Correlates Of Delinquency Research Articles

An Empirical Test of Age-Graded Informal Social Control Theory: New Correlates of Youth Deviance

This study examines several family structural variables that have a hypothesized effect on delinquency, substance abuse, and violence. We conducted a survey for potential correlates of Sampson and Laub’s age-graded informal social control theory variables within the Turkish context. Our large sample size (31,272), drawn from high school students in Istanbul, Turkey, allowed us to test the effects of family settings on youth deviance by using various statistical tests and programs. Our findings indicate that juveniles exposed to parental substance abuse are more likely to use illegal substances, commit a greater number of delinquent acts, and participate in more instances of violent behavior. Additionally, family social capital, residential mobility, religiosity, and the number of siblings were some other statistically significant correlates of delinquency.

Peer Relations and Delinquency Among Girls in Foster Care Following a Skill-Building Preventive Intervention.

There is evidence that risk for delinquency is elevated among girls with foster care histories, and one correlate of delinquency is affiliating with peers who engage in delinquent behavior. Although intervention studies have shown positive effects of interventions that target delinquent peer affiliation on reductions in delinquency among adolescents with juvenile justice histories, the success of such interventions for younger girls in foster care, without prior involvement with juvenile justice, is unknown. We analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial of the middle school version of the Keep Safe intervention in a sample of girls in foster care (n = 100). The intervention was delivered to girls and foster parents during the transition to middle school. Path analysis suggested a significant intervention effect on reduction in affiliation with delinquent peers at 12 months (B = -.21). No significant mediation effects were identified. The middle school Keep Safe intervention shows promise as a preventative intervention for reducing affiliation with delinquent peers, which importantly is associated with adolescent delinquent behavior. Implications for researchers and professionals who tailor and deliver evidence-based programs for girls in foster care are discussed.

The influence of low self-control on violent and nonviolent delinquencies: a study of male adolescents from two Chinese societies

Low self-control is theorized to be a key correlate of delinquency. Using a nonadjudicated sample (N = 1057) from Hong Kong and Macau, the influence of self-control on self-reported violent and nonviolent delinquencies was investigated using Grasmick’s self-control scale. The influences of demographics and self-control on delinquency were also examined. Findings indicate that these adolescents are more likely to engage in overall delinquency, particularly violence, if they are older and if they are less educated. Age is the only demographic predictor of nonviolent delinquency. Risk-seeking behaviors and self-centeredness have significant influences on both violent and nonviolent delinquencies, while low frustration tolerance and preference for cognitive activities are only associated with an increased level of violent misconduct. These findings highlight the overall significant influence of self-control on adolescent delinquency in Chinese adolescents. Suggestions are offered to enhance adolescents’ self-control as a way to reduce their tendency to involvement in delinquent activities.

Use of prescription drugs and future delinquency among adolescent offenders

Non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) by adolescents is a significant public health concern. The present study investigated the profile of NMUPD in 1349 adolescent offenders from the Pathways to Desistance project, and whether NMUPD predicted future delinquency using longitudinal data. Results indicated that increased frequency and recency of NMUPD in adolescent offenders are related to some demographic factors, as well as increased risk for violence exposure, mental health diagnoses, other drug use, and previous delinquency, suggesting that severity of NMUPD is important to consider. However, ANCOVA analyses found that NMUPD was not a significant predictor of drug-related, non-aggressive, or aggressive delinquency 12months later beyond other known correlates of delinquency. Age, sex, exposure to violence, lower socioeconomic status, more alcohol use, and having delinquency histories were more important than NMUPD in predicting future delinquency. These findings suggest that although NMUPD is an important risk factor relating to many correlates of delinquency, it does not predict future delinquency beyond other known risk factors.

Predictors of Delinquency among Adolescents of Divorced Families

Although delinquency is universal, few studies examined it from an Asian perspective, and even fewer considered adolescents of divorced families in Iran. The current study examined whether correlates of delinquency among western adolescents are similarly effective for predicting delinquency among adolescents from divorced families in the Mashhad city in Iran. Post-divorce parental conflict, maternal distress, economic hardship and parent-child relationship were regressed against delinquency. The parent-child relationship was the strongest significant predictor of self-reported delinquency.

Victimization as a cause of delinquency: The role of depression and gender

Victimization as a correlate of delinquency has been largely neglected in the criminological literature, despite research on Agnew's general strain theory (GST) suggesting that victimization is a type of strain likely to cause delinquency (Agnew, 2002). This study examined the role of depression and gender as potentially indispensable mechanisms in the victimization-delinquency relationship. Findings indicated that victimization has a positive effect on both delinquency and depression, and consistent with a GST explanation, the connection between victimization and delinquency is most pronounced for males with trait depression. This study added to the GST literature by distinguishing between trait and state emotion and by delineating GST predictions regarding each emotional form.

