Western Criminology Summary

A Closer Look at the Age, Peers and Delinquency Relationship Daniel P. Mears and Samuel H. Field Western Criminology Review 4 (1), 20-29 (2002) Introduction: Research Summary: Two suppositions were explored. First, a communal association between delinquent peer-groups and the significance of age as it is influencedamong older youth. The second (keeping in the direction of the theoretical focus), epitomized that substance-abuse-related offenses would have a greater correlation in the relationship between delinquent peers and age. For each violation dependent variables were used, with each offender asked the specific amount of times the offense was committed in the past year. "The mean values for the offenses, range from a low of .05 for burglary to a high of 24.00 for the use of marijuana." (Mears & H.Field,2002). The analysis with regard to the deviant self-reported acts uncovers the fact that there is a significant age/peer interaction for each violation, omitting hitting someone. The principal finding to note is,"that the expected pattern of age/peer interactions is most evident for using marijuana; getting drunk; and, to a lesser extent, selling illegal drugs, using prescription drugs, burglary, and the offense index. The steady progression in the increasing effect of peers for
Mears and fields, speculative evidence suggesting that increased exposure to delinquent peers exerts a unique impact on the inclination of older youth to engage in drug offending (using marijuana, getting drunk, selling illegal drugs, and using prescription drugs), was very compelling to me. There are many studies and much evidence to suggest that substance abuse is embedded within peer interactions. Adolescents are expected to participate in drug-related deviant acts, with marijuana and drunkenness at the forefront. It was equally interesting to see how the aging peer influence played into this