Revisiting the Connections between Self-Control and Peers: A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis

• In Event: New Developments on the Impact of Peers in the Life Course

Abstract

According to low self-control theory, self-control is the principal mechanism that regulates whether one engages in crime. Moreover, the theory argues that this trait remains stable relative to others after childhood and that the association between delinquent adolescents and delinquent peers is a consequence of selection rather than a sign of peer influence. Recent research, however, suggests that self-control is at least somewhat malleable and that there are genuine linkages between peers and self-control that are likely consequential. The current study revisits the complex relationships that link self-control, peers, and delinquency using data drawn from the PROSPER Peers Project. This longitudinal study follows over 11,000 adolescents in 27 non-metropolitan communities as they moved from 6th through 9th grade. First, we test whether peers influence the development of self-control after accounting for selection. Next, we examine whether peer self-control influences delinquency directly or if that influence is mediated through peer delinquency or individual self-control. Finally, we explore an additional mechanism through which peer behavior and self-control may be connected: respondents with low self-control may be influenced to a different extent than their peers, as reflected in an interaction between individual self-control and peer delinquency in their effects on individual delinquency.

Authors

• Daniel T. Ragan, Pennsylvania State University

• D. Wayne Osgood, Pennsylvania State University

• Derek Kreager, Pennsylvania State University