The social development model incorporates a growing body of knowledge regarding the effects of empirical predictors, or “risk factors,” in the development of antisocial behavior. It is clear empirically that multiple biological, psychological, and social factors at multiple levels in different social domains (i.e., within the individual and in the family, school, peer group, and community) all contribute in some degree to the development of such problems as delinquency and drug use. On the other hand, some individuals do not become involved in antisocial behavior despite exposure to high levels of risk factors. Investigators have thus sought to identify factors that protect these individuals from undesirable outcomes. The social development model also incorporates such “protective factors,” which are hypothesized to mediate or moderate the effects of risk exposure. (For reviews of risk and protective factors see, for example, Hawkins et al. 1995
; Hawkins et al. 1992
; Kandel et al. 1986
; Newcomb 1995
; Rutter 1990
; Simcha-Fagan et al. 1986
As Bursik (1996)
points out, specification of predictive relationships must proceed theoretically because of the large number of observed empirical predictors and the large number of possible functional relationships among them. To some extent, developmental periods of salience for risk and protective factors and their covariation have been established, but theory specification forces choices among a host of plausible rival hypotheses regarding these relationships. The social development model specifies the mechanisms by which identified risk and protective factors interact in the etiology of behavior.
It is hypothesized that children learn patterns of behavior, whether prosocial or antisocial, from the socializing agents of family, school, religious and other community institutions, and their peers. Socialization then follows the same processes of learning whether it produces prosocial or antisocial behavior. Children are socialized through processes involving four constructs: (a) perceived opportunities for involvement in activities and interactions with others, (b) the degree of involvement and interaction, (c) the skills to participate in these involvements and interactions, and (d) the reinforcement they perceive as forthcoming from performance in activities and interactions. When socializing processes are consistent, a social bond develops between the individual and the socializing agent. This social bond, once it is strongly established, has the power to affect behavior independently by creating an informal control on future behavior. This control inhibits deviant behaviors through the establishment of an individual's “stake” in conforming to the norms and values of the socializing unit.
As adapted from control theory, this social bond comprises attachment to others in the socializing unit, commitment to or investment in lines of action consistent with those of the unit, and belief in the values of the unit. The deletion of involvement from Hirshi's original four elements of the bond is supported both empirically (Elliott et al. 1982
; Kempf 1993
; Thornberry 1987
) and theoretically as discussed below. Bonding is expected to influence individuals' behavior choices by entering into their calculation of the costs and benefits to self-interest of any particular behavior. Individuals tend not to engage in behavior that is inconsistent with the standards and norms of those to whom they are bonded, because the bond itself may be threatened if the behavior is exposed. Research on prosocial bonds has demonstrated an inhibitory effect on antisocial behavior (cf. Brook et al. 1990
; Brook et al. 1986
; Kempf 1993
; Krohn and Massey 1980
; Marcos et al. 1986
; Newcomb and Bentler 1988
It is hypothesized in the social development model that an individual's behavior will be prosocial or antisocial depending upon the predominant behaviors, norms, and values held by those to whom the individual is bonded. This approach departs from traditional control theory, which asserts no causal role for bonding to antisocial others in the etiology of delinquency, characterizing relationships among delinquents as cold and brittle (Hirschi 1969
). However, much evidence suggests that the relationships among delinquents and drug-involved youths are not always characterized by negative affect (Agnew 1991
; Cairns et al. 1988
; Gillmore et al. 1992
; Giordano et al. 1986
) Moreover, recent evidence on adolescent use of tobacco and alcohol indicates that attachment to parents interacts with parents' own use of alcohol and tobacco in predicting adolescents' use of these drugs: high attachment to parents who use alcohol or tobacco led to adolescent drug-use behavior consistent with parents' use, not necessarily to the legal alternative of no use by the adolescent (Foshee and Bauman 1992
). This indicates that bonding to a family involved in drug use can predict increased drug-using behavior.
