| Adolescence is a developmental period during which delinquent activity peaks. One risk factor for engaging in delinquent acts is affiliation with deviant peers. Cross-sectional studies have established a negative correlation between disclosure and affiliation with deviant peers: greater disclosure (e.g., sharing of information) with parents is associated with less affiliation with deviant peers. However, it is unclear which variable precedes the other or if there is a bidirectional influence. Previous studies have used community samples of adolescents recruited from high school. This secondary data analysis investigated the temporal order of disclosure and affiliation with deviance peers with a sample of adolescents who have already come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Additionally, cross-sectional analyses were conducted to find out if the negative correlation between disclosure and affiliation with deviant peers was replicated with this sample. The cross-sectional analyses replicated previous findings. Longitudinal analyses indicated that although disclosure and affiliation with deviant peers is stable across the 3-month period, neither one predicted the other. However, baseline adolescent externalizing problems and baseline adolescent report of how close they felt to their mothers both predicted affiliation with deviant peers at the follow-up. |
