The present study aims to investigate whether support from a friend protects against the negative effects of ethnic harassment on engagement in delinquent and violent behaviors among immigrant adolescents in Sweden (n = 365; X = 13.93, SD = 0.80). We found that when ethnically harassed immigrant adolescents received friend support, they were less…

This study examined age-related changes in friend similarity on delinquency to determine whether deviant behavior homophily peaks during mid-adolescence. A community sample of 1,663 male and 1,826 female Swedish youth from Grade 5 (M = 11.21 years) to Grade 10 (M = 16.25 years) provided self-reports of delinquency. Friendships were identified from…

Girls' early pubertal timing has been linked in many studies to behavioral problems such as delinquency and substance use. The theoretical explanations for these links have often involved the girls' peer relationships, but contexts have also been considered important in some explanations. By integrating two theoretical models, the…