Peer Influence on Teen Shoplifting

The articles "An Exploratory Study of Adolescent Shoplifting Behaviour" and "Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Pressure" both agree that heightened sense of self-awareness and self-consciousness, known as egocentrism, is something that effects the way that many teens behave, especially around their peers. 

The combination of egocentrism and peer pressure can greatly effect the way that adolescents respond when faced with prosocial, neutral, and antisocial activities - such as shoplifting. Teens experience a heightened sense of susceptibility to peer pressure of individuals that reaches its peak during mid adolescence. This knowledge directly connects with the studies of delinquent acts committed during the teen years which found that crimes committed in groups are most common during middle adolescence. 

Research has shown that on average, girls are less susceptible to peer pressure than boys when it comes to both neutral and antisocial situations. This defies untrue stereotypes of girls being less autonomous than boys. When examining ethnic or socioeconomic differences in regards to the peer pressure to shoplift, there is currently not enough research available to draw accurate conclusions.