Peer influence in juvenile offending: social evaluation, relational identity and moral obligation

Purpose Although peer influence is widely recognized as important in juvenile offending, less is known about how justice-involved adolescents themselves interpret peer evaluation, understand their roles within peer relationships and make sense of their responsibilities in peer-related offending situations. This study aims to explore these relational meanings in adolescents’ accounts of offending. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on semistructured interviews with 18 justice-involved adolescents in China, this study used thematic analysis, informed by abductive reasoning, to examine how participants understood peer influence in relation to their offending. Findings The analysis identified three analytically distinct but overlapping dimensions of peer influence: social evaluation sensitivity, relational identity commitment and group-based moral obligation. Participants described how concerns about peer acceptance, rejection and reputation shaped their responses to peer expectations; how friendships became connected to their sense of identity and belonging; and how involvement in offending was sometimes understood as helping, protecting, repaying or supporting peers. Practical implications The findings may inform future assessment research by highlighting adolescents’ interpretations of peer rejection, friendship obligations and responsibility in peer-related offending. Originality/value Rather than treating peer acceptance, group belonging and peer-oriented action as separate predictors of offending, this study provides a process-oriented account of how evaluative concerns, relational identity and moral justification become connected in the narratives of Chinese justice-involved adolescents.