Research note: Social influences on adolescent shoplifting—Theory, evidence, and implications for the retail industry

Abstract

Shoplifting is a growing and extremely destructive behavior that is particularly common among adolescents. In order to design more effective programs to prevent this behavior, retailers need a better understanding of its causes. The present paper seeks to address this need by developing and testing a structural model of the social influences on adolescent shoplifting. Our results suggest that adolescents' involvement in shoplifting is strongly influenced by their friends' shoplifting behavior, their attachment to their parents, and their own beliefs regarding the morality of this behavior. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for future approaches to discouraging youthful shoplifting.