends and few geographic boundaries” (pp. 86-87).”

“…often plays in descriptions of more ‘ normative’’ offending pathways, which highlight the desire to avoid ridicule, acquiesce to peer pressure, and derive satisfaction and respect from conforming to peers’ norms and behaviors, especially during adolescence (Akers 1998; Sutherland 1947; Warr 2002).”

“Juvenile delinquency is often committed by small groups of like-minded individuals (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Haynie & Osgood, 2005; Reiss Jr., 1988; Warr, 2002), making delinquent peer exposure a main risk factor (Pratt et al., 2010).”

“A large body of previous research has suggested that criminal offending is a group activity that occurs in the context of peer associations and other social interaction (Warr, 2002).”

“Second, juveniles who reported prior involvement in delinquency during the Wave 1 interview were removed from the sample based on research showing a peer selection effect in previously delinquent youth (Warr, 2002).”

“Given the extant literature, such a suggestion is hardly radical or unfounded; after all, crime and delinquency committed during adolescence and emerging adulthood is an overwhelmingly friendship group-based activity (Warr 2002)—a point”

“This is the key variable for both peer influence and the tendency to select similar friends, the most widely studied connections between friendship networks and substance use (e.g., Warr, 2002).”

“Second, it is also well known that young people who spend a lot of time with their friends commit more crimes than those who do not (Osgood et al., 1996; Warr, 2002; Weerman et al., 2015).”

“One of the most consistent findings in criminological research on the causes and development of juvenile delinquency is the almost always observable effect of delinquent peers and peer group association on individual behaviour (Warr, 2002).”

“…to a gang” (1 = yes; 0 = no).4 Although a large body of research has demonstrated a strong link between having delinquent peers and being delinquent (Warr, 2002), the influence of having gang associates has been found to be of even greater consequence for delinquent involvement (Curry, Decker, &…”

“…only adults; it is possible that altering perceptions of legitimacy and procedural justice have differing effects on juveniles given that their peer groups are more important during this stage of adult development, especially where deviance is concerned (Haynie & Kreager, 2013; Warr, 2002).”

“Empirically, scholars find that those involved in co-offences commit more subsequent offences, more frequently and at more serious levels (Hindelang, 1976; Felson, 2003; Sarnecki, 2001; Warr, 2002; Zimring, 1981).”

“Social rewards or sanctions, such as status or rejection, can further reinforce or discourage positive or negative behavior (Burgess & Akers, 1966; Warr, 2002).”

“For one, unlike some non-sexual forms of crime (Warr, 2002), sex offences are typically not committed in networks or gangs (Grubin, 1998) (those convicted of organised types of child sexual exploitation were not present in the study group), therefore the notion that severing links with criminogenic…”

“Adolescents often mutually overestimate the extent to which peers are involved or expect deviant behavior, a phenomenon known as ‘‘pluralistic ignorance’’ or ‘‘mutual misunderstanding’’ (Matza 1964; Warr 2002).”

“…criminal peers similarly rely on adolescent and college aged samples, and they too provide little evidence to support the contention that deviant peer exposure exaggerates the effects of strain on criminal coping, although delinquent peers do seem to have a significant effect on crime (Warr, 2002).”

“This possibility comes from research on co-offending and the general notion that deviance is an inherently group activity (McGloin et al. 2008; Sarnecki 2001; Warr 2002).”

“This finding is consistent with suggestions in previous research that at least some females may be recruited into crime by older, male co-offenders (Caspi, Lynam, Moffitt, & Silva, 1993; Sarnecki, 2001; Warr, 2002).”

“Although peers may serve many positive functions, several studies have shown that affiliation with problem-prone friends is a strong predictor of a youth’s own involvement in problem behaviors (Pratt & Cullen, 2000; Warr, 2002).”