Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale

Abstract

The Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale is a specialized psychometric instrument designed to assess an individual’s exposure to and association with antisocial behavior within their immediate social network. Developed by the Social Development Research Group (SDRG) at the University of Washington, this measure serves as a crucial subscale within larger risk and protective factor surveys, such as the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors. The scale specifically measures the frequency of delinquent acts reported by the respondent’s four closest friends over the preceding 12-month period, providing a quantitative indicator of peer influence, which is a major predictor of future delinquency and substance abuse.

Keywords

Antisocial behavior, Peer Relationships, Delinquency, Risk Factors, Adolescent Assessment, Interpersonal Communication, Social Development Research Group, Student Survey.

Authors

Social Development Research Group, University of Washington

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale is to quantify a significant environmental risk factor: the degree of association with deviant or antisocial peers. Research consistently shows that affiliation with peers who engage in illegal or problematic behavior is one of the strongest predictors of an adolescent’s own involvement in similar activities.

By assessing the respondent’s perception of their friends’ behavior—including suspension, drug sales, and arrests—the scale helps researchers and practitioners identify individuals or cohorts at heightened risk for future negative outcomes. This data is critical for developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies focused on strengthening positive Peer Relationships and mitigating negative peer influence.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Antisocial Peer Association, which is a core component of social development and control theories. This construct posits that shared environments and close interpersonal communication with deviant peers normalize and promote antisocial behavior.

The items focus on high-risk, observable behaviors (e.g., carrying weapons, selling drugs, theft, arrest) committed by the respondent’s four closest friends. The resulting score reflects the level of exposure to and potential acceptance of delinquency within the respondent’s immediate social circle, linking it directly to the broader domains of Peer Relationships and Interpersonal Communication.

Validity

While specific validity coefficients for this subscale are typically embedded within the comprehensive documentation of its parent instrument, the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors (CSAP’s Core Measures), the scale generally demonstrates high predictive validity. Association with antisocial peers is an established risk factor, suggesting strong concurrent and predictive validity regarding future self-reported delinquency, substance use initiation, and academic failure (e.g., dropping out or suspension).

The scale’s construct validity is supported by its focused measurement of specific, high-frequency delinquent acts, differentiating it from general measures of peer popularity or social engagement. Researchers utilizing this instrument often rely on established literature supporting the link between peer deviance and respondent behavior.

Reliability

As a measure of a cumulative environmental risk factor, the scale is expected to exhibit acceptable levels of internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) when administered to large adolescent populations. Since the scale is a sum of discrete items reflecting independent peer behaviors, reliability assessment primarily focuses on demonstrating that the various forms of peer delinquency measured (e.g., suspension, arrest, drug sales) consistently co-occur, justifying their aggregation into a single Antisocial Peer Association score.

Factor Analysis

In the context of the larger Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors, the Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale typically forms a distinct factor cluster, confirming its role as a key measure of external risk. Factor analysis confirms that the six items measuring friend behavior load highly onto a single underlying factor representing Peer Delinquency or association with antisocial individuals, separate from other factors measuring family dynamics, school engagement, or individual attitudes.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire (Subscale)

Format: Categorical frequency rating (0 to 4 friends)

Language Available: English (Primary)

Population Group: Students/Adolescents

Age Group: Typically middle school through high school (Ages 10–18)

Population Details: Used extensively in community surveys, prevention studies, and evaluations of youth development programs.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to consider their four closest friends and indicate how many of those friends have engaged in specific delinquent behaviors within the past 12 months. The responses are summed to create a risk exposure score.

Keywords

Peer influence, Risk assessment, Adolescent mental health, Social environment, Criminology, Prevention science, Psychometric properties, Social Development.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Attributed to the research group)

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Social Development Research Group, University of Washington, 9725 3rd Ave. NE‚ Suite 401, Seattle‚ WA 98115-2024

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale is associated with materials developed under the oversight of government programs (such as CSAP, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) and is often used freely for non-commercial academic research and program evaluation. However, researchers must contact the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington for formal permission and the most current version of the instrument. The scale is a part of the Student Survey of Risk and Protective Factors; the specific year of its initial creation is not explicitly stated but is associated with major longitudinal studies conducted by SDRG. The original documentation is available through various online resources. The original document link provided is a Microsoft Word file: Interaction with Antisocial Peers Scale.doc.

Reference’s

The Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale is documented as a subscale within the larger CSAP’s Core Measures document, typically found on pages 100-102 of that publication.

• Social Development Research Group. (n.d.). Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale. University of Washington. Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/sdrg/
• Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Core Measures Document (Parent Instrument).
• Online Resource Link: http://oregonmentors.org/library/evaluationtools/view/52/

Items of the Interaction With Antisocial Peers Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.