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More than Risk? Longitudinal Changes in Friendship Support with Serious Adolescent Offenders

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Abstract

Research on the friendships of adolescents who offend has overwhelmingly focused on delinquency, despite developmental evidence that friendships are a large source of support for youth. In order to understand between- and within-individual differences in friendship support over time with adolescents who offend, the present study used multi-level modeling techniques on data from male youth in the Pathways to Desistance study. Participants were a racially and ethnically diverse (43% Black, 35% Hispanic, and 21% White) group of 1040 male youth adjudicated or convicted of serious offenses between age 14 and 18. Youth reported high levels of support, which modestly declined over time, and they reported less support from delinquent peers. Black and Hispanic youth reported higher levels of friendship support than White youth, but the trajectory of support did not statistically differ by race or ethnicity. The friendships of youth who commit serious offenses are nuanced relationships that should not be viewed dichotomously as delinquent or supportive.

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Notes

  1. Extended jurisdiction allows state juvenile justice systems to provide sanctions and services above the maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction (i.e., provide services to youth through age 21 even if the maximum age for juvenile court is 17 in the state; OJJDP, 2019).

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Dr. Rachel Barr, Dr. Hayley Clearly, and Michael Umpierre for their feedback on the study design.

Authors’ Contributions

AM conceived of the study, participated in the design and interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript, while JW participated in the design and interpretation of the data as well as supported the drafting of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data Sharing Declaration

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) repository, https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR29961.v2.

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  1. Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, 1100 Wilson Blvd, Suite 2910, Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

    Alyssa M. Mikytuck

  2. Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Jennifer L. Woolard

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Correspondence to Alyssa M. Mikytuck.

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This research study was conducted retrospectively from secondary data obtained for research purposes. We consulted with the IRB of Georgetown University who determined that our study did not need ethical approval and provided a waiver of ethical approval. Some of the measures used in this project are classified as restricted use data and managed by the ICPSR. We received approval from Georgetown University Information Services (UIS) and the ICPSR to use the restricted use files. Public and restricted use data files used for this study were stored on a non-networked, password protected computer in a locked office.

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Mikytuck, A.M., Woolard, J.L. More than Risk? Longitudinal Changes in Friendship Support with Serious Adolescent Offenders. J Youth Adolescence 50, 1537–1549 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01386-9

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