This chapter presents a theory of antisocial behavior, the social development model, which organizes the results of research on risk and protec· tive factors for delinquency, crime, and substance abuse into hypQtheses regarding the development of antisocial and prosocial behavior. The social development model is grounded in tests of prior criminological theory. It hypothesizes similar general processes leading to prosocial and antisocial development, and specifies submodels for four specific periods during ch ildhood and adolescent development. Theoretical Considerations The social development model seeks to explain a broad range of distinct behaviors ranging from the use of illegal drugs to homicide. Crime, including violent and nonviolent offending and drug abuse, is viewed as a constellation of behaviors subject to the general principles incorporated in the model. .By considering evidence from research on the etiology .of both delinquency and drug abuse, it is possible to identify general constructs that predict both types of behavior and to use this knowledge in specifying predictive relationships in the development of antisocial behavior. ~ used here, the terms delinquency and drug use refer to behaviors. All behaviors are subject to influence from a variety of forces. The same principles, factors, or processes that influence one behavior should predict other behaviors. At the least, this suggests that a theory of antisocial behavior should be able to predict both drug use and criminal behavior, whether committed by children or adults. More ambitiously, it suggests a search for universal factors, mechanisms, or processes that predict all behavior. This implies a general theory. Gottfredson and Hirschi ( 1990), for example, have proposed "A General Theory of Crime," which attributes all criminal Preparation of this chapter was supported in part by grants from the National Insti· tute on Drug Abuse.

The social development model: A theory of antisocial behavior.

Criminologists often allude to 'peer influence' in explanations of crime and delinquency, but the meaning of that concept rarely receives careful attention. Companions in Crime organizes the extensive literature on peer influence and group delinquency into a coherent form for the first time. Chapters focus on the role of peers over the life course, the group nature of delinquent behavior, and the applicability of peer influence for explaining the major features of delinquent behavior. The most extensive chapter of the book examines possible mechanisms of peer influence and the evidence in favor of each. The principal thesis of Companions in Crime is that deviant behavior is predominantly social behavior, and criminologists must eventually determine the significance of that fact.

Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct

Social scientists have often assumed that parental influence is sharply curtailed at adolescence because of the rising counterinfluence of peer groups, over which parents have little control. The present study tested a conceptual model that challenged this view by arguing that parents retain a notable but indirect influence over their teenage child's peer associates. Data from a sample of 3,781 high school students (ages 15–19) indicated that specific parenting practices (monitoring, encouragement of achievement, joint decision making) were significantly associated with specific adolescent behaviors (academic achievement, drug use, self-reliance), which in turn were significantly related to membership in common adolescent crowds (jocks, druggies, etc.). Findings encourage investigators to assess more carefully parents' role in adolescents' peer group affiliations.

https://website.education.wisc.edu/prsg/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Brown-et-al-1993-Par-prac-PG-affil.pdf

Parenting Practices and Peer Group Affiliation in Adolescence

Social learning theory has remained one of the core criminological paradigms over the last four decades. Although a large body of scholarship has emerged testing various propositions specified by the theory, the empirical status of the theory in its entirety is still unknown. Accordingly, in the present study, we subject this body of empirical literature to a meta‐analysis to assess its empirical status. Results reveal considerable variation in the magnitude and stability of effect sizes for variables specified by social learning theory across different methodological specifications. In particular, relationships of crime/deviance to measures of differential association and definitions (or antisocial attitudes) are quite strong, yet those for differential reinforcement and modeling/imitation are modest at best. Furthermore, effect sizes for differential association, definitions, and differential reinforcement all differed significantly according to variations in model specification and research designs acr...

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The Empirical Status of Social Learning Theory: A Meta‐Analysis

Do religious beliefs and behaviors deter criminal behavior? The existing evidence surrounding the effect of religion on crime is varied, contested, and inconclusive, and currently no persuasive answer exists as to the empirical relationship between religion and crime. In this article, the authors address this controversial issue with a meta-analysis of 60 previous studies based on two questions: (1) What is the direction and magnitude of the effect of religion on crime? (2) Why have previous studies varied in their estimation of this effect? The results of the meta-analysis show that religious beliefs and behaviors exert a moderate deterrent effect on individuals' criminal behavior. Furthermore, previous studies have systematically varied in their estimation of the religion-on-crime effect due to differences in both their conceptual and methodological approaches.

“If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments”: A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Religion on Crime:

A theoretical model of adolescent drug use is developed which integrates propositions derived from social control and differential association theories. The path model includes parental attachment, religious attachment, educational attachment, conventional values, and drug-using friends as precursors of drug use. For a sample of 2,626 adolescents from the southwestern United States, the model explains 34 percent of the variation in self-reported lifetime alcohol use, 27 percent in lifetime cigarette use, 42 percent in lifetime marijuana use, 26 percent in lifetime use of amphetamines and depressants, and 50 percent in overall lifetime drug use. The best single predictor of drug use is association with drug-using friends. The processes leading to involvement with drugs appear to be very similar across drug types. Adolescent drug use is widespread in America. Numerous recent authors suggest that involvement in such behavior has become a national concern, whether the substance is tobacco (Grunberg and Baum 1984; Humble et al. 1985; Lichtenstein 1982), alcohol (Barnes 1984; Pandina et al. 1984; Wechsler et al. 1984), marijuana (Hendin et al. 1981; Smith et al. 1982; Smith 1984), or other drugs (McDermott 1984; Marcos and Bahr 1985; Weidman 1983). Macdonald (1984) refers to adolescent drug use as a national disaster because of the high proportion of adolescents who use drugs and the negative consequences associated with use. By the time they are seniors in high school, over 90 percent of American adolescents have tried alcohol *Paper presented at the 1985 meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association. We acknowledge the cooperation of the schools that participated in this project, particularly the students who completed the questionnaires. We are grateful to Grant Rose and Tom Martin for computer assistance, to two anonymous referees for their suggestions, and to Norene Petersen and Brenda Johnson for clerical assistance. Address correspondence to Anastasios C. Marcos, Department of Sociology, 800 SWKT, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/2578939

