Social Structure-Social Learning and Delinquency: Mediation or Moderation?
Social Structure-Social Learning and Delinquency: Mediation or Moderation? By Stephen W. Verrill
2008 | 196 Pages | ISBN: 1593322410 | PDF | 1 MB
2008 | 196 Pages | ISBN: 1593322410 | PDF | 1 MB
Verrill presents an empirical test of Social Structure-Social Learning theory on a sample of juveniles. The theory suggests that delinquency is learned and shaped by the child s social environment. The relationship between social learning and social structure is described in the literature as mediation. Social learning is said to mediate the effects of social structure on delinquency. Verrill argues that it is inaccurate to describe the social structure-social learning relationship as mediation, instead favoring the term moderation. Rather than accounting for social structural effects, he concludes that social learning and social structure jointly influence delinquency. As such, the likelihood of a child engaging in delinquent behavior is a function of social structure at varying levels of social learning.