Skip to main content

Unstructured Socializing With Peers and Delinquency: The Role of Mediation Through the Lens of Akers’ (1998) Social Structure Social Learning Theory of Crime and Deviance

American Journal of Criminal Justice volume 47, pages 980–1005 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

In purview of Akers’ (1998) social structure and social learning (SSSL) theory of crime and deviance, this study explicates the varied processes by which unstructured socializing with peers influences deviance through variables of social learning theory as well as self-control. To examine the proposed processes, data were obtained from 1,354 adjudicated adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 from the juvenile and adult court systems in Maricopa County, Arizona and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Through use of structural equation modeling, partial support was found for the relationship between unstructured socializing with peers and deviance being partially mediated by differential association, definitions, personal rewards of crime, as well as self-control. By better understanding the multifaceted ways adolescents who spend time in settings of unstructured socializing with friends engage in delinquency, society can better understand the leading factors among youth that occur through socialization resulting in delinquency.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

References

  • Akers, R. L. (1973). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R. L. (1998). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R. L. (2008). Self-control and social learning theory. In E. Goode (Ed.), Out of control: Assessing the general theory of crime (pp. 77–89). Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R. L. (2009). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R. L. (2017). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Akers, R. L., & Jennings, W. G. (2019). The social learning theory of crime and deviance. In M. D. Krohn, N. Hendrix, H. G. Penly, & A. J. Lizotte (Eds.), Handbook on crime and deviance (pp. 113–129). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, A. L. (2013). Adolescent time use, companionship, and the relationship with development. In Handbook of life-course criminology (pp. 111–127). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Barbarnelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 364–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbieri, N., & Craig, J. M. (2018). Do the Effects of Strain and Religiosity on Criminal Coping Differ by Race and Ethnicity? Crime & Delinquency, 64(6), 807–828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chouhy, C., Hochstetler, S. T., & Cullen, F. T. (2017). Social concern and delinquency: An empirical assessment of a novel theory. Deviant Behavior, 38(1), 94–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, E. J., Said Al-Ghamdi, M., Nezar Kobeisy, A., Alqurashi, F. H., Schwartz, J. A., & Beaver, K. M. (2019). Neighborhood exposure to violence and delinquency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a partial test of social structure and social learning theory. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(15–16), 0886260519845728.

  • Cooke, D., & Michie, C. (2001). Refining the construct of psychopath: Towards a hierarchical model. Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 171–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. P., Dumas, T. M., Berey, B. L., Merrin, G. J., Cimpian, J. R., & Roberts, B. W. (2017). Effect of victimization on impulse control and binge drinking among serious juvenile offenders from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(7), 1515–1532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Ridder, D. T., Lensvelt-Mulders, G., Finkenauer, C., Stok, F. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2012). Taking stock of self-control: A meta-analysis of how trait self-control relates to a wide range of behaviors. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(1), 76–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., Andrews, D. W., & Crosby, L. (1995). Antisocial boys and their friends in early adolescence: Relationship characteristics, quality, and interactional process. Child Development, 66(1), 139–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., Spracklen, K. M., Andrews, D. W., & Patterson, G. R. (1996). Deviancy training in male adolescent friendships. Behavior Therapy, 27(3), 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodd, T., Nicholas, S., Povey, D., & Walker, A. (2004). Crime in England and Wales 2003/2004 (no 1004). Home Office Statistical Bulletin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M. (2003). The process of co-offending. In M. J. Smith & D. B. Cornish (Eds.), Theory for Practice in Situational Crime Prevention. Criminal Justice Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, C. B., Catalano, R. F., Mazza, J. J., Brown, E. C., Haggerty, K. P., & Harachi, T. W. (2008). After-school activities, misbehavior in school, and delinquency from the end of elementary school through the beginning of high school: A test of social development model hypotheses. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 28(2), 277–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flexon, J. L., & Meldrum, R. C. (2013). Adolescent psychopathy and juvenile delinquency: Additive and nonadditive effects with key criminological variables. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 11, 348–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gage, J. C., Overpeck, M. D., Nansel, T. R., & Kogan, M. D. (2005). Peer activity in the evenings and participation in aggressive and problem behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37(6), 517.e7-517.e14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gold, M. (1970). Delinquent Behavior in an American City. Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, K., & Banerjee, S. C. (2009). Examining unsupervised time with peers and the role of association with delinquent peers on adolescent smoking. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 11(4), 371–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L., & Osgood, D. W. (2005). Reconsidering peers and delinquency: How do peers matter? Social Forces, 84(2), 1109–1130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, G. E., & Jennings, W. G. (2010). Is unstructured socializing a dynamic process? An exploratory analysis using a semiparametric group-based modeling approach. Criminal Justice Review, 35(4), 514–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T., & Gottfredson, M. R. (2001). Control theories of crime. In R. Paternoster & R. Bochman (Eds.), Explaining criminals and crime: Essays in contemporary criminological theory. Roxbury.

