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Effects of neighborhood disadvantage and peer deviance on adolescent antisocial behavior: Testing potential interactions with age-of-onset

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2023

Courtney M. Goetz Open the ORCID record for Courtney M. Goetz [Opens in a new window] ,
Paul J. Frick ,
Laura Thornton ,
James V. Ray ,
Tina Wall Meyers Open the ORCID record for Tina Wall Meyers [Opens in a new window] ,
Laurence Steinberg  and
Elizabeth Cauffman Open the ORCID record for Elizabeth Cauffman [Opens in a new window]
Courtney M. Goetz*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Paul J. Frick
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Laura Thornton
Affiliation:
ABT Associates, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
James V. Ray
Affiliation:
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Tina Wall Meyers
Affiliation:
Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System, Jackson, LA, USA
Laurence Steinberg
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Elizabeth Cauffman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
*
Corresponding author: C. M. Goetz; Email: cgoetz2@lsu.edu
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Abstract

Research has suggested that childhood-onset conduct problems (CPs) are more strongly related to individual predispositions, whereas adolescent-onset CP is more strongly associated with social factors, such as peer delinquency. Neighborhood disadvantage (ND) increases the risk for associating with deviant peers. Thus, peer delinquency could mediate the relationship between ND and adolescent-onset CP. This mediational hypothesis has not been tested previously. We tested this hypothesis in 1,127 justice-involved adolescent males using self-reported delinquency and official arrest records over 3 years after the youth’s first arrest as outcomes. Predictors were self-reported and census-derived indicators of ND and self-reported peer delinquency. Age of onset moderated the associations between self-reported ND and arrests and between self-report of peer delinquency and arrests. In both cases, the association was stronger for those with adolescent-onset CP. Peer delinquency mediated all relationships between ND and CP. Our results also showed some unexpected differences in associations depending on whether self-reported ND or census-derived indicators were used as predictors. Specifically, census-derived ND was negatively related to self-reported offending, which could be due to the use of an arrested sample and the need for youth in more advantaged neighborhoods to show a more severe pattern of antisocial behavior to be arrested.

Keywords

Conduct problemsneighborhood disadvantagepeer delinquencyantisocial behavior
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , February 2025 , pp. 164 - 175
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© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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