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Adolescent Abstention From Delinquency: Examining the Mediating Role of Time Spent With (Delinquent) Peers
Author(s) -
Mercer Natalie,
Keijsers Loes,
Crocetti Elisabetta,
Branje Susan,
Meeus Wim
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12246
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , psychology , conscientiousness , developmental psychology , anxiety , peer group , peer relations , peer influence , minor (academic) , clinical psychology , personality , social psychology , big five personality traits , psychiatry , political science , law , extraversion and introversion
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.