Question

When a parent argues that his or her child has simply fallen in with a bad crowd, what theory of deviance is he or she expressing?

Answer 1

When a parent argues that his or her child has simply fallen in with a bad crowd, he or she is expressing differential association.

Answer 2

They are expressing "differential association".

Differential association, in criminology is a hypothesis created by Edwin Sutherland recommending that through interacting with others, people take in the qualities, dispositions, methods, and thought processes in criminal conduct. The differential association is the most discussed of the learning theories of deviance. This hypothesis centers around how people figure out how to end up wrongdoers, yet does not worry about why they move toward becoming offenders.