Neighborhood Disadvantage, Social Groups, and Adolescent Violence: Assessing Mechanisms in Structural-Cultural Theories

Structural-cultural perspectives link contextual characteristics to interactions with associates who transmit definitions favorable to crime, thus influencing behavior. Drawing on this, we predict that: (1) adolescents in disadvantaged neighborhoods will be more likely to have parents, friends, and schoolmates who hold violent rationalizations, (2) exposure to associates who hold violent rationalizations will increase an adolescent’s own violent rationalizations, and (3) one’s willingness to rationalize violence will be associated with self-reported violent conduct. Using panel data from the University of Missouri–St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative and structural equation models, our findings indicate that respondents residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to be exposed to associates who report a greater willingness to rationalize violence, which in turn predicts an adolescent’s own rationalizations. Further, one’s willingness to rationalize violence is predictive of violent conduct and mediates the effects of associates’ attitudes on self-reported violence.