Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct

“This fact may also help to explain the high levels of mutual commitment and obligation (solidarity and loyalty) that are thought to characterize certain delinquent peer groups, especially gangs (e.g., Padilla 1992; Shaw 1966; Thrasher 1927; Warr 2002).”

“There is also general consistency with existing research pertaining to the effects of Panel A. Effect of Behavioral Self-Control on Projected Offending, by Neighborhood Morality control variables on offending (e.g. Lauritsen, Sampson, & Laub, 1991; Warr, 2002).”

“Finally, using the interactional approach, Thornberry and colleagues (1994) found a reciprocal relationship between association with delinquent peers and delinquency in that association increases delinquency and delinquency increases involvement with delinquent peers (see also Akers and Lee, 1996; Elliott and Menard,…”

“The causal role of peers is especially prominent in social learning theories (Akers, 1998; Bruinsma, 1992; Warr, 2002), but highly contested in control theories (Hirschi, 1969; Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1990; Kornhauser, 1978).”

“Specifically, we controlled for adolescents’ history of offending behavior, given the possibility that more experience with crime behavior leads a person to take more of a leadership role in group crimes (Warr, 2002).”

“For the most part, criminological research has routinely focused on the effects of environmental risk factors, such as parenting practices, peer group influences, school environments, and neighborhood conditions on delinquent behavior (Anderson, 1999; Hirschi, 1969; Patterson, 1982; Sampson & Laub, 1993; Sampson, Raud…”

“One often assumes that local groups of offenders will have persistent leaders and instigators, but recent work finds that instigators of crime in juvenile networks are volatile, with one youth instigating the first offense and another instigating the next offense (Warr 2002).”

“In contrast, differential association theory (Sutherland and Cressey, 1974; see Warr, 2002, for review) suggests youth learn delinquent behaviors through continued social interaction with antisocial peer associates.”

“Social learning theory has received tremendous empirical support over the years, and routinely has a consistent, moderate to strong ability to predict crime and deviance (e.g. Lanza-Kaduce, Akers, Krohn, & Radosevich, 1984; Warr, 2002).”

“This fits well with the finding that a substantial amount of adolescent crime involves group activities (Warr, 2002).”

“Although there has been some research into the relationship between the co-offending and the criminal career (McGloin et al. 2008; McGloin and Nguyen 2011; McGloin and Stickle 2011; Piquero, Farrington, and Blumstein 2003; Warr 2002), research on the relationship between processes of co-offending and the life course r…”

“Compared to local youth, adolescents growing up in immigrant families with such traditional family values are more likely to receive direct/indirect parental supervision, obey their parents’ instructions, resist the temptations of maladjustment, and be motivated to behave in school because they do not want to harm or…”

“Still other researchers maintain that both learning and selection processes occur (Matsueda & Anderson, 1998; Warr, 2002).”

“Given that peer behavior, or more accurately perceived peer behavior, consistently has a significant effect on behavioral outcomes (Warr, 2002), misperceptions of group usage rates may influence substance use decisions to a greater degree than misperceptions of safety.”

“…where violent crime occurs outside the home (Osgood, Wilson, O’Malley, Bachman, & Johnston, 1996), are more likely to have delinquent friends (Warr, 2002), and with the exception of sexual victimization, are more often victims of violent crime than are girls (Esbensen, Huizinga, & Menard,…”

“1 The central focus of this research is the straightforward, but important, idea that people may commit acts when they are with others that they never would have committed had they been alone (McPhail, 1991; Warr, 2002), a phenomenon that Matza (1964) referred to as the “situation of company.”

“As Warr (2002) points out, certain types of delinquency – namely substance use behaviors – are more likely to be shared in common between friends.”

“Specifically, technology increases individual exposure to intra-group calls for, or norms conducive to, violence, and increases mobilization efforts to act upon these norms [109, 141].”

“Warr (2002) argued that a single measure of peer association would suffice as a satisfactory measure of differential association as long as it came from an external source.”

