Criminal Subcultural Embeddedness: An Introduction of a Multi-dimensional Construct of Criminal Subcultural Immersion

Abstract

Drawing on survey data from 1,418 U.S. males, we examine three components of subcultural involvement that are theoretically related to crime: criminal friends, a code of the streets that encourages violence, and attitudes against informing. We use structural equation modeling (SEM) and arrive at a second order latent factor for measurement of criminal subculture embeddedness (CSE) and examine exogenous predictors of CSE including socio-structural positions, parental socialization and an outcome variable measuring criminal activity (CRIME). Our results indicate that CSE predicts crime. Disadvantaged neighborhood, perceptions of discrimination, age, self-control, and parental socialization against informing have indirect effects on CRIME via CSE. Discussion centers on the need for inclusive measures of criminal socialization and the importance of perceptual experiences.