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Adolescent Time Use, Companionship, and the Relationship with Development

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Handbook of Life-Course Criminology

Abstract

This chapter examines where and with whom adolescents are spending their time and the relationship between those activities and adolescent development. Specifically, developmental and life course outcomes related to activities engaged in while at home, school, and after-school are discussed. Time spent in unsupervised activities tends to be associated with poorer outcomes regardless of whether an adolescent is away from home with friends or home alone with nothing to do. Additionally, peers have great potential to shape developmental and life course outcomes of other peers with whom they interact, including providing positive reinforcement for engaging in risky behaviors like drinking. Areas where less is known about adolescents and risky behaviors but for which there is a great potential to learn more are discussed at the end of the chapter.

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Anderson, A.L. (2013). Adolescent Time Use, Companionship, and the Relationship with Development. In: Gibson, C., Krohn, M. (eds) Handbook of Life-Course Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5113-6_7

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