Does the Worst of Both Worlds Effect Run Through Cognition? Testing Perceived Peer Delinquency/Drug Use and Moral Neutralization as Mediating Mechanisms

In an effort to understand the mechanisms responsible for the worst of both worlds (WBW) effect wherein drug-crime comorbidity leads to significantly more future adjustment problems than either crime or drug use alone, a multiple-mediator path analysis was performed. This study consisted of a multivariate analysis of four waves of data from the Gang Reduction and Education Training (GREAT) study provided by 2900 (1412 boys, 1488 girls) respondents. There was approximately one year between each adjacent wave. It was determined that the WBW effect was the result of linkages between two first-stage mediators (perceived peer delinquency and perceived peer drug use) and one second-stage mediator (moral neutralization). From these results it was surmised that drug-crime comorbidity led to increased perceived and actual peer deviance which then fueled a rise in moral neutralization beliefs through social learning and cognitive channels. The rise in neutralization beliefs, in turn, enhanced the child’s odds of becoming involved in future delinquency. Given that the perceived peer delinquency and peer drug use main effects and their interaction predicted a rise in moral neutralization, the effect of perceived peer deviance on antisocial cognition appears to be both cumulative and interactive.