Social Support

Module 7 · Theory & Dynamics

Support is not always protective.

One of the most important criminogenic needs is social support. But support is not always protective. When people hear “social support,” they often think of something positive. Yet relationships can influence behavior in very different ways.

Key takeaway

The people closest to us help shape what becomes normal, acceptable, and expected.

Supportive Relationships Can Reduce Risk

Supportive relationships can provide:

accountability
encouragement
emotional support
stability
access to prosocial opportunities

The idea: The question is not simply whether someone has support. The question is what kind of support they are receiving.

Illustration

Support can stabilize or reinforce risk

Social relationships can provide accountability, encouragement, and stability—but they can also normalize offending and reinforce antisocial behavior.

Illustration showing social support as either stabilizing and prosocial or reinforcing risk

The important question is not simply whether someone has support, but what kind of support they are receiving.

Relationships Can Also Reinforce Risk

Social relationships can also reinforce risk.

Examples include:

criminal associates
antisocial peers
enabling intimate partners
substance-using social networks

These relationships can normalize offending, provide criminal opportunities, and reinforce antisocial behavior.

What Kind of Support?

Historically, many assessments treated family relationships and peer relationships as separate domains.

More recent perspectives increasingly recognize that both may reflect a broader concept: social support and social bonds.

The important question is often not who the relationship is with, but whether the relationship promotes stability and prosocial behavior or reinforces risk.

Why This Matters

Social relationships can increase or decrease risk
The quality of support matters more than the mere presence of support
Building prosocial support networks is often a major intervention goal

Bottom Line

The people closest to us help shape what becomes normal, acceptable, and expected. Social support matters because it can either promote stability or reinforce risk.

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