RT Article
T1 How Do They ‘End Up Together’? A Social Network Analysis of Self-Control, Homophily, and Adolescent Relationships
JF Journal of quantitative criminology
VO 27
IS 3
SP 251
OP 273
A1 Young, Jacob T. N.
LA English
YR 2011
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1767142803
AB Self-control theory (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990 ) argues that individuals with similar attributes tend to ‘end up together’ (i.e., homophily) because of the tendency to select friends based on self-control. Studies documenting homophily in peer groups interpret the correlation between self-control, peer delinquency, and self-reported delinquency as evidence that self-control is an influential factor in friendship formation. However, past studies are limited because they do not directly test the hypothesis that self-control influences friendship selection, nor do they account for other mechanisms that may influence decisions. As a result, it is unclear whether the correlation between individual and peer behavior is the result of selection based on self-control or alternative mechanisms. To address this gap in the literature this study employs exponential random graph modeling to test hypotheses derived from self-control theory using approximately 63,000 respondents from 59 schools from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In contrast to the predictions made by Gottfredson and Hirschi ( 1990 ), and the conclusions drawn from prior research, there is little evidence that self-control influences friendship selection. The findings are embedded in past work on the relationship between self-control and peer relationships, and implications for future research are discussed.
K1 Exponential random graph model
K1 Add Health
K1 Social Networks
K1 Homophily
K1 Peer delinquency
K1 Self-control
DO 10.1007/s10940-010-9105-7