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. Kornhauser1978; Bruinsma1985; 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 (Sutherland1947; Akers1973; see also Elliott et al.1985; Thornberry1987); in others they are seen as minor influences or as by-products of other causes of delinquency (Glueck and Glueck1950; Hirschi1969; Gottfredson and Hirschi1990).