As shown in , two general pathways are specified in the social development model. One path delineates the processes that encourage prosocial behavior and the other path those that encourage antisocial behavior. Each path is characterized by similar causal processes. We believe this conception represents the differential association mechanism better than the traditional operationalization as a ratio of prosocial to antisocial definitions or behaviors (Agnew 1991
; Matsueda 1982
; Sutherland 1973
). Measuring both pro- and antisocial elements and hypothesizing positive and negative additive effects on social behavior may better represent the reality of social encounters throughout childhood. Many youths experience both pro- and antisocial influences and engage in both types of behavior. For example, currently most youths use alcohol before they are legally permitted to do so (Johnston et al. 1994
), and most youths engage in minor delinquency although they may also remain involved in school and other prosocial activities (Elliott 1994
). The model suggests how these encounters lead to bonds that have an inhibitory or promotional effect on antisocial behavior. When the preponderance of influences are prosocial, prosocial behavior results. When the preponderance are antisocial, antisocial behavior results. Through separate paths whose processes of reinforcement, learning, and bonding are independent but influence one another over time, the social development model allows for this variation in experience.
The Social Development Model of Antisocial Behavior: General Model
The Prosocial Path
The first construct on the prosocial path consists of perceived opportunities to participate in the prosocial order. Inclusion of opportunities in the model does not presume the means/ends discontinuity hypothesis of strain theory (Merton 1957
). Rather, it is simply hypothesized that, for prosocial involvements to occur, youths must perceive opportunities for such involvements. Perceived opportunity is hypothesized to be of causal importance, distinct from the actual number of different activities or interactions in which it is possible to participate. This avoids the problem of cross-level analysis and specifies how the context is important in influencing the behavior of the individual, through the individual's perception of available opportunities (Bursik 1996
Perception of opportunity for prosocial interaction and involvement affects the actual level of such involvement. This causal ordering differs from the ordering of variables in Hirschi's control theory, in which attachment predicts commitment, and commitment in turn, predicts involvement. In the present synthesis, prosocial interaction and involvement is viewed as a necessary, though insufficient, precondition to development of prosocial bonding. Involvement was not empirically supported in Hirschi's study (1969)
nor in more recent research (Kempf 1993
) as an element of the social bond that prevents antisocial behavior. The present theory asserts that involvement and interaction precede the formation of attachments and commitments. This alteration in the causal paths appears consistent with the empirical work of behavioral researchers (Bandura 1977
; Bem 1972
; Festinger 1964
) who argue that behavior change (in this case involvement and interaction) may precede attitude change (such as attachment and commitment). In summary, prosocial interaction and involvement is viewed as a behavioral variable that is antecedent to the development of the social bond of attachment and commitment.
The development of attachments and commitments to the prosocial world also depends on the extent to which prosocial involvements and interactions are positively reinforced. It is hypothesized that attachment to prosocial others and commitment to prosocial lines of action result only when prosocial interactions and involvements provide, in sum, positive reinforcement to individuals (Conger 1976
; Hundleby 1986
). This is hypothesized to be true whether the rewards are social or nonsocial. Thus, perceived reinforcements (positive reinforcements and punishments) have been added to the interaction and involvement path as intervening variables between involvement/interaction and attachment/ commitment. As with perceived opportunities, what is actually rewarding varies with individual preferences, and the perception of an activity or interaction as rewarding involves assessment of several dimensions. For example, whereas employment might be viewed by many as prosocially reinforcing, a youth employed at a low-skilled food service job may dislike the job, hate having peers see him there, and think the wages are too low. Measurement of perceived rewards includes multiple sources of possible reinforcements beyond the actual reward of wages alone.
If attachment and commitment depend on the level of perceived reinforcement for involvement, then factors that enhance reinforcement and perception of reinforcement should indirectly strengthen the development of attachment and commitment. Certain emotional, cognitive, and behavioral skills, for example, should increase the probability of experiencing rewards for prosocial involvement and interaction. These skills include the ability to identify, express, and manage feelings; control impulses; cope with stress; read and interpret social cues; solve problems and make decisions; understand behavioral norms; perform tasks such as academic work; and communicate verbally (W.T. Grant Consortium on the Promotion of Social Competence 1992
). Therefore, the individual's skills for prosocial interaction and involvement are hypothesized to affect the level of reinforcement perceived as forthcoming from prosocial interaction and involvement.
Commitment and attachment to prosocial activities and people directly affect the development of belief in the moral validity of society's rules of conduct (the law and prosocial norms). Belief in the moral validity of society's rules of conduct is viewed as internalization of the standards for behavior of persons and institutions to which one is bonded. Once internalized, these standards become part of the individual's value system and help to determine which activities the individual views as morally acceptable. Belief is thus an internal constraint that is directly affected by attachment to prosocial others and commitment to prosocial activities, and it is hypothesized to decrease directly the probability of antisocial behavior.
