NCJ Number
147289
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 1 Dated: (1964) Pages: 5-18
Date Published
1964
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether boys in close friendship groups had the same specific patterns of delinquent behavior using a sample of 378 boys drawn from a base population of all white males between 12 and 16 years of age in Davidson County, Tennessee, schools during 1957.
Abstract
The study was designed to select disproportionately low- and middle-class delinquent boys. Each clique was a triad comprised of a boy selected in the stratified probability sample of 378 boys and his two closest friends; information was collected for 299 triads. The delinquent behavior of boys in close friendship triads was compared with that expected for six delinquent behavior types. Two ways of accounting for observed distributions were examined, one based on a random model and the other based on deduction from differential association theory. The dependent variable was self-reported delinquent behavior. It was found that boys generally chose boys as close friends whose law-abiding or delinquent behavior was similar to their own. The probability of an individual committing a specific delinquent act depended on the commission of the act by other triad members, although this finding depended on social class. Vandalism and petty larceny, the most common offenses, were usually committed by two or three triad members, while only one triad member generally committed more serious offenses such as auto theft and assault. The actual delinquent behavior of boys in triads departed somewhat less from the random than the differential association hypothesis, at least for more serious offenses. 6 tables