Punishment Avoidance and the Influence of Delinquent Peers

• In Event: Peer Contexts: Mediators and Moderators

Abstract

We draw from social learning and deterrence theories to investigate the role of punishment avoidance as a mechanism of and source of heterogeneity in the relationship between peer delinquency and an adolescent’s own delinquent behavior. For this, we use a unique dataset of friendship networks among 12,000 students followed from sixth to twelfth grade. We measure delinquency and punishment avoidance based on self-reports of the respondents and their closest friends. First, we examine the association between friends’ self-reported delinquency and the adolescent’s own delinquent behavior. Second, we examine the extent to which this association is stronger if the adolescent has avoided punishment, including criminal justice contact and consistent parental discipline. Third, we assess the extent to which the association is explained by avoidance of either form of punishment among the adolescent’s friends. Our findings should highlight the role of personal and vicarious punishment avoidance in the influence of delinquent peers.

Authors

• Lizabeth Remrey, University of Maryland

• Wade C. Jacobsen, University of Maryland

• Sarah Elspeth Helen Appleby, University of Maryland