  • Hoeben, E. M., Meldrum, R. C., & Young, J. T. (2016). The role of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing in explaining delinquency and substance use: A state-of-the-art review. Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 108–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoeben, E. M., Osgood, D. W., Siennick, S. E., & Weerman, F. M. (2020). Hanging out with the wrong crowd? The role of unstructured socializing in adolescents’ specialization in delinquency and substance use. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 37, 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoeben, E. M., & Weerman, F. M. (2016). Why is involvement in unstructured socializing related to adolescent delinquency? Criminology, 54(2), 242–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huizinga, D., Esbensen, F., & Weihar, A. (1991). Are there multiple paths to delinquency? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 82, 83–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, L. A., & Short, J. F. (2014). Partying, cruising, and hanging in the streets: Gangs, routine activities, and delinquency and violence in Chicago, 1959–1962. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(3), 415–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huijsmans, T., Nivette, A. E., Eisner, M., & Ribeaud, D. (2021). Social influences, peer delinquency, and low self-control: An examination of time-varying and reciprocal effects on delinquency over adolescence. European Journal of Criminology, 18(2), 192–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IBM Corp. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. IBM Corp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janssen, H. J., Deković, M., & Bruinsma, G. J. (2014). Parenting and time adolescents spend in criminogenic settings: A between-and within-person analysis. British Journal of Criminology, 54(4), 551–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jo, Y., & Armstrong, T. (2018). The development of self-control in late adolescence: An analysis of trajectories and predictors of change within trajectories. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(1), 50–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S., Cauffman, E., Miller, J., & Mulvey, E. (2006). Investigating different factor structures of the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version. Confirmatory Factor Analytic Findings. Psychological Assessment, 18, 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lammers, M., Bernasco, W., & Elffers, H. (2012). How long do offenders escape arrest? Using DNA traces to analyse when serial offenders are caught. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 9(1), 13–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, K. C., McCall, P. L., & Cohen, L. E. (1990). Structural covariates of homicide rates: Are there any invariances across time and social space? American Journal of Sociology, 95(4), 922–963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, G., Akers, R. L., & Borg, M. J. (2004). Social learning and structural factors in adolescent substance use. Western Criminology Review, 5(1), 17–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, V., Kopak, A., & Pasko, L. (2019). Substance Use Pathways Among Female Adolescent Offenders. Crime & Delinquency, 65(3), 375–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., & Williams, J. (2004). Confidence limits for the indirect effect: Distribution of the product and resampling methods. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39, 99–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maimon, D., & Browning, C. R. (2010). Unstructured socializing, collective efficacy, and violent behavior among urban youth. Criminology, 48(2), 443–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., & Tucker, C. J. (2001). Free-time activities in middle childhood: Links with adjustment in early adolescence. Child Development, 72(6), 1764–1778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., Donner, C. M., Cleary, S., Hochstetler, A., & DeLisi, M. (2020). Assessing similarities and differences in self-control between police officers and offenders. American journal of criminal justice, 45(2), 167–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., & Hay, C. (2012). Do peers matter in the development of self-control? Evidence from a longitudinal study of youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(6), 691–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., & Leimberg, A. (2018). Unstructured socializing with peers and risk of substance use: Where does the risk begin? Journal of Drug Issues, 48(3), 452–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., Young, J. T., & Weerman, F. M. (2009). Reconsidering the effect of self-control and delinquent peers: Implications of measurement for theoretical significance. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 46(3), 353–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, R. C., Young, J. T., & Weerman, F. M. (2012). Changes in self-control during adolescence: Investigating the influence of the adolescent peer network. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(6), 452–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulford, C. F., Blachman-Demner, D. R., Pitzer, L., Schubert, C. A., Piquero, A. R., & Mulvey, E. P. (2018). Victim offender overlap: Dual trajectory examination of victimization and offending among young felony offenders over seven years. Victims & Offenders, 13(1), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulvey, E. P. (2017). Research on Pathways to Desistance [Maricopa County, AZ and Philadelphia County, PA]: Subject Measures - Scales, 2000-2010. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-12-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36800.v4

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2017). Mplus user’s guide. Eighth Edition. Los Angeles, CA.

