Family, Peer, and School influences on Substance-Related Criminality among Youth Probationers: A Test of Primary Socialization Theory

Sulki Chung
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University
St. Louis, MO
(314) 935-8185
FAX: (314) 935-8511
chungs@gwbmail.wustl.edu
 
Matthew Owen Howard
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University
St. Louis, MO
(314) 935-4957
FAX: (314) 935-8511
howard@gwbmail.wustl.edu
 
Jeffrey M. Jenson
Graduate School of Social Work
University of Denver
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 871-2526
FAX: (303) 871-2845
jjenson@du.edu
Purpose: Alcohol and drug use among youth has numerous adverse physical, psychological, and social consequences, including increased risk for violence and criminality.  Primary socialization theory proposes that primary sources of socialization influences (i.e., family, peer, and school) provide critical opportunities to learn normative and deviant behaviors (Oetting & Donnermeyer, 1998). The purpose of this study was to examine family, peer, and school influences on youths’ alcohol and drug-related criminality (e.g., selling or trading drugs, committing a crime to support alcohol and/or drug use, committing a crime while under the influence, etc.), using a prediction model based on primary socialization theory.
 
Method: The sample consisted of 475 youths on probation in a western state of the U.S. A conceptual model evaluating the association between family support, parental and peer substance use, school performance and involvement (IVs) and alcohol and drug-related criminality (DV) was estimated using the Structural Equation Modeling technique with LISREL 8.3 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1999).
 
Findings:  The identified structural model obtained a relatively good fit (RMSEA=0.034; CFI= 0.96; AGFI=0.95; IFI=0.96; X2=263.31, df=169, p< .01).  Four independent latent variables predicted 72% of the variance in youths’ substance-related criminality (R2=0.72).  Among the independent variables, only peer-substance use significantly predicted level of involvement in substance-related criminality (ß=0.68, p<.001).  Peer cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use were positively associated with the extent of youths’ substance-related criminality.
 
Implications: Previous research has identified peer substance use as the most important proximal determinant of adolescent substance use.  This report extends these findings to substance-related criminality and suggests that interventions designed to reduce criminality in juvenile justice settings should target youth who have peers with high levels of substance involvement.  Future research should examine the nature of the causal relationships between adolescent involvement in alcohol and drug-related criminality and peer substance use.

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