Beyond the Borders of the Residential Neighborhood: Unstructured Socializing, Collective Efficacy, and Adolescent Delinquency

Abstract

This study investigates whether the relationship between unstructured socializing and adolescent delinquency is moderated by collective efficacy in the areas where adolescents engage in unstructured socializing, including areas both inside and outside of their residential neighborhood. The study combines space-time budget data from 341 adolescents, self-report questionnaires on delinquency, and community surveys on collective efficacy. Findings indicate that most unstructured socializing occurs outside of adolescents’ residential neighborhoods, and that time in unstructured socializing is more strongly related to delinquency when spent in low collective efficacy neighborhoods. These findings broaden the scope of the supervision element in unstructured socializing, suggesting that effective control over youth behavior can be exercised not just by designated adults but by engaged community members as well.