Exposure to Delinquent Peers

1. Exposure to Delinquent Peers • Why S.L. measure? • Strength of Relationship • R’s = .2 - .4 are common • Criticisms • Measuring delinquency twice • Causal (time) ordering (birds of a feather

2. Pro-Criminal Attitudes • Why a measure of S.L.? • Strength of relationship? R’s > .4 • Criticism CAUSAL ORDERING: Rationalization are simply post-hoc excuses, they do not “cause” crime, but only allow the criminal to wiggle out of trouble

3. Social Learning and the Life-course • When do the concepts of social learning (Akers/Sutherland) theory operate? • Gerald Patterson’s Social-Interactional Theory • Focus on early childhood, and rewards/punish • “Definitions” and “Imitation” not central • Rather, “Parental Efficacy”

4. Gerald Patterson (OSLS) • 1982 “Coercion Theory” • 1992 “Social- Interactional Approach” • Oregon Social Learning Center • Very Applied: Work with families with young, antisocial boys.

5. Patterson’s Social-Interactional Model Family Management Outcomes Context • Family Structure • SES • Difficult Infant • High Crime • Neighborhood • Divorce/Stress • Unskilled • Grandparents • Parental Efficacy • Monitor • Recognize • Discipline • R+ • Problem Solving Antisocial Child Social Incompetence

6. Later in the Theory • Antisocial Child Affects the Environment • Peer Rejection • Poor Academic Performance • Parental Rejection • This leads to further problems • Deviant Peer Group • School Failure • Delinquency

7. Beyond Surveys • Establishing causation via experiments with offenders • What is the policy implication of S.L.T.? • Measure both “intermediate objectives” and long-term outcomes

8. Patterson and OSLC research • Recruited “high risk” children • Stealers, fire-starters, truants… • Focus on training parents • Also cognitive/behavioral methods to build social competence • Able to substantially reduce delinquency, improve school performance

9. Don Andrews (1980) • Group treatment for Prisoners and Probationers • Manipulated content (definitions), group leaders (quality of role model), and self-management • Reductions in recidivism ranged from 10-25% Support for the Sutherland/Akers Tradition

10. Achievement Place • Houses with a married couple serving as “parents” • Served as “role models” • Token economy + verbal physical praise • Peer groups (“positive peer culture”) • Evaluations are mixed (some positive) • Tend to lose positive effects after release • Be wary of “peer culture” programs

11. Cognitive Programs • Changing what criminals think • “Criminal Thinking Errors” • (Rationalizations, Definitions) • Changing how criminals think • Anger management • Prosocial Skills SUPPORT FOR BANDURA, PATTERSON

12. SUMMARY OF APPLIED RESEARCH • Cognitive and/or Behavioral Programs are the best bet for reducing Recidivism • “Meta-analysis” findings are impressive • Average reduction in recidivism across 45 studies? • >30%

13. SUMMARY OF S.L.T • GOOD 1. Substantial Empirical Support (survey and experimental) 2. Useful Policy Implications 3. Scope and Parsimony • BAD 1. Causal ordering? 2. Is all antisocial behavior “learned?”

14. Review of Social Learning Theories • Bandura • How aggression is learned • operant conditioning, cognitive, vicarious • Sutherland/Akers • How deviant values are transmitted • operant conditioning, vicarious learning • Antisocial values (definitions) are central • Patterson • Early childhood, family processes and “context”