Differential Association Theory In High School

Differential Association Theory and High School
Differential association theory in a high school setting can help determine if and when a person may commit a crime or what type of crime they may commit. This theory is about crime being learned and as teenagers they are influenced in what other peers are doing which can lead to someone doing something they may not normally do. High school can be a very hard time for a teenager as there are many different things that can occur during those high school years. This paper will talk about groups, behaviors, and the differential association theory while in high school.
There are several groups while a person is in high school and each group has their own way of thinking and doing things. There is the popular group that only hangs out with each other and looks down on teenagers that are different than them. The popular group usually comes from wealthy families and wear the best name brand clothing. They make fun and ridicule anyone that is not in their group …show more content…
If a classmate is doing something, then it must be alright so others will follow that are a part of that group. “In sum, differential association theory holds that people learn criminal attitudes and behavior while in their adolescence from close and trusted friends and/or relatives” (Siegel, 2007, p. 238). When a group of peers concentrates more on achieving academically so that they can get into a decent college one day, then this group tends to be more law abiding than those who show no favorable intentions of completely high school successfully. The groups that are more apt to be into athletic sports and school functions are also more willing to be law abiding and do what is morally right. “Criminal behavior, then, is learned in a process that is similar to learning any other human behavior” (Siegel, 2007, p.