Individual Paper(s)
An empirical investigation of mediating role of criminal friends in relationship between criminal attitudes and criminal behaviour within a prison violent sample
Krzysztof Kielkiewicz
All Hallows College, Dublin City University
Daniel Boduszek
University of Ulster
Philip Hyland
University of Ulster
Background: Previous studies suggested
a significant interaction between criminal attitudes, associations with
criminal friends, and criminal behaviour.
Aims: The
purpose of current investigation was to provide the possible mediating role of
associations with criminal friends between criminal attitudes, and criminal
behaviour.
Method: The Measure of
Criminal Attitudes & Associates and Recidivistic Scale were administrated
to 133 violent offenders from high security prison.
Results: The proposed path model
tested was found to be a good fit of the observed data, with each of the
respective fit indices exceeding the criteria for a good fitting model. Thus
results
suggest that presence and influence of criminal friends has a significant
meditating effect on interaction between criminal attitudes and recidivistic
behaviour.
Conclusions: Our findings add to
better understanding of the factors involved in the development of criminal
behaviour and possible targets of intervention to reduce levels of criminality.