“…a relation between delinquent behavior of friends and self-reported delinquency of adolescents (see e.g. Haynie 2001; Matsueda and Anderson 1998; Warr 2002), or a relation between time spent with peers in unstructured and unsupervised activities (referred to as ‘‘unstructured socializing’’) and…”

“Deviant behaviors, whether formed in in the real world or in cyberspace, are influenced by social interaction with others, particularly peers (Hinduja and Patchin 2013; Warr 2002).”

“It may be, according to Simons et al. ( 2002 ), that for women the process outlined by Sampson and Laub ( 1993 ) holds true, but the relationship between marriage and desistance for males works through the changes in peers as suggested by Warr ( 1998 , 2002 ).”

“If criminal behaviour is transmitted from parents to children this is due to transmission of self-control, and parental convictions after childhood should not influence offspring’s criminal behaviour (van de Rakt, Ruiter, de Graaf, & Nieuwbeerta, 2010).”

“Second, delinquency is typically a group phenomenon that involves co-offenders; peer influence—measured as having delinquent friends—is widely recognized as a robust predictor of an adolescent’s own delinquency (Agnew, 1991; Elliott, Huizinga, & Ageton, 1985; Warr, 2002).”

“Most offender groups appear to have one group member who exerts a great deal of influence over the decision of all group members to commit an offence (Hochstetler 2001; Warr 2002).”

“First, the relationship between parenting practices and friendship networks matters because friends influence adolescent behavior (Giordano, 2003; Haynie, 2001; Haynie & Osgood, 2005; Warr, 2002).”

“During the teenage years, peers take on heightened importance and fear of ridicule or loss of status are powerful mechanisms for inducing conformity (Warr 2002: 46–55).”

“2017; Warr 2002).”

“Moreover, the finding that much of adolescent delinquency is committed in groups (Reiss, 1988; Warr, 2002) further confounds the methodological distinction.”

“A large body of criminological research finds that associating with violent peers is among the strongest predictors of whether an individual engages in violence (Warr, 2002).”

“Furthermore, we know that delinquent behavior is typically a group phenomenon (Goldstein, 2002; Warr, 2002), therefore it is not surprising that delinquent peers and pressure from these peers increase the likelihood of antisocial behavior (e.”

“Third, parents’ influence on the deviant behavior of their own children may indirectly influence their children’s friends by way of mediation through peer influence (Kandel 1996), which is among the most robust predictors of delinquency and drug use (Hawkins, Catalano, and Miller 1992; Warr 2002).”

“But at older ages, as many young people tend to shift from delinquent to more conventional peers (or as existing peers move toward more conventional behaviors [Warr 2002]), their peers are no longer as important as sources of social support when stressful events occur.”

“Moreover, there are positive and strong associations between measures of deviant peer association and indicators of misconduct, as in almost all other survey research (Akers, 2000: 82–90; Warr, 2002; Akers and Jensen, 2003; Gordon et al., 2004).”

“For example, deviant peer relations (Warr, 2002), limited access to educational opportunities (Ulmer, 2001), and unemployment (Bahr, Harris, Fisher, & Armstrong, 2010) are frequently examined risk factors in the field of criminology.”

“Empirical research within criminology has consistently demonstrated that criminal behavior is influenced by deviant peers (Pratt & Cullen, 2000; Warr, 2002; Warr & Stafford, 1991).”

“This position may be derived from the argument that juvenile crime is largely a group phenomenon (see Warr, 2002).”

“Warr (2002) has referred to this as a micro life-course perspective.”

“Boys are more likely to have deviant friends and acquaintances than are girls, because boys’ friendship networks consist mostly of other boys, and boys are more likely to be deviant than are girls (Warr, 2002).”

“Thus, when in a group, younger individuals may be more inclined toward behavior they otherwise would not have committed had they been alone (Warr, 2002).”

“2002; Warr 2002).”

“Second, the role and relative importance of the family and peer domains change fundamentally over the course of adolescence (Meeus and Dekovic, 1995; Warr, 2002).”

