WHY IS INVOLVEMENT IN UNSTRUCTURED SOCIALIZING RELATED TO ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY?*

2016/05/01 by EVELIEN M. HOEBEN, Evelien M. Hoeben, FRANK M. WEERMAN +1 · 166 citations
Health Professions · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Community Health and Development #Computer science #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Developmental psychology #Juvenile delinquency #Operationalization #Path analysis (statistics) #Perspective (graphical) #Psychology #Social psychology #Youth Development and Social Support

paper · doi:10.1111/1745-9125.12105

published in Criminology 54(2), 242-281 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2016/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

The relationship between unstructured socializing (peer‐oriented activity without supervision) and adolescent delinquency is widely established and recognized, but less is known about why this relationship exists. The present study integrates the unstructured socializing perspective with insights from social learning theory and other theoretical perspectives on peer influence and empirically investigates four possible explanatory processes. The study applies time diary data to operationalize accurately the concept of unstructured socializing and survey data to capture mediating variables and self‐reported delinquency (a general frequency measure of various offenses, as well as specified measures for violence, theft, and vandalism). Data were collected longitudinally with two waves of surveys and space–time budget interviews among 610 adolescents (11 to 20 years of age). A multilevel‐path model was estimated to analyze within‐individual changes over time. The findings indicate that three of the four proposed explanatory processes contribute to the explanation of the relationship between unstructured socializing and delinquency.

Citations

• A DUAL‐SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PROCESSES OF PEER INFLUENCE
• Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach

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• Virtual Socializing, Peers, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Study of Incarcerated Male Youths in China
• A sharp decline in youth crime: reviewing trends in New Zealand’s youth offending rates between 1998 and 2019
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Related

• Reconsidering Peers and Delinquency: How do Peers Matter?
• The Social Transmission of Delinquency
• Exposure to Situations Conducive to Delinquent Behavior
• The Risk of Informal Socializing with Peers: Considering Gender Differences Across Predatory Delinquency and Substance Use
• DELINQUENT PEERS IN CONTEXT: A LONGITUDINAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF SELECTION AND INFLUENCE EFFECTS*