Delinquent Peers—Rochester Youth Development Study

Abstract

The Delinquent Peers measure is an essential component derived from the seminal Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). This large-scale longitudinal study, initiated in Rochester, New York, in 1989, rigorously tracked 639 participants from adolescence up to age 25. The overarching goal of the RYDS was to map the developmental pathways of delinquency and associated problem behaviors across the lifespan.

Specifically, this instrument quantifies the degree of involvement in delinquent activities exhibited by a participant’s immediate peer group over the preceding 30 days. Research utilizing the RYDS data established that peer influences were the strongest early predictor of involvement in delinquency, underscoring the critical importance of this scale for criminological and developmental research.

Keywords

Delinquency, Peer Influence, Adolescent Behavior, Longitudinal Research, Rochester Youth Development Study, Criminology, Risk Assessment, Interactional Theory.

Authors

Terence P. Thornberry, Alan J. Lizotte, Marvin D. Krohn, Margaret Farnworth, Sung Joon Jang.

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Purpose

The primary objective of the Delinquent Peers instrument is to provide a quantitative assessment of an individual adolescent’s exposure to and association with delinquent peers. By systematically measuring the reported frequency of criminal or problematic behaviors engaged in by the participant’s close friends, researchers gain insight into the potency of peer dynamics as a causal factor in behavioral outcomes.

Data generated by this scale are vital for developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies. These strategies often focus on mitigating the negative effects of social environments and peer dynamics that facilitate the initiation or persistence of antisocial behavior throughout adolescence and into young adulthood. The scale helps identify individuals at high risk based on their social network characteristics.

Construct

The scale operationalizes the core psychological and sociological construct known as Delinquent Peer Association. This construct is founded on the premise that an individual’s engagement in problem behaviors is heavily mediated by the established norms, shared activities, and perceived behaviors of their immediate social network.

The theoretical foundation of this measurement often draws upon social learning principles and Interactional Theory. These frameworks suggest that association with deviant peers offers both the necessary opportunity structure and the social reinforcement required for an individual to engage in criminal behavior. The eight items specifically target observable delinquent acts committed by friends within a clearly defined, recent timeframe (30 days).

Validity

While comprehensive, isolated psychometric coefficients (such as internal consistency indices like Cronbach’s alpha) are not provided in the summary data, the overall predictive validity of the Delinquent Peers construct within the context of the larger Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) is exceptionally strong and well-documented.

The RYDS findings explicitly confirmed that peer influence factors were the single strongest predictor of delinquency during the critical early phases of adolescence. This finding validates the measure’s utility in accurately forecasting future criminal involvement, particularly when compared against competing predictors such as family environment, individual characteristics, or community context during that specific developmental window.

Reliability

Specific detailed psychometric data concerning the internal consistency or test-retest reliability of this eight-item sub-scale, when deployed independently, requires direct consultation of the full published methodology, primarily the 1994 publication by Thornberry et al. However, given its status as a core component of the highly respected Rochester Youth Development Study, the measure is presumed to adhere to the rigorous standards for reliability typical of large-scale, self-report longitudinal research projects.

Factor Analysis

Explicit results from a detailed factor analysis are not provided for this specific eight-item sub-scale in the available content. The items themselves span a range of severity, encompassing minor status offenses (e.g., skipping class) up through serious violent acts (e.g., using a weapon).

A formal factor analysis would typically investigate whether these varied behaviors load coherently onto a single underlying dimension of general delinquency (unidimensionality) or if they separate into distinct factors, such as “violent acts” versus “property crimes.” For practical application and scoring within the RYDS framework, the measure is functionally treated as a unidimensional, simple summed index.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report interview module/questionnaire.

Format: Eight items utilizing a 4-point Likert-type response scale.

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Adolescents and Young Adults involved in the RYDS.

Age Group: Participants initially recruited in adolescence; the study tracked them up to age 25.

Population Details: The sample consists of 639 adolescents recruited from local public school systems within Rochester, New York, beginning in 1989.

Test Methodology: Responses are assigned corresponding numerical point values (1 to 4). These values are then summed across all eight items to calculate a total score, which reflects the overall concentration and frequency of delinquency within the participant’s immediate peer group. Data collection for the broader RYDS involved comprehensive personal interviews combined with the collection of official records (police, court, and school).

Keywords

Peer Association, Criminological Measures, Risk Factors, Antisocial Behavior, Self-Report Instrument, Delinquent Peers.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available.

Correspondence Address: Not available.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was originally administered as a standardized module within the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), which commenced data collection in 1989. The scale’s methodology and initial findings were formally published in 1994.

Specific information regarding permissions, licensing fees, or usage rights for independent academic application of this scale should be sought directly from the primary authors (Thornberry, Lizotte, Krohn, et al.) or the institutions responsible for managing the official RYDS data archive.

Reference’s

• Thornberry TP, Lizotte AJ, Krohn MD, Farnworth M, Jang SJ. Delinquent peers, beliefs, and delinquent behavior: a longitudinal test of interactional theory. Criminology 1994; 32:47-83.
• The instrument is cataloged in Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The original PDF document can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

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Items of the Delinquent Peers—Rochester Youth Development Study

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

In the past 30 days, how many of your friends …

1. Used a weapon or force to get money or things from people?
2. Attacked someone with a weapon or with the idea of seriously hurting them?
3. Hit someone with the idea of hurting them?
4. Stole something worth more than $100?
5. Stole something worth more than $5 but less than $50?
6. Damaged or destroyed someone else’s property on purpose?
7. Took a car for a ride or drive without the owner’s permission?
8. Skipped classes without an excuse?

Response Options and Scoring:

• None of them=1
• A few of them=2
• Some of them=3
• Most of them=4

Point values are assigned as indicated above. Point values for all responses are summed. Higher scores indicate higher levels of delinquency among peers.