A 20-year study surveying over 5,000 LDS high school students in Utah, the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, Great Britain, and Mexico found that neither geography nor concentration of LDS peers was directly related to lower delinquency.
The protective factor was the spiritual environment of the home. The finding held across countries and across varying concentrations of LDS populations. The theology produces its effects through family practice, not peer pressure or cultural homogeneity.
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