More than Just a Flock? The Independent and Interdependent Nature of Peer Self-Control on Deviance

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study is to test whether a peer’s self-control is related to deviance and whether it conditions the extent to which an actor’s self-control is related to deviance. To examine these research questions, the study begins by highlighting a series of theoretical inconsistencies in expected direction of peer effects in Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory. Using dyadic data, crime is regressed onto measures of attitudinal and behavioral self-control from the actor and the friend. Regardless of how self-control is measured, findings demonstrate that the peer’s self-control relates to deviance. Additionally, peer self-control independently and interdependently relates to deviant involvement. Peer self-control is meaningful for deviance in multiple ways among people in friendships, thereby suggesting that the importance of peer self-control on offending behaviors is greater than just being part of a flock.     

Antecedents of fathers’ perception of child behavior at child age 12 months

This study investigates whether fathers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and attachment style reported during pregnancy predict fathers’ perception of child behavior assessed 12 months postpartum, expressed by the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Child Domain. Prospective fathers (N = 835) were recruited to “The Little in Norway (LiN) study” (Moe & Smith) at nine well-baby clinics in Norway, with data collection composed of five time points during pregnancy and two time points postpartum (6 and 12 months). The main analyses included linear regression, path-analysis modeling, and intraclass correlation based on mixed effects modeling. First, linear regression analyses showed that neither fathers’ ACE nor attachment style significantly predicted perceived child behavior postpartum directly. Furthermore, path analyses showed that ACE and less secure attachment style (especially avoidant attachment) measured early in pregnancy strongly predicted negatively perceived child behavior, mediated by fathers’ mental health symptoms during pregnancy and partner disharmony postpartum. Second, intraclass correlation analyses showed that fathers’ perceived child behavior showed substantial stability between 6 and 12 months postpartum. Family interventions beginning in pregnancy may be most beneficial given that fathers’ early experiences and perceptions of attachment in pregnancy were associated with later partner disharmony and stress.