  • Nagin, D. S., & Paternoster, R. (1994). Personal Capital and Social Control: The Deterrence Implications of Individual Differences in Criminal Offending. Criminology, 32, 581–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., & Anderson, A. L. (2004). Unstructured socializing and rates of delinquency. Criminology, 42(3), 519–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., Anderson, A. L., & Shaffer, J. N. (2005). Unstructured leisure in the after-school hours. In J. L. Mahoney, R. W. Larson, & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs (pp. 45–64). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., Wilson, J. K., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. American Sociological Review, 61, 635–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paré, P. P., Felson, R. B., & Ouimet, M. (2007). Community variation in crime clearance: A multilevel analysis with comments on assessing police performance. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 23(3), 243–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, A. R. (2017). “No remorse, no repent”: Linking lack of remorse to criminal offending in a sample of serious adolescent offenders. Justice Quarterly, 34(2), 350–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, A. R., & Tibbetts, S. G. (1996). Specifying the direct and indirect effects of low self-control and situational factors in offenders’ decision making: Toward a more complex model of rational offending. Justice Quarterly, 13, 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, T. C., & Cullen, F. T. (2000). The empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime: A meta-analysis. Criminology, 38(3), 931–964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, T. C., Cullen, F. T., Sellers, C. S., Winfree, L. T., Jr., Madensen, T. D., Daigle, L. E., & Gau, J. M. (2010). The empirical status of social learning theory: A meta-analysis. Justice Quarterly, 27, 765–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlegel, A., & Barry, H., III. (1991). Adolescence: An anthropological inquiry. Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schubert, C. A., Mulvey, E. P., Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., Losoya, S. H., Hecker, T., Chassin, L., & Knight, G. P. (2004). Operational Lessons from the Pathways to Desistance Project. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice, 2(3), 237–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selig, J. P., & Preacher, K. J. (2008). Monte Carlo method for assessing mediation: An interactive tool for creating confidence intervals for indirect effects [Computer software]. Available from http://quantpsy.org/

  • Selner-Ohagan, M., Kindlon, D., Buka, S., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1998). Assessing exposure to violence in urban youth. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 39(2), 215–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stafford, M. C., & Warr, M. (1993). A reconceptualization of general and specific deterrence. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(2), 123–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steketee, M. (2012). The lifestyles of youth and their peers. In J. Junger-Tas, I. Haen Marshall, D. Enzmann, M. Killias, M. Steketee, & B. Gruszczysnka (Eds.), The many faces of youth crime: Constructing theoretical perspectives on juvenile delinquency across countries and cultures (pp. 237–255). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson, R., & Oberwittler, D. (2010). It’s not the time they spend, it’s what they do: The interaction between delinquent friends and unstructured routine activity on delinquency: Findings from two countries. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(5), 1006–1014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Farnworth, M., & Jang, S. J. (1994). Delinquent peers, beliefs, and delinquent behavior: A longitudinal test of interactional theory. Criminology, 32, 47–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G., & Piquero, A. R. (2002). The stability of self-control. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(6), 457–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Updegraff, K. A., McHale, S. M., Whiteman, S. D., Thayer, S. M., & Crouter, A. C. (2006). The nature and correlates of Mexican-American adolescents’ time with parents and peers. Child Development, 77(5), 1470–1486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vásquez, B. E., & Zimmerman, G. M. (2014). An investigation into the empirical relationship between time with peers, friendship, and delinquency. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(3), 244–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vazsonyi, A. T., Mikuška, J., & Kelley, E. L. (2017). It’s time: A meta-analysis on the self-control-deviance link. Journal of Criminal Justice, 48, 48–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger, D. A., & Schwartz, G. E. (1990). Distress and restraint as superordinate dimensions of self-reported adjustment: A typological perspective. Journal of Personality, 58, 381–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, S. K. (2005). The effects of adolescent activities on delinquency: A differential involvement approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(4), 321–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA, USA

    Robert Joseph Lee Archer

  2. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Jamie L. Flexon

Authors
  1. Robert Joseph Lee Archer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jamie L. Flexon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Joseph Lee Archer.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Archer, R.J.L., Flexon, J.L. Unstructured Socializing With Peers and Delinquency: The Role of Mediation Through the Lens of Akers’ (1998) Social Structure Social Learning Theory of Crime and Deviance. Am J Crim Just 47, 980–1005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09633-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09633-w

Keyword

  • Adolescents
  • Delinquency
  • Deviance
  • Social learning
  • Social structure
  • Unstructured socializing