The Antisocial Path
The prosocial path inhibits deviance through strengthening bonds to prosocial others and activities. However, as shown in , the model predicts the promotion of antisocial behavior as well as its inhibition. The principles of reinforcement hypothesized by social learning theorists are conceptualized in the social development model as equally important in the process of learning deviant behaviors (Akers et al. 1979
) as they are in the process of learning prosocial behaviors.
Although only one direct (inhibiting) predictor of antisocial behavior is hypothesized on the prosocial path (belief in the moral order), the social development model hypothesizes three direct predictors of antisocial behavior on the antisocial path. The direct link from each of these three predictors represents a different etiological pathway to antisocial behavior. The predictors are (a) perceived rewards for antisocial interaction and involvement in related behavior, (b) attachment and commitment to antisocial others or lines of action, and (c) belief in antisocial values.
As on the path to prosocial behavior, the first concept on the antisocial path is perceived opportunities for antisocial involvement and interaction. If an individual does not perceive opportunities to interact with drug users and delinquents, actual interaction and involvement are not possible. The greater the perceived opportunities, the more actual interaction and involvement is expected. Interaction with others involved in antisocial behavior is the next concept on the antisocial pathway. Research on predictors of drug use and crime has consistently found strong correlations between association with others engaged in antisocial behaviors and involvement in crime and drug abuse (Brook et al. 1990
; Dembo et al. 1979
; Elliott et al. 1985
Initial interactions with those engaged in antisocial behaviors increase the likelihood that an individual will become attached and committed to them, depending on how reinforcing these interactions and involvements are. If one perceives interactions with drug users and delinquents as rewarding, attachments to those individuals and commitments to related behaviors are predicted to develop. Perception of benefit from the behavior is conditioned by perception of personal cost in terms of legal and other sanctions. As on the prosocial path, skills for interaction/involvement are also hypothesized to affect perceived rewards for antisocial behavior. Thus, social and cognitive skills are hypothesized to be predictive in enhancing reinforcement for involvement in both prosocial and antisocial groups and activities. Direct paths are hypothesized from perceived reinforcement for illicit interactions and involvements to attachment and commitment to antisocial others and activities and to perceived further antisocial behavior. The personal calculation of reward may become sufficient to produce antisocial behavior when bonding to prosocial others is weak, resulting in low perceived costs of antisocial behavior (Hirschi 1969
), or when perception of risk of detection is low even when prosocial bonds are strong.
Antisocial attachments and commitments are hypothesized in turn to have a direct, positive effect on involvement in antisocial behavior. Although bonds to prosocial others are generally preferred (Gillmore et al. 1992
), bonds are nevertheless hypothesized to develop among those engaged in antisocial behaviors (Colvin and Pauly 1983
). Attachment to those engaged in antisocial behavior and commitment to antisocial lines of action are hypothesized to be direct predictors of antisocial behavior. Bonds of attachment and commitment may be formed with those engaged in antisocial behavior, and these attachments and commitments directly contribute to antisocial behavior. These hypotheses are supported by Agnew's findings that “Delinquent Friends (Serious) has the greatest effect on delinquency when the adolescent is attached to these friends, spends much time with them, feels they approve of his or her delinquency and feels pressure from them to engage in delinquency” (1991:64).
Attachment and commitment to antisocial others and activities are hypothesized to lead also to internalized normative approval of antisocial behavior. As with belief in the prosocial moral order, belief in illicit lines of action can develop. Clearly, individuals can generate behavioral norms that advocate antisocial behaviors, such as advocating violence when engaged in revolutionary actions. The autobiography of one organized crime figure indicates an understanding of societal rules and norms, but they are perceived as superseded by “the rules of war,” which condone the use of violence among “soldiers” (Bonanno 1983
). The development of belief in antisocial values provides the third direct path to antisocial behavior, hypothesized to be associated with frequent and prolonged involvement in antisocial behavior.
