Developmental changes in deviant and violent behaviors from early to late adolescence: Associations with parental monitoring and peer deviance

Objective: The continuity of adolescent deviant and violent behaviors have serious implications for engagement in criminal activities in adulthood. The current study examined parenting and peer ecologies on the development of deviant and violent behaviors during adolescence.

Method: An accelerated longitudinal design was used to analyze the associations of parental monitoring and peer deviance on the trajectories of adolescent deviant and violent behaviors from Spring of 5th grade through Spring of 11th grade ( N = 1,162). A series of multilevel models were fitted to the data using full information maximum-likelihood estimation. Between- and within-person associations were used to test the moderating effects of parental monitoring on the development of deviant and violent behaviors.

Results: Changes in deviant and violent behaviors were evident across adolescence. Support for the moderating effect of between- and within-person parental monitoring on the development of deviant and violent behaviors in adolescence was found. Two cross-level interactions among within-person peer deviance and between-person parental monitoring, and within-person parental monitoring and between-person peer deviance were found, suggesting support for the moderating effect of parental monitoring. Additionally, a significant interaction among between-person parental monitoring and between-person peer deviance indicated that individuals who reported lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of peer deviance reported the highest levels of deviant and violent behaviors, and adolescents who reported higher levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of peer deviance reported less positive growth.

Conclusion: The findings underscore the important role parents play in offsetting the adverse outcomes of having deviant friends.