Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct
The idea of peer influence as a cause of delinquency has been around since the 1930s, when Edwin Sutherland offered his theory of differential association. Although that theory and similar ones remain popular and have strong empirical support, more recent theories reject the idea completely. This book surveys the research literature on peer influence, reveals that most offenders are imbedded in a network of friends and accomplices, and describes numerous possible mechanisms of peer influence.
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The principal thesis of Companions in Crime is that deviant behavior is predominantly social behavior.
PrefaceAcknowledgments1Introduction1Preliminary Issues42Peers in the Life Course11Peers in the Life Course12Cross-cultural Variation in Peer Interaction14Historical and Structural Variation16Changing Peer Relations20Peers as Agents of Socialization22Peer Group Formation26Parents versus Peers283The Group Character of Crime and Delinquency31Delinquency as Group Behavior31Features of Delinquent Groups34Do Groups Matter?394Peers and Delinquent Conduct45Fear of Ridicule46Loyalty49Status51Ridicule, Loyalty, and Status55Crime as Collective Behavior58The Group as Moral Universe65Mechanisms of Consensus70Sutherland's Theory of Differential Association73Social Learning Theory77Cross-Sex Peer Influence79Groups, Drugs, and Delinquency80Boredom82Groups as Protection83Co-offenders and Opportunity84The Virtual Peer Group86Summary885Applying Peer Explanations of Delinquency91Age and Crime91Peers and the Life Course99Parents, Peers, and Delinquency108Gender and Delinquency114Summary1176Conclusion119Peers and Public Policy124Pending Questions127Qualifications and Clarifications136Final Comments139Suggested Readings141References151Index169
