Abstract
The main and interactive effects of delinquent friends, peer attachment, and association with Chinese friends on delinquency are examined based on a sample of Chinese-Canadian youths. The results reveal that association with delinquent friends increases delinquency involvement, whereas attachment to peers has just the opposite effect. In terms of interactive effects, it is found that strong attachment to peers dampens the criminogenic effect of delinquent friends. There is also the unexpected finding that association with Chinese friends increases the likelihood of delinquency involvement. Further analyses have shown that association with Chinese friends may indicate the degree of balance between same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendship ties that, in turn, affects delinquency. The results underscore the importance of both cultural adherence and friendship ties in the prevention of delinquency.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abbott, K. A., and Abbott, E. L. (1973). Juvenile delinquency in San Francisco's Chinese American community: 1961–1966. In Sue, S., and Wagner, N. (eds.), Asian-Americans: Psychological Perspectives. Science and Behavior Books, Palo Alto, CA.
Agnew, R. (1991). The interactive effects of peer variables on delinquency. Criminology 29: 47–72.
Aiken, L. S., and West, S. G. (1991). Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
Akers, R. L. (1979). Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory. Am. Sociol. Rev. 44: 636–655.
Bachman, J. G., Wallace, J. M., Jr., O'Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., Kurth, C. L., and Neighbors, H. W. (1991). Racial/ethnic differences in smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use among American high school seniors, 1976–89. Am. J. Public Health 81: 372–377.
Brownfield, D., and Thompson, K. (1991). Attachment to peers and delinquent behavior. Can. J. Criminol. 33: 45–60.
Burton, S., Calabresi, M., and FlorCruz, J. A. (1993, June 21). Where's the promised land? Time 141: 35–36.
Chang, L., Morrissey, R. F., and Koplewicz, H. S. (1995). Prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and their relation to adjustment among Chinese-American youth. J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiat. 34: 91–99.
Charron, D. W., and Ness, R. C. (1981). Emotional distress among Vietnamese adolescents. J. Refugee Resettle. 1: 7–15.
Chi, I., Kitano, H. H. L., and Lubben, J. E. (1988). Male Chinese drinking behavior in Los Angeles. J. Studies Alcohol 49: 21–25.
Chin, K.-L. (1990). Chinese Subculture and Criminality. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.
Chu, G. (1972). Drinking patterns and attitudes of rooming-house Chinese in San Francisco. Quart. J. Studies Alcohol Suppl. 6: 58–68.
Church, G. J. (1993, June 21). Send back your tired, your poor... Time 141: 32–33.
Elder, J. P., Molgaard, C. A., and Gresham, L. (1988). Predictors of chewing tobacco and cigarette use in a multiethnic public school population. Adolescence 23: 688–702.
Elliott, D., Huizinga, D., and Ageton, S. (1985). Explaining Delinquency and Drug Use. Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA.
Finkelstein, N. W., and Haskins, R. (1983). Kindergarten children prefer same-color peers. Child Develop. 54: 502–508.
Fong, S. L. M. (1973). Assimilation and changing social roles of Chinese Americans. J. Social Issues 29: 115–27.
Foshee, V., and Bauman, K. E. (1992). Parental and peer characteristics as modifiers of the bond-behavior relationship: An elaboration of control theory. J. Health. Social Behav. 33: 66–76.
Hallinan, M. T., and Smith, S. S. (1985). The effects of classroom racial composition on students' interracial friendliness. Social Psychol. Quart. 48: 3–16.
Hallinan, M. T., and Teixeira, R. A. (1987). Opportunities and constraints: Black-white differences in the formation of interracial friendships. Child Develop. 58: 1358–1371.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
Hisama, T. (1980). Minority group children and behavior disorders: The case of Asian-American children. Behav. Disord. 5: 186–196.
Howes, C., and Wu, F. (1990). Peer interactions and friendships in an ethnically diverse school setting. Child Develop. 61: 537–541.
Huang, L. N., and Ying, Y.-W. (1989). Chinese American children and adolescents. In Gibbs, J. T., and Huang, L. N. (eds.), Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Minority Youth. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA.