Service System Involvement and Delinquent Offending at System of Care Entry

This study examines correlates of delinquent offending among 2,554 youths presenting to community-based treatment in Center for Mental Health Services-funded systems of care. Variables in five key domains, including demographics, family risk, child clinical risk, school, and service system involvement, were examined in relation to severity of offending at treatment entry for early/middle (11-15 years) versus late (16-18 years) adolescents. Significant correlates of offending severity were identified in all domains except family risk for the 11 to 15 year olds and in demographics and child clinical risk for the 16 to 18 year olds. Service system involvement was a unique correlate of delinquency in the younger group. Findings add to other studies showing that correlates of offending appear to differ across stages of adolescence; specifically, school and service system involvement may be less important for older adolescents than for younger adolescents. Service system involvement should be included in longitudinal studies of risk for adolescent offending.

Delinquency and Justice

In an attempt to demonstrate the value of case study research on delinquency in American Indian communities, Tribal Court juvenile records from one western American Indian community, 1991 through 1998, were analyzed and interviews conducted with community members. Most arrests of juveniles were for alcohol possession and consumption, conduct offenses and status offenses. The most severe offense was simple assault. Youths were more likely to be detained for underage consumption than youths off reservation. Few bookings (26%) resulted in court hearings and all cases resulted in dismissal, deferred adjudication, or deferred sentencing. Girls had higher rates of arrest and detention than males. Interviews identified alcohol consumption and erosion of the extended family as correlates of delinquency.

The Validity of a Self-reported Delinquency Scale

Self-reported delinquency scales have been widely adopted by researchers seeking to measure delinquency. Establishing the validity of these scales is critical because if valid measures are not created, findings about the correlates of delinquency will be of limited use in testing theory and formulating public policy. In this article, the authors use data from the first wave of the National Youth Survey to examine the measurement properties of a commonly used delinquency scale. The authors use the Rasch measurement model to test whether the scale meets the requirements of fundamental measurement and whether consistent measurement has occurred across subgroups including gender, age, race, and place of residence. Our results indicate that the original response category options are inadequate and differential item functioning exists across various subgroups. Methodological implications and directions for future research are identified.

Correlates of Major and Minor Offending Among Youth with Severe Emotional Disturbance

Potential correlates of delinquency among 180 youth with severe emotional disturbance were examined in this study. Specifically, the goal was to explore associations between major or minor offending, based on South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) records and (a) prenatal, birth, or developmental factors; (b) family characteristics; (c) environmental characteristics; and (d) problem behaviors and symptoms. Participants were clients of the Continuum of Care for Emotionally Disturbed Children Division of the Office of the Governor in South Carolina and were in the legal custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Polychotomous logistic regression modeling techniques were used to determine which variables were associated with major and minor offending, compared with youth not involved with DJJ. After adjusting for other variables, the factors significantly associated with minor offending included increasing age and parental incarceration. Factors significantly associated with major offending were increasing age, sibling incarceration, and running away.

Sex Differences In Crime: Do Means and Within-Sex Variation Have Similar Causes?

The mean level of delinquency is generally greater in males than in females. This article investigates whether the determinants of this mean sex difference are the same as those of delinquency variation within-sex. The first analytic approach focused on variables. A variable that explained more variation among individuals in delinquency also had a larger mean difference between males and females. The correlates of delinquency were also similar in males and females. The second analytic approach used individuals as the unit of analysis. In a structural equation model, a single latent trait could explain most of the sex difference in the manifest variables of delinquency, impulsivity, rebelliousness, and deceitfulness. The mean difference in delinquency between males and females may arise because males are more exposed to these common etiologic factors than are females.

Blind Justice? The Impact of Race on the Juvenile Justice Process

The increasing prevalence of minority youth in the juvenile justice system has renewed concerns over racial disparities in juvenile justice processing. Previous research has yielded ambiguous results, with findings complicated by methodological shortcomings, divergent research strategies, and design artifacts. To resolve questions on the extent and source of racial disparities in juvenile justice processing, research is needed on the nature, location, and magnitude of discrimination in the juvenile justice system. This study examines racial disparities in decision making at six points in the juvenile justice process, from apprehension through judicial commitment decisions. Samples of Anglo and minority youth were drawn at each point, controlling for offense severity, other offense characteristics, and extralegal factors in addition to race. The results show racial disparities at each point, with minorities consistently receiving harsher dispositions. Disparities took different forms at various stages of the process, usually for nonserious offenses. Race was a direct, indirect, and interactive influence at various decision points. Disparities were observed at other times only when controlling for other extralegal factors such as family status. The results suggest that the juvenile justice system reflects social and economic disparities endemic in other social domains. The correlates of delinquency in minority and predominantly Anglo populations are similar. Accordingly, base rate differences may be less important than societal reaction in explaining the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice process. The narrowing of social gaps may also reduce disparate perceptions of minorities in the juvenile justice system, and restore their population balance in delinquent populations.

