The Influence of Parental Incarceration on Adolescent Peer Networks

• In Event: Innovations in Delinquency Research: Parental Incarceration, Peer Networks, and Neighborhood Context

Abstract

Criminological research has examined the effect of parental incarceration on adolescent misbehaviors as well as the effect of friendship networks on adolescent delinquency. However, research has not examined how experiencing parental incarceration impacts adolescent friendship networks. Using AddHealth, I answer the following questions: (1) Does experiencing parental incarceration influence the overall structure of adolescents’ peer networks (e.g. position in the network, number of peers) and (2) Does experiencing parental incarceration influence the number of delinquent versus non-delinquent friends adolescents have within their network? To test these questions, I separate adolescents into four groups, allowing me to examine differences in adolescent peer networks across individual experiences. These four groups are (1) adolescents who never experienced parental incarceration, (2) adolescents who experienced parental incarceration prior to the survey, (3) adolescents who experienced parental incarceration during the survey, and (4) adolescents who experienced parental incarceration after the survey. My analyses reveal potential selection effects as each group experienced parental incarceration at different periods. Comparing across delinquent peer networks for those adolescents who had and had not experienced parental incarceration at the time of the survey allows for a more accurate examination of the true effect of parental incarceration on adolescent peer networks.

Author

• Nicole Harrington, Pennsylvania State University