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Content: While peers are known to influence an individual’s behavior (known as socialization), research also demonstrates that adolescents who are delinquent are more likely to seek out and befriend other delinquents (known as selection). Antisocial peer influence can thus be self-reinforcing. The age and gender of an adolescent’s peers are also important factors; having older friends is associated with a greater likelihood of offending, and male peers are generally more likely to encourage antisocial behavior than female peers. Gang membership reflects the most extreme example of deviant peer influence on offending. Interestingly, aggressive children who are universally rejected by their peers are at greater risk of becoming chronic juvenile offenders than are aggressive children who are not rejected. The negative influence of peers tends to arise as a key risk factor later in development, whereas family influences typically are most important during earlier stages. Nevertheless, the influence of peers is magnified when the family environment is not healthy. Risk Factors and Community Conditions
Neighborhood
Children raised in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at greater risk of becoming juvenile offenders than children from more affluent neighborhoods. This neighborhood effect remains significant even when differences in school quality and family socioeconomic status are taken into account.