Correlates of Delinquency: The Illusion of Discrepancy between Self-Report and Official Measures

This paper reviews the research literature concerning the extent to which studies of delinquency that use official records produce results compatible with studies of delinquency that use self-reports of adolescents. Particular attention is given to sex, race, and social class as correlates of delinquency. The notion that official and self-report methods produce discrepant results with respect to sex, race, and class is largely illusory. In reaching conclusions of discrepancy several techniques have been used in the literature; the most general is the assumption that self-reports and official data tap the same domain of behavior. When the domain limitations of self-reports are recognized (and other illusory techniques are abandoned), the conclusion of general consistency between self-reports and official correlates for sex, race, and class emerges. This consistency and other evidence from victimization surveys, studies of the reliability and validity of self-reports, and studies of biases in criminal justice processing, suggest that both official data and self-reports provide valid indicators of the demographic characteristics of offenders, within the domain of behavior effectively tapped by each method. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1979. Copyright © 1979 by the American Sociological Association) Literature Review Racial Factors Racial Differences Sociocultural Factors Socioeconomic Factors Self Report Studies Juvenile Delinquency Delinquency Rates Juvenile Offender Arrest Rates Self Report Statistics vs. Arrest Statistics Social Class Class Factors Juvenile Male Juvenile Female Female Delinquency Female Offender Gender Differences Male Offender Male Delinquency 07-02

COMMENTS ON PERSONALITY AND DELINQUENCY

The paper by Forrest (1977), on which this brief note is a comment, is of such high quality that I would not wish any of my remarks to be taken as criticisms of the design, execution or analysis of the study. My comments reflect rather a puzzlement over certain facts which have become apparent in the course of the many studies carried out in the attempt to find personality correlates of delinquency. The most apparent of these is the notable difference in outcome between studies otherwise largely comparable. Thus Forrest fails to find evidence of implication for E and N in most of his comparisons; yet, in a very similar sample, Foggitt (1974) found loadings of 0.44 for E and 0.42 for N on a general delinquency factor embracing all the major criminal activities of the sample! Of the two, E was particularly related to “destructiveness and violence”, “frequency of violence”, and group delinquency, while N was particularly closely related to attempted suicide and vagrancy.

SHELDON GLUECK (Ed.). The Problem of Delinquency. Pp. xvi, 1183. Bos ton: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1959. $10.50

-are by 106 authors, including 24 psychiatrists or psychoanalysts, 19 sociologists, 19 social workers, 11 lawyers, 9 psychologists, and 24 of other professions or not classified by profession. In this diversity almost everyone can find much interest and some treasure. My prize was Eisenstadt’s functional analysis of dDelinquent Group Formation Among Children of Immigrants.d If generalized to include internal migrants, this cogently explains most of the highest delinquency groups in American urban history, including today’s apparent leaders-urban-reared children of Southern-rural and PuertoRican-reared parents. Methodological deficiencies which have been apparent in some of the Gluecks’ other writings persist in the contributions here. Reliability tests for subjective data classifications are not reported, nor are classification procedures specified sufficiently to permit replication. Antecedent probability in validations of prediction tables is neglected. For instance, a table which predicts delinquency in most institutionalized delinquents might also predict it in nondelinquents, and even if it identifies 90 per cent of nondelinquents accurately, it will still, by Bayes’ theorem, make more erroneous than correct predictions of delinquency in most schools where children are less than 10 per cent delinquent. Methodological critics, such as Meehl and Rosen in psychology and Reiss and Kuhlen in sociology, are also ignored. The Glueck and Podolsky articles stress biological correlates of delinquency despite weak evidence, but neglect more markedly evident social correlates in Glueck data. The firmest biological finding, essentially, is that in high delinquency areas, average institutionalized delinquents are somewhat huskier than nondelinquents. This may reflect mainly selectivity by delinquent groups, and Detroit evidence suggests that police arrest the huskiest first. Glueck dismisses differential association theory, preferring lists of zero-order correlates of delinquency, which he calls dmultifactor theory.d Such lists achieve few of the things which Phillip Frank’s Philosophy of Science pointed out as distinguishing scientific theory: the quality of being simpler than the observations it represents, and the quality of promoting expansion of observations into unknown ter-