Examining the (Dis)Agreement between Etiology and Consequences of Adults’ and Youths’ Perceptions of Collective Efficacy in Boston

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the extent to which adults’ and youths’ perceptions of collective efficacy align, the shared and unique correlates of adults’ and youths’ perceptions, and the effects of adults’ and youths’ perceptions on youths’ violence. Method: Descriptive analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, and spatial analysis analyze 1,636 youths from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey and 1,677 adults distributed across 85 neighborhoods from the 2008 Boston Neighborhood Study. Results: Descriptive analysis indicates that Boston adults’ and youths’ perceptions are largely divergent. Spatial analysis indicates that there is not clustering of either adults’ or youths’ perceptions across Boston neighborhoods. Multilevel models indicate that adults’ and youths’ perceptions exhibit divergent etiology: Adults’ perceptions align closely with neighborhood collective efficacy and with their own neighborhood perceptions, while youths’ perceptions are largely a function of individual differences (race and age) and sociobehavioral factors (social support and educational expectations). Youths’ perceptions of collective efficacy, rather than aggregated adults’ perceptions of collective efficacy, are inversely associated with youths’ violence. Conclusions: Adults’ and youths’ perceptions of collective efficacy represent distinct constructs. Research should focus on the divergent processes through which adults’ and youths’ perceptions are generated and the differential effects of adults’ and youths’ perceptions on youths’ behaviors.

Criminogenic Risk, Criminogenic Need, Collective Efficacy, and Juvenile Delinquency

“…Their findings show that youth-perceived collective efficacy is associated with less violent attitudes, but parents’ perceptions of collective efficacy are not. Tucker and colleagues (2019) found that youth-perceived collective efficacy, rather than neighborhood collective efficacy as evaluated by local adults, is responsible for driving juvenile delinquency. Gearhart (2019b) found that parent- and youth-perceived social cohesion and informal social control did not significantly predict lower levels of self-reported juvenile delinquency.…”

“…Research also suggests that the strength of perceived collective efficacy, as well as its relationship with outcomes, varies depending on whether it is measured from the perspective of an adult, or the perspective of a child (Gearhart, 2019b; Johnson et al, 2011; Simons et al, 2005; Tucker et al, 2019). For example, Simons and colleagues (2005) found that youth and parent collective efficacy is associated with more authoritative parenting, which in turn prevents youth from interacting with delinquent peers and performing delinquent acts.…”

“…Rather, individual-level factors are supported as predictors of juvenile delinquency (Gearhart, 2019b). Furthermore, parents typically estimate higher levels of informal social control compared with youth (Gearhart, 2019b; Tucker et al, 2019). Disparity in terms of perceived informal social control is positively associated with juvenile delinquency (De Los Reyes et al, 2010; Gearhart, 2019b; Tucker et al, 2019).…”

“…To date, there has been no attempt to examine the RNR model and collective efficacy theory simultaneously. Previous research on collective efficacy theory is limited because studies do not test the unique contributions of parent- and child-perceived social cohesion and informal social control on juvenile delinquency (Johnson et al, 2011; Simons et al, 2005; Tucker et al, 2019), or they do not incorporate an established micro-level framework of juvenile delinquency (Gearhart, 2019b). This study addresses these gaps by testing indicators of both the RNR model and collective efficacy theory in an attempt to facilitate a discussion on integrating micro-level and macro-level theories of juvenile delinquency.…”

“…Recent research on collective efficacy theory (Tucker et al, 2019) highlights that, although collective efficacy is traditionally studied as a macro-level theory explaining juvenile delinquency, youth-perceived collective efficacy is largely influenced by individual-level factors. By extension, the relationship between collective efficacy and juvenile delinquency is shaped by individual-level factors (Gearhart, 2019b).…”