Examination of Online Peers Victimization on Adolescent Delinquency: A Social Learning Perspective

• In Event: Peer Influence and Delinquency

Abstract

As online interaction and friendships become a staple in the lives of American youth, questions linger regarding what effect they have on adolescent engagement in general delinquency behaviors. Social learning scholars have long since predicted that peers have a direct effect on adolescent behavior, yet few studies have been able to determine if online friendships can influence youth the same way in-person friends have . Using data from wave III of the National Survey on Children's Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative sample of 4,000 youth under the age of 18, this study explores to what effect online victimization from online friends versus an in-person friend relates to adolescent delinquency and substance use between the ages of 14-17. Cohort effects will be tested to examine if there is an age graded influence as predicted by social learning scholars, and parental behavior will be examined as a moderator on delinquency. Policy and theoretical implications of online exposures for adolescents will be discussed.

Authors

• Erin Castro, University of Florida

• Marvin D Krohn, University of Florida