Unpacking within- and between-person effects of unstructured socializing and differential association on solo- and co-offending

Abstract

Unstructured socializing and differential association are two key explanations of peer influence. Unstructured socializing serves as a situational context that promotes antisocial behavior, whereas differential association with delinquent peers leads to learned behavior. Building on these perspectives and prior research, the present study models persons as contexts and examines the impact of unstructured socializing and peer delinquency on solo- and co-offending. Specifically, we use generalized linear mixed models to separate within, between, and person-context effects on offending alone and with peers, and test for interaction effects. Key findings include significant within-individual and between-individual effects of unstructured socializing and peer delinquency on co-offending, significant person-context effects of peer delinquency on co-offending, and significant within, between, and person-context effects of peer delinquency on solo-offending. Among comparable significant relationships, peer delinquency effects were notably stronger than unstructured socializing effects. Finally, interaction models revealed that within-individual effects of unstructured socializing and peer delinquency were attenuated among those with high average peer delinquency over time. The findings hold important implications for future empirical tests of theories of peer influence and for policies and programs aimed at controlling peer influence processes on offending alone and with peers.