The effects of parental and peer support, substance use and financial status on criminal behavior : a cross-sectional study among high school students in Iceland

Studies show that parental and peer support are associated with diminished adolescent criminal behavior. The aims of this study were to further investigate the relationship between parental and peer support with adolescent criminal behavior while considering substance use, financial status, gender, and age. Subjects were Icelandic high school students (N = 2,072) of age 15-20 years (M = 17.28, SD = 1.17) who took part in a survey called Youth in Iceland which was administered by the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis in 2018. Using logistic regression, the results showed that parental and peer support, substance use, gender, and age all had a significant association with adolescent criminal behavior, but financial status did not. Boys were likelier than girls to participate in criminal behavior as well as younger individuals. The findings indicate that parental and peer support and age can have a protective effect against adolescent criminal behavior while substance use was associated with increased adolescent criminal behavior Keywords: adolescent criminal behavior, parental support, peer support, substance use, financial status, age, genderSýnt hefur verið fram á að stuðningur foreldra og jafningja hafi tengsl við glæpsamlega hegðun unglinga. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna frekar tengsl stuðnings foreldra og jafningja við glæpsamlega hegðun unglinga, með hliðsjón af vímuefnaneyslu, efnahagsstöðu, kyni og aldri. Þátttakendur voru íslenskir framhaldsskólanemar (N = 2072) á aldrinum 15-20 ára (M = 17.28, SD = 1.17) sem tóku þátt í könnuninni Ungt fólk 2018 sem Rannsóknir og greining stóðu fyrir. Tvíkosta aðhvarfsgreining sýndi fram á að stuðningur foreldra og jafningja, vímuefnaneysla, kyn og aldur höfðu öll marktæk tengsl við auknar líkur á glæpsamlegri hegðun en ekki efnahagsstaða. Strákar voru líklegri en stelpur að taka þátt í glæpsamlegri hegðun og yngri einstaklingar. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að stuðningur foreldra og jafningja og hærri aldur geti haft verndandi áhrif gagnvart glæpahegðun unglinga, en vímuefnaneysla jók líkur á glæpsamlegri hegðun. Lykilorð: glæpsamleg hegðun, stuðningur foreldra, stuðningur jafningja, vímuefnaneysla, efnahagsstaða, aldur, ky