College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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    The “STICKINESS” of stigma: Guilt by association after a friend's arrest
    (Wiley, 2023-03-30) Tinney, Erin
    Prior research has examined the consequences of one's police contact, but the consequences of vicarious police contact are not as well known. This study expands on labeling theory and the concept of “stickiness” by assessing whether a friend's arrest increases the likelihood of one's police contact. Using a sample of rural youth (N = 13,170), I find that a friend's arrest is associated with an increase in the likelihood of one's first arrest the next year after accounting for other predictors of police contact. Based on my theoretical framework, I interpret this finding as “guilt by association.” In addition, ending relationships with friends who have been arrested does not significantly impact this relationship. This study concludes that police contact may be harmful for a youth's social network and builds on the concept of stickiness by suggesting that stigma not only sticks from one individual to another but may also stay despite efforts to end one's association with the arrested individual. The study expands on preexisting research on the consequences of adolescent police contact by introducing a friend's police contact as a way in which an individual may be more likely to become involved in the justice system.
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    The Forgotten Peer for Black Adolescents
    (2014) Rowan, Zachary; McGloin, Jean M.; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Efforts to understand peer influence among adolescents have established the robust relationship between having deviant peers and future deviant behavior. Nonetheless, research suggests peer influence affects different types of adolescents in different ways. Specifically, Black adolescents may be less susceptible to friends compared to White adolescents and possess stronger family-orientation, suggesting that another peer may assume a heightened salience. Namely, siblings may affect deviance of Black adolescents whereas friends will have a minimal impact. This thesis used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to evaluate the relative strength of friend and sibling influence on Black and White adolescent deviant behavior. Results indicate that siblings explain Black and White adolescent drinking and smoking; however, the effect of siblings is stronger among Black adolescents. Friends only emerge as a significant predictor of delinquency for White adolescents. Methodological and theoretical implications for future research on peer processes are discussed.
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    Following the Leader: Examining peer influence on sexual behavior
    (2009) Bears, Megan Ann; McGloin, Jean M; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    A number of previous studies have found that peers influence adolescent sexual behavior. Still, it remains unclear how the mechanisms of peer influence operate on the sexual behavior of adolescents. This is unfortunate because it limits theoretical clarity and inhibits the production of policy aimed at reducing adolescent sexual behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this thesis extends upon current literature and determines the role of peer attitudes and behaviors on different forms of adolescent sexual behavior as measured by peer self-report data while addressing other limitations of previous research such as whether or not mechanisms of peer influence are conditioned by adolescent involvement with peers. The discussion of this work centers around the theoretical implications of the findings that peers do not influence all forms of sexual behavior and peer behaviors seem to be the only mechanism of peer influence that predict sexual onset.