A new acquaintance claims that he "fell in with the wrong crowd" in adolescence and as a result engaged in many delinquent activities he wouldn't have otherwise done. Evaluate this claim based on what you learned from the chapter.

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The Answer is Peers are often beneficial, but they can also lead one another into trouble. For example, peers sometimes provide deviancy training, whereby one person shows another how to rebel against social norms; gangs are a perfect example of deviancy training. Peer facilitation helps adolescents act in ways that they are unlikely to act on their own. Peer facilitation includes negative behaviors (such as spray-painting graffiti or shoplifting) and positive behaviors (such as trying out for a team or studying).
Innocent teens are not corrupted by deviant friends. Adolescents choose their friends and models-not always wisely, but never randomly. Teenagers select friends whose values and interests they share, abandoning former friends who follow other paths. These friends then promote destructive or constructive behaviors.

A New Acquaintance Claims That He "Fell in with the Wrong