Test of a Bonding/Association Theory of Adolescent Drug Use

With questionnaire data from a random sample of 13,250 adolescents, we used structural equation modeling to estimate how mother-adolescent bonding, father-adolescent bonding, parental monitoring, family aggression, family drug problems, and religiosity were associated with adolescent drug use. Mother-adolescent bonding and family drug problems had modest, indirect effects on the likelihood of adolescent drug use. Fatheradolescent bonding, parental monitoring, and family aggression had relatively weak effects on adolescent drug use. Students who were religious tended not to use drugs or to have close friends who use drugs. The influence of these risk factors was similar for both females and males and for all three types of drugs. Key Words: adolescent drug use, parent-adolescent bonding, parental monitoring, religiosity. One of the current approaches to preventing adolescent drug use has been termed "risk-focused prevention" (Clayton, 1992; Hawkins, 1995; Newcomb & Bentler, 1986). Based on a public health model, the objective is to identify a variety of risk and protective factors associated with drug consumption and then implement community programs to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors. Although several family characteristics have been identified as risk and protective factors, there is uncertainty regarding how and to what extent different family characteristics may increase or decrease the likelihood that adolescents will use drugs (Clayton, 1992; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992; Newcomb & Bentler, 1986). In addition, there has not been adequate attention given to religiosity as a protective factor. The purpose of this research is to examine several family characteristics and religiosity as risk and protective factors in adolescent drug use. PREVIOUS RESEARCH Families, religious organizations, schools, and peers are social groups where individuals form bonds and learn attitudes and values about the use of drugs. Here we summarize research on how adolescent drug consumption may be influenced by family characteristics, religiosity, educational commitment, and peers. For more complete reviews, consult Bahr and Hawks (1995), Hawkins et al. (1992), and Petraitis, Flay, and Miller (1995). Hawkins et al. (1992) identified four family characteristics that influence the likelihood of adolescent drug use: (a) low level of bonding to family, (b) poor and inconsistent family management practices, (c) family conflict, and (d) family alcohol and drug behavior and attitudes. We begin with a brief review of research on each of these four family characteristics. Bonding to Family Bonding is the amount of attachment, connection, or closeness adolescents feel toward their parents (Barber, 1997). In several theories of adolescent drug use, parent-adolescent bonding is one of the variables that tends to decrease the likelihood that adolescents will consume various drugs (Brook & Brook, 1990; Clayton, 1992; Hirschi, 1969; Petraitis et al., 1995). Using social control theory, scholars hypothesize that adolescents refrain from taking drugs because of the parent-adolescent bonds that have developed. When there are strong parent-child bonds, adolescents may respect, listen to, and desire to please their parents more than when bonds are weak. Thus, strong bonds may help adolescents resist pro-drug influences from peers. Bonding also may increase the extent to which children internalize parental values opposing substance use (Larzelere & Patterson, 1990). Some researchers have confirmed that strong bonds to parents tend to discourage initiation to drugs and that weak bonds tend to increase the likelihood of drug experimentation and use (Barnes, Farrell, & Cairns, 1986; Coombs, Paulson, & Richardson, 1991; Hundleby & Mercer, 1987; Smart, Chibucos, & Didier, 1990). This finding has been verified in different samples taken at different times using somewhat different measures of bonding. …

Family, Religiosity, and the Risk of Adolescent Drug Use.

Objective: This research provides estimates of how strongly family bonds, family drug use, age, educational commitment and peer drug use are associated with the frequency and amount of alcohol consumption among adolescents, and compares females and males. Method: Using questionnaire data from a random sample of 27,000 adolescents, structural equation modeling is used to evaluate the strength of several risk factors. Results: The influence of family bonds is moderately strong but operates primarily through peers; adolescents with higher family bonds are less likely to have close friends who are involved with drugs. Family bonds have a relatively strong, positive association with educational commitment, and adolescents with a higher educational commitment tend to drink less frequently; and when they drink, they tend to consume smaller amounts. Living in a family where other family members have a problem with alcohol or other drugs increases the chance that an adolescent has friends who drink or use other dr...

Family, educational and peer influences on the alcohol use of female and male adolescents.

The role of peers in adolescent drug use is analyzed by integrating differential association and situational group pressure notions with propositions derived from social bond theory. The resultant causal model is tested for self-reported use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, amphetamines, and depressants. The model explains 49% of the variation in combined drug use among 768 adolescents. The variables from social learning traditions have the strongest effects in the model, but associations with drug-using parents or with prodrug definitions received from parents or friends have far less impact on drug use than do associations with drug-using friends per se. It is argued that differential association with situational pressure to join others in drug use may be more relevant to adolescent drug use than are social bonds or differential association with a ratio of prodrug to antidrug definitions.

Anastasios C. Marcos

Papers

Test of a Bonding/Association Theory of Adolescent Drug Use

Family, Religiosity, and the Risk of Adolescent Drug Use.

Family, educational and peer influences on the alcohol use of female and male adolescents.

The role of peers in the complex etiology of adolescent drug use

Control Theory and Adolescent Drug Use