Time spent in informal, unsupervised socializing
with peers carries no direct connotation
of deviance. Virtually everyone spends
some time this way, and people can as easily
use this time for conventionally valued pursuits
as for proscribed ones. Furthermore,
this classification of activities is sufficiently
general to be applicable across time and
across social groups, providing the possibility
for assessing whether social change or cross-cultural differences in time spent this
way translates to differences in rates of deviance.
Indeed, there is cross-cultural evidence
of this sort. From their analysis of the Human
Relations Area Files for 50 cultures,
Schlegel and Barry (1991:135-39) concluded
that problems of adolescent antisocial
behavior are more likely in cultures in which
adolescents spend less time in the company
of adults and more time in the company of
peers. Interestingly, independent socializing
with peers typically occurred through participation
in culturally valued religious or military
activities.