Parents, Peers, and Developmental Trajectories toward Crime.

• Main Author: Verhegge, Kimberly A
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2001
• Subjects: attachment; latent growth curve modeling; adult; crime; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Legal Studies; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/628; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1678&context=etd

Across time, the influence of parents and peers appears to change. Early in life, parents have a stronger influence on the development of youth than do their peers. This, however, will change as an individual ages. Using longitudinal data from the Marion County (Oregon) Youth Survey (1964-1979), I examine the influence of parents or delinquent association, drug use and arrest. Analysis generated through latent growth curve modeling show that although parental influence appears to decrease significantly later in life, parental attachment delays the formation of delinquent peer networks, thereby indirectly reducing the total number of arrests. Even so, reductions in parental influence over time were associated with a significantly accelerated rate of acquiring delinquent peers and hence, with an increased frequency of arrest and drug use. The available evidence thus suggests that parental attachment has initial inhibitory effects on the formation of peer networks but only limited long-term developmental effects.