Delinquent peers revisited: Does network structure matter?

This study examines whether structural properties of friendship networks co ndition the association between friends' delinquency and an individual's ow n delinquent behavior. Data from the Add Health allows a more accurate conc eptualization of the peer network and a more rigorous measurement of peer d elinquency than previous research. Findings from this study indicate that f riends' delinquency is associated with an adolescent's own delinquency invo lvement. However, characteristics of adolescents' friendship networks, such as its density and adolescents' centrality and popularity, condition the d elinquency-peer association. Network density, in particular, emerges as an important component of the delinquency-peer association, with very cohesive networks containing stronger delinquency-peer associations than those that are less cohesive. These findings suggest that it is necessary to consider the underlying structural properties of friendship networks in order to un derstand the impact of peer influence on adolescent delinquency.