The social context of violent victimization: A study of the delinquent peer effect

TLDR

Haynie's 2001 work demonstrated that peer network characteristics influence delinquent behavior, and this study discusses how such effects relate to violent victimization. This study extends the network approach to predict violent victimization. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, the authors examine how friendship‑network centrality, density, and popularity affect vulnerability to violent victimization. Central and popular members of dense conventional groups experienced lower violent victimization, whereas similarly situated members of delinquent networks experienced higher victimization.

Abstract

Haynie's (2001) work on the structural dimensions of peer networks demonstrated how the characteristics of networks may influence individual delinquent behavior. This study extends the network approach to the prediction of violent victimization. The National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is used to examine how the friendship-network characteristics of centrality, density, and popularity affect vulnerability. The findings indicate that central and popular members of dense conventional groups experienced lower levels of violent victimization, while the opposite was true of similarly situated members of delinquent networks. Implications for victimization and research related to the specification of how delinquent peer associations promote vulnerability are discussed.