Violence and Attribution Error in Adolescent Male and Female Delinquents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of violence attribution errors among female adolescent delinquents in the United States. Also of interest was to compare female delinquents’ violence attribution error rate to that of their male counterparts who were participating in the same delinquency intervention programs. A third purpose was to identify predictors (i.e., attitudes toward violence, peer victimization, self-esteem, demographic variables) of violence attribution errors. Participants were 181 juvenile delinquents (28.2% female) who participated in two delinquency intervention programs located in Florida during the 2005-2006 year. Findings revealed no statistically significant difference in violence attribution error rate between male (52.7%) and female (46.5%) juvenile delinquents. A multiple regression analysis identified six variables that predicted the violence attribution error rate. The Implications of the findings are discussed.