Those You Spend Your time with… How Peers, Leisure time, and Parental Supervision Influence Young People’s Engagement in Delinquent Behavior. Findings from the Republic of Moldova

Employing Social Learning Theory as a theoretical framework, the current study was carried out in the Republic of Moldova to evaluate the characteristics of justice-involved youth, focusing on the family, peer, leisure, educational, and community factors that contribute to their engagement in antisocial and criminal activities. The sample included 199 respondents aged 8–18 (M = 15.3), the majority (85.9%) being male. The data was collected using an adapted version of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study Protocol - ISRD4 questionnaire. Anti-social and criminal behavior was assessed and categorized into three types of offending: property offences, offences against individuals and online offences. A series of negative binomial and Poisson regression models were tested to assess associations across family, peer, school, community, and leisure time influences with involvement in anti-social and criminal behavior. The findings showed that the male gender was a significant risk factor for online offences (IRR = 3.47). As for contextual factors, higher parental supervision was the only significant protective factor, associated with a reduced rate of property offences (IRR = 0.73), while increased exposure to delinquent peers was also a risk factor for involvement in offences against individuals (IRR = 1.53) and online offences (IRR = 1.61). The study did not find evidence to support family bonding, school bonding, or community solidarity as significant protective factors in the final models. These findings are discussed in relationship to previous research and within the broader context of the societal and cultural factors characterizing Moldavian society.