Research consistently identifies a group of adolescents who refrain from minor delinquency entirely. Known as abstainers, studying these adolescents is an underexplored approach to understanding adolescent minor delinquency. In this paper, we tested hypotheses regarding adolescent delinquency abstention derived from the developmental taxonomy model and social control theory in 497 adolescents (283 boys) aged 13–18 comparing three groups of adolescents: abstainers, experimenters, and a delinquent group. We found that the relation between adolescent abstention and personal characteristics (i.e., conscientiousness and anxiety) was (partially) mediated by the amount of time spent with peers. Furthermore, the level of best friend delinquency moderated the relation between time spent with peers and delinquency abstention. Results support aspects of both theoretical frameworks.
Adolescent Abstention From Delinquency: Examining the Mediating Role of Time Spent With (Delinquent) Peers / Mercer, Natalie; Keijsers, Loes; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Branje, Susan; Meeus, Wim. - In: JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE. - ISSN 1050-8392. - ELETTRONICO. - 26:4(2016), pp. 947-962. [10.1111/jora.12246]
Adolescent Abstention From Delinquency: Examining the Mediating Role of Time Spent With (Delinquent) Peers
CROCETTI, ELISABETTA;
2016
Abstract
Research consistently identifies a group of adolescents who refrain from minor delinquency entirely. Known as abstainers, studying these adolescents is an underexplored approach to understanding adolescent minor delinquency. In this paper, we tested hypotheses regarding adolescent delinquency abstention derived from the developmental taxonomy model and social control theory in 497 adolescents (283 boys) aged 13–18 comparing three groups of adolescents: abstainers, experimenters, and a delinquent group. We found that the relation between adolescent abstention and personal characteristics (i.e., conscientiousness and anxiety) was (partially) mediated by the amount of time spent with peers. Furthermore, the level of best friend delinquency moderated the relation between time spent with peers and delinquency abstention. Results support aspects of both theoretical frameworks.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
