Abstract A considerable share of free time is spent in the social context of the household. The social character of living together influences the moments in which activities take place. Time use research in households provides a possibility to study the extent of household members' conducting the same activities at particular moments of the day. A multilevel analysis of data on television use shows to what extent individual television viewing is influenced by the temporal organization of daily life in the household. The importance of peer relations for delinquent behaviour of adolescents is a major criminological topic.
Many studies suggest an association between the delinquency of youth and their friends.
However, the main stream of research on this topic has severe methodological problems. Many of these problems can be avoided by using social network strategies. A network survey was carried out on pupils' networks and delinquency in 20 Dutch high schools. The questionnaire contained ten network items about the pupils' relationships with their fellow pupils. For each item pupils nominated fellow pupils who met the criteria of the item.