The social development model incorporates a developmental perspective (Loeber and LeBlanc 1990
; Shaw and Bell 1992
). It explicitly identifies developmentally specific behavioral outcomes indicative of antisocial behavior during different periods of development and identifies the socializing agents expected to influence behavior during these developmental periods. The social development model posits general processes by which bonding and behavior evolve. At the same time, the model recognizes that the socializing contexts in which these processes occur change in salience and importance developmentally as children enter first the family and preschool environments, then the elementary school environment, and so on. This allows for specification of domain- and behavior-specific indicators of the general model constructs appropriate at different developmental periods.
Four developmental submodels have been specified, defined by changes in social environments rather than by states of cognitive or moral development. These developmental periods include preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school. Transitions from the home to elementary school and from the relatively self-contained classrooms of elementary school to the modular environments of middle school are nearly universally experienced transitions accompanied by shifts in the balance of influence among socializing agents of family, school, and peers. The four submodels delineate specific predictors for each developmental period.
The developmentally specific submodels have been constructed as recursive models. However, the social development model hypothesizes reciprocal relationships between constructs across developmental periods. If two contiguous submodels are laid out end to end, prosocial and antisocial influences from one period affect variables at the beginning of the causal chain in the next. In this sense, each submodel is a phase or period whose outcomes affect the levels of the beginning variables in the next phase or period. This notion of recurring phases allows the construction of models that account for reciprocal effects, that is, mutual causal influences among antisocial behaviors and hypothesized causes (Thornberry 1987
To illustrate, in this article involvement in drug use during the elementary period is hypothesized to increase directly the perceived opportunities for interaction with drug-using family members, peers, and school personnel, and to decrease directly the perceived opportunities for prosocial interactions and involvements during middle school. In this way, the process of prosocial and antisocial interaction and bonding is affected by prior problem behavior through this indirect path.
This use of recurring model phases has the advantage over instantaneous reciprocal models of maintaining the ability to make assertions about the temporal priority of predictor variables. Further, this specifies the way in which prior problem behavior affects later antisocial behavior. Although some psychologists (e.g., Caspi and Bem 1990
; Huesmann et al. 1984
) and criminologists (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990
; Wilson and Herrnstein 1985
) have claimed that behavioral continuity or stability is attributed to personality or genotypic traits, this view has been challenged by Sampson and Laub (1992)
, who demonstrated that behavioral stability has been seriously overstated with regard to aggression. There is substantial evidence that specific life events and adjustments to changing social contexts during adolescence and adulthood can modify the course of antisocial behavior over time (Elliott 1993
; Moffitt 1991
; Rand 1987
; Rutter et al. 1990
). The social development model thus hypothesizes the types of events and social contexts that lead to behavioral continuity or change from previous developmental periods. Models that solve the problem of mutual causal influences through the specification of instantaneous reciprocal effects do not appear to us to meet the test of temporal priority of the causal variable (Gollob and Reichardt 1987
The Current Test
The test of the social development model presented in this article examines the power of the middle school model to predict one form of antisocial behavior during the high school period: drug use by ages 17 to 18. As specified in the model (Catalano and Hawkins 1996
), antisocial behavior in the prior developmental period (in this case early initiation of drug use during the elementary period) is expected to be mediated through the social development model constructs of opportunities for prosocial and antisocial involvement and interaction during the middle school period. That is, the model specifies the process through which prior antisocial behavior affects subsequent antisocial behavior.
In the middle school model, prosocial others include nondrug-using or noncriminally involved family members, school personnel, and peers. Antisocial others include drug users and delinquent or criminally involved family members, school personnel, and peers. During the middle school years, peers and siblings are important socializing influences (Huba and Bentler 1980
). Middle school children are exposed to a variety of peers, with both prosocial and antisocial behavior patterns. The norms and values of peers with whom one associates during the middle school period are hypothesized to have a large impact on behavior that persists through adolescence. During this period, peer bonding can have a positive or negative impact on behavior, depending on the preponderance of prosocial or antisocial influences included in the child's peer network. Parents remain an important influence during this period. Evidence suggests that parental influence is particularly important in decisions concerning drug use, sex, and contraceptive use (Munsch and Blyth 1993
). Prosocial rewards during the middle school period include perceived rewards from the environment (e.g., community members, parents, teachers, and friends) for involvement in legal activities including schooling and school- and community-sanctioned extracurricular activities. Rewards from antisocial activities include perceived rewards from using drugs, delinquent activity, or avoiding prosocial activities like school. Also included are perceived costs of drug use such as being caught by parents or the police.