The changing role of delinquent peers in childhood and adolescence: Issues, findings and puzzles

The relationship between delinquent peers and delinquency is a common finding in criminology (e.g. Kornhauser 1978; Bruinsma 1985; Elliott et al. 1985; Van Lieshout et al. 2001). However, the role of delinquent peers is not simply a matter of ‘keeping bad company’. Criminologists disagree about the significance and meaning of delinquent peers. In some perspectives, delinquent peers are seen as crucial explanatory factors (Sutherland 1947; Akers 1973; see also Elliott et al. 1985; Thornberry 1987); in others they are seen as minor influences or as by-products of other causes of delinquency (Glueck and Glueck 1950; Hirschi 1969; Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990).