Faculty Sponsor
Hannah White
Final Abstract for URS Program
Although juvenile arrests in the United States decreased by 14% from 2016 to 2022 (7), youth crime remains a significant concern in many communities (9). This makes it imperative to investigate predictive and protective factors of youth crime (9). A well-established predictor of youth crime is self-esteem. Research on youth rehabilitation programs, such as juvenile detention, drug abuse prevention, and gang violence prevention centers, demonstrate self-esteem is negatively associated with recidivism rates and youth crime activities (6, 8). Further, positive peer influence in adolescence is shown to promote prosocial and adaptive behaviors (CITE), while deviant peer influence predicts problem behaviors, like those associated with youth crime (1). In fact, studies in the 1980s advocated for the current system that isolates those with deviant behavior because peers are shown to be so influential in this context (4). However, recent studies have shown that this isolation may make behavioral problems worse (3). Although peer influence and self-esteem are both established predictors of youth crime outcomes, few to no studies have investigated whether an interaction exists between self-esteem and peer influence in the context of youth crime. Therefore, the proposed study will examine the predictive relationship of self-esteem levels on youth crime among adolescents aged 12-18 years, and determine whether peer influence moderates this relationship. The results of the current study are expected to advance empirical understanding of how self-esteem and peer influence jointly impact youth crime rates.
Presentation Type
Visual Presentation
Document Type
Article