“…(Akers 1998; Akers et al. 1979; Akers and Lee 1996; Elliott, Huizinga, and Menard 1989; Hwang and Akers 2003; Krohn et al. 1985; Verrill 2008; Warr 2002) and a growing body of literature surrounding cyber offending (Higgins, Fell, and Wilson 2007; Higgins and Makin 2004a, 2004b; Higgins and…”

“…traditional crime demonstrate a strong relationship between a person’s criminal behaviour and attitude, and the criminal behaviour and attitudes of that person’s social network (for example, Haynie and Kreager, 2013; Pratt et al., 2009; Warr, 2002; Weerman and Smeenk, 2005; Young and Rees, 2013).”

“, reduced physical ability and cognitive functioning), reduced amount of time spent socializing in unstructured settings where guardianship is low and the opportunity for crime is high (Osgood, Wilson, O’Malley, Bachman, & Johnston, 1996), the development of strong and positive social ties to individuals and instituti…”

“Consequently, a large body of research has focused on the association between peers and delinquency, with many scholars arguing that increases in delinquent behavior during adolescence are largely the result of social influences stemming directly from peers (Akers and Jennings 2009; Warr 2002).”

“1979; Elliott, Huizinga, & Ageton, 1985; Elliott, Huizinga, & Menard, 1989; Elliott & Menard, 1996; Haynie, 2001, 2002; Haynie & Osgood, 2005; Jensen, 1972; Matsueda, 1982; Matsueda & Anderson, 1998; Matsueda & Heimer, 1987; Short, 1957; Voss, 1964; Warr, 2002).”

“…key components in the attempt to explain the etiology of gang member involvement in crime and delinquency: definitions and values, behavioral models for imitation, and moral justifications that facilitate involvement in delinquency (Akers, 1998; Sutherland, 1947; Sykes & Matza, 1957; Warr, 2002).”

“This suggests that instigation is not a permanent role and therefore not a consequence of some stable individual trait, but instead it seems a situational phenomenon arising from the interaction of group and individual characteristics (Warr, 2002).”

“Many youngsters commit their offenses with other group members (Beke, Van Wijk, & Ferwerda, 2000; Warr, 2002), and violence and sex offenses can be a group act.”

“Through the social interactions that take place within the peer group, the norms and values of the other members of these groups will also have a significant influence on the morality of the adolescent (Akers, 1998; Byungbae et al., 2013; Rebellon et al., 2010; Warr, 2002).”

“Given the primacy of peers as a social influence in adolescence (Warr, 2002) and their possible role in entrenching youth in certain behaviors or lifestyles in a developmental sense (Nagin & Paternoster, 1991), we posited changes in association with delinquent peers as a mediating variable linking…”

“Most criminologists readily acknowledge that exposure to delinquent peers is a robust correlate of deviant behavior (Warr, 2002).”

“Because peer delinquency consistently exerts an effect on behavior (Warr, 2002), we include a measure of delinquent peers to protect against spuriousness.”

“Seventy-nine percent of the sample associates with peers that have downloaded music from the Internet, and 51 percent of the sample associates with virtual peers that have downloaded music from the Internet.”

“Exposure to delinquent peers is a strong risk factor for an array of antisocial outcomes (Warr, 2002), including victimization (Haynie & Piquero, 2006; Schreck & Fisher, 2004; Schreck, Fisher, & Miller, 2004).”

“This implies that the group character and social visibility of juvenile delinquency can, in part, be accounted for by the playing out of adolescent identity through participation in the activities of delinquent groups (cf., Tremblay 1993; Warr 2002).”

“Although this increase may partly reflect a value transference from peers—suggesting that group subculture affects associations that, in turn, affect individual violent values—other learning mechanisms are quite plausible (see Akers, 1998; Warr, 2002).”

“Here, the degree of exposure to deviant role models or delinquent peers has received particular attention (Akers, 1998; Sutherland, 1956; Warr, 2002).”

“See Warr (2002) on the importance of third parties in the outcomes of violent encounters and Luckenbill (1977) on the role of third parties in homicidal encounters.”