Where You Live and Who You Know: Community Disadvantage, Peer Group Membership, and Adolescent Delinquency

• In Event: The Social Networks of Gangs

Abstract

The current project examines the contextual role that both community disadvantage and subgroup membership have on an individual’s delinquent involvement, and whether these contextual effects are dependent upon an adolescent’s socioeconomic background. Subcultural theories argue that, while belonging to a delinquent subgroup can provide alternative ways to achieve status, harmful effects ultimately result from delinquent subgroup membership. Moreover, adolescents from poorer backgrounds are especially susceptible to the adverse effects that result from belonging to a delinquent subculture. However, research in this area remains underexplored due to the complexity of measuring subgroups and the necessity of longitudinal data to explore short- and long-term consequences of subgroup membership. It is also unclear how community-level disadvantage affects whether disadvantaged adolescents are more likely to engage in delinquency as a means to gain status. The current project analyzes longitudinal, social network data to build upon and extend subcultural theories. More specifically, we utilize multilevel regression models to disentangle whether community-level disadvantage (level three) and belonging to a delinquent peer group (level two) impact the likelihood of an individual engaging in delinquency (level one). Additionally, we examine if these potential contextual effects are moderated by individual-level financial disadvantage.

Authors

• Nayan Ramirez, Pennsylvania State University

• Douglas Andrew Baals, Pennsylvania State University