Research Note

Abstract

This study examined the individual functioning, interpersonal relations, and academic performance of 142 female adolescents who were divided into three demographically similar groups: violent juvenile offenders ( n = 51), nonviolent juvenile offenders ( n = 56), and nondelinquent youths (ND; n = 35). Both the violent and the nonviolent offenders had histories of serious crimes (i.e., felonies). Parents and youths completed self-report instruments, behavior-rating inventories, and a videorecorded interaction task, and teachers completed a rating measure. Results showed that violent juvenile offenders and nonviolent juvenile offenders had more behavior problems, more difficulties in family and peer relations, and poorer academic performance than did ND. However, violent juvenile offenders did not differ from nonviolent juvenile offenders on any of the measures of individual functioning, family relations, peer relations, or academic performance. Taken together, the findings suggest that girls who commit serious crimes, regardless of whether violence is involved, share a number of risk factors across key domains of individual and interpersonal functioning. The implications of these findings for research, theory, and treatment are discussed.