Huizinga, D., Esbensen, F.-A., and Weiher, A. W. (1991). Are there multiple paths to delinquency? J. Crim. Law Criminol. 82: 83–118.
Joe, K. A. (1994). The new criminal conspiracy? Asian gangs and organized crime in San Francisco. J. Res. Crim. Delinq. 31: 390–415.
Kelley, M. L., and Tseng, H. M. (1992). Cultural differences in child rearing: A comparison of immigrant Chinese and Caucasian American mothers. J. Cross-Cult. Psychol. 23: 444–455.
Kelly, R. J., Chin, K.-L., and Fagan, J. A. (1993). The dragon breathes fire: Chinese organized crime in New York City. Crime, Law Social Change 19: 245–269.
Kendis, K. O., and Kendis, R. J. (1976). The street boy identity: An alternate strategy of Boston's Chinese-Americans. Urban Anthropol. 5: 1–17.
Kitano, H. H. L. (1973). Japanese-American crime and delinquency. In Sue, S. and Wagner, N. (eds.), Asian-Americans: Psychological Perspectives. Science and Behavior Books, Palo Alto, CA.
Liu, M., Gibney, F., Jr., Miller, S., and Morganthau, T. (1993, June 21). The new slave trade. Newsweek 121: 34–41.
Lue, L. J., and Newton, M. H. (1983, April). Validation of two measures of acculturation for Chinese Americans. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco.
Malhotra, M. K. (1989). Problems, plans, and ambitions of German and foreign adolescents. Adolescence 24: 741–53.
Marcos, A. C., Bahr, S. J., and Johnson, R. E. (1986). Test of a bonding/association theory of adolescent drug use. Social Forces 65: 135–161.
Massey, J. L., and Krohn, M. R. (1986). A longitudinal examination of an integrated social process model of deviant behavior. Social Forces 65: 106–134.
Patel, N., Power, T. G., and Bhavnagri, N. P. (1996). Socialization values and practices of Indian immigrant parents: Correlates of modernity and acculturation. Child Develop. 67: 302–313.
Regis, H. A. (1988). Communication and the sense of community among the members of an immigrant group. J. Cross-Cult. Psychol. 19: 329–340.
Schwitters, S. Y., Johnson, R. C., Wilson, J. R., and McClearn, G. E. (1982). Ethnicity and alcohol. Hawaii Med. J. 41: 60–63.
Sellin, T. (1938). Culture Conflict and Crime. Social Science Research Council, New York.
Shrum, W., and Cheek, N. H., Jr. (1988). Friendship in school: Gender and racial homophily. Sociol. Educat. 61: 227–239.
Sue, S., and Sue, D. W. (1973). Chinese-American personality and mental health. In Sue, S., and Wagner, N. (eds.), Asian-Americans: Psychological Perspectives. Science and Behavior Books, Palo Alto, CA.
Sue, S., Zane, N., and Ito, J. (1979). Alcohol drinking patterns among Asian and Caucasian Americans. J. Cross-Cult. Psychol. 10: 41–56.
Sutherland, E. H., and Cressey, D. R. (1974). Criminology. J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, PA.
Szapocznik, J., Scopetta, M. A., Kurtines, W., and Aranalde, M. (1978). Theory and measurement of acculturation. Interamerican J. Psychol. 12: 113–130.
Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Farnworth, M., and Jang, S. J. (1991). Testing interactional theory: An examination of reciprocal causal relationship among family, school, and delinquency. J. Crim. Law Criminol. 82: 3–35.
Touliatos, J., and Lindholm, B. W. (1990). Behavioral disturbance in children of native-born and immigrant parents. J. Commun. Psychol. 8: 28–33.
Warr, M., and Stafford, M. (1991). The influence of delinquent peers: What they think or what they do. Criminology 29: 851–866.
Wilson, J. R., McClearn, G. E., and Johnson, R. C. (1978). Ethnic variation in use and effects of alcohol. Drug Alcohol Depend. 3: 147–151.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, S.K. Peer Relations and Chinese-Canadian Delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 27, 641–659 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022839208704
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022839208704