Introduction

The Friends’ Delinquent Behavior – Denver Youth Survey (FDB-DYS) is a brief questionnaire designed to assess adolescents’ exposure to delinquent behaviors within their peer group. It measures the extent to which close friends engage in antisocial, violent, substance-related, and risky behaviors, providing an indirect indicator of peer influence on youth delinquency. The instrument was developed as part of the Denver Youth Survey and has been widely used in studies examining juvenile delinquency and risk behaviors.

Description

The questionnaire includes eight items asking respondents how many of their friends engaged in behaviors such as:

  • Property damage.
  • Physical aggression or threats.
  • Alcohol use and intoxication.
  • Drug selling.
  • Carrying weapons.
  • Physical fights.
  • Being injured in fights.

Responses are recorded on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (None of them) to 4 (All of them).

Purpose

The FDB-DYS is designed to:

  • Assess peer delinquent behavior.
  • Measure exposure to antisocial peer influences.
  • Support research on adolescent delinquency.
  • Identify social risk factors associated with youth offending.
  • Evaluate prevention and intervention programs.

Administration

The questionnaire is self-administered and requires only a few minutes to complete. Participants report how many of their close friends engaged in each listed behavior during the previous year.

Scoring

Responses are summed and divided by the total number of items (8), producing a mean score ranging from 0 to 4. Higher scores indicate greater exposure to delinquent peer behavior.

Interpretation

Higher scores suggest that an adolescent’s social network includes more peers involved in delinquent or risky behaviors, whereas lower scores indicate reduced exposure to such influences. The instrument measures peer environment, not the respondent’s own delinquent behavior.

Statistical Analysis

Common statistical analyses include:

  • Descriptive statistics.
  • Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha).
  • Correlation analysis.
  • Regression models examining peer influence.
  • Group comparisons (t-test, ANOVA).
  • Predictive models of delinquent and risk behaviors.

Applications

The FDB-DYS is commonly used in:

  • Juvenile delinquency research.
  • Criminology.
  • Developmental psychology.
  • Public health.
  • School-based prevention programs.

Advantages

  • Brief and easy to administer.
  • Measures an important social risk factor.
  • Suitable for large adolescent samples.
  • Useful in prevention and longitudinal research.

Limitations

The questionnaire relies on self-reported perceptions of friends’ behaviors and may be influenced by recall bias or inaccurate knowledge of peers’ activities. Results should be interpreted alongside measures of the respondent’s own behavior and broader social context.

References

Institute of Behavioral Sciences. Youth Interview Schedule: Denver Youth Survey. University of Colorado (1987).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.