Synonyms
Overview
Criminological theories have focused on different aspects of social relationships to explain the role peers play in shaping delinquency. Control theory, as presented by Hirschi (1969), focuses on the strength of attachment between individuals to explain variation in delinquent outcomes. Conversely, influence theories, such as differential association theory (Sutherland and Cressey 1960), propose that delinquency is learned within intimate relationships that expose individuals to definitions favorable to law and norm violation. Unfortunately, most empirical tests of these competing perspectives rely on data from random samples that do not allow for the direct measurement of peer characteristics (e.g., peer delinquency) or the assessment of the structural characteristics (e.g., cohesion) of peer and friendship groups. Overcoming these limitations, a network approach to crime/delinquency takes into account...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Recommended Reading and References
Akers RL (2009) Social learning and social structure: a general theory of crime and deviance. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick
Browning CR (2011) The spatial and social embeddedness of youth activities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Seattle
Ennett ST et al (2006) The peer context of adolescent substance use: findings from social network analysis. J Res Adolescent 16:159–186
Frank KA et al (2008) The social dynamics of mathematics course taking in high school. Am J Sociol 113:1645–1696
Giordano PC, Cernkovich SA, Pugh MD (1986) Friendships and delinquency. Am J Sociol 91:1170–1202
Giordano PC, Cernkovich SA, Holland DD (2003) Changes in friendship relations over the life course: implications for desistance from crime. Criminology 41:293–328
Giordano PC, Lonardo RA, Longmore MA (2010) Adolescent romance and delinquency: a further exploration of Hirschi’s ‘cold and brittle’ relationships hypothesis. Criminology 48:919–946
Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T (1990) A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press, Stanford
Granovetter MS (1973) The strength of weak ties. Am J Sociol 78:1360–1380
Haynie DL (2001) Delinquent peers revisited: does network structure matter? Am J Sociol 106:1013–1057
Haynie DL (2002) Friendship networks and delinquency: the relative nature of peer delinquency. J Quant Criminol 18:99–134
Haynie DL, Osgood DW (2005) Reconsidering peers and delinquency: how do peers matter? Soc Forces 84:1109–1130
Haynie DL, Giordano PC, Manning WD, Longmore MA (2005) Adolescent romantic relationships and delinquency involvement. Criminology 43:177–210
Hirschi T (1969) Causes of delinquency. University of California Press, Berkeley
Kreager DA, Haynie DL (2011) Dangerous liaisons? Dating and drinking diffusion in adolescent peer networks. Am Sociol Rev 76(5):737–763
Kreager DA, Rullison K, Moody J (2011) Delinquency and the structure of adolescent peer groups. Criminology 49:95–127
Magino W (2009) The downside of social closure: brokerage, parental influence, and delinquency among African American Boys. Sociol Educ 82:147–172
McCarthy B, Hagan J, Cohen LE (1998) Uncertainty, cooperation, and crime: understanding the decision to co-offend. Soc Forces 77:155–184
McGloin JM (2009) Delinquency balance: revisiting peer influence. Criminology 47:439–477
Meldrum RC, Young JTN, Weerman FM (2009) Reconsidering the effect of self-control and delinquent peers. J Res Crime Delinq 46:353–376
Moody J (1999) The structure of adolescent social relations: modeling friendship in dynamic social settings. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor
Papachristos AV, Braga AA, Hureau DM (2012) Social networks and the risk of gunshot injury. J Urban Health 89:992–1003
Payne D, Cornwell B (2007) Reconsidering peer influences on delinquency: do less proximate contacts matter. J Quant Criminol 23:127–149
Pratt TC, Cullen FT (2000) The empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime: a meta-analysis. Criminology 38:931–964
Pratt TC et al (2010) The empirical status of social learning theory: a meta-analysis. Justice Q 27:765–802
Steglich C, Snijders TAB, Pearson M (2010) Dynamic networks and behavior: separating selection from influence. Sociol Methodol 40:329–393
Sutherland EH, Cressey DR (1960) Principles of criminology, 6th edn. J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia
Warr M (2002) Companions in crime: the social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Weerman FM, Smeenk WH (2005) Peer similarity in delinquency for different types of friends: a comparison using two measurement methods. Criminology 43:499–524
Young JTN, Barnes JC, Meldrum RC, Weerman FM (2011) Assessing and explaining misperceptions of peer delinquency. Criminology 49:599–630
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Haynie, D.L., Soller, B. (2014). Network Analysis in Criminology. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_237
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_237
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law