Delinquency In Boys Research Articles

Is a gender-morality or gender-control gap responsible for male-female differences in delinquency? cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses

ABSTRACT This study tested for gender-morality and gender-control gaps that might explain sex differences in crime in a group of 2,718 early adolescent youth (1,309 boys and 1,409 girls; mean age = 12.12 years). Although moral neutralization and cognitive impulsivity were significantly higher in boys than in girls and moral neutralization rose significantly over time, the rise was roughly comparable across gender. Analyses confirmed the presence of a gender-morality gap whereby moral neutralization had an effect on delinquency in boys but not girls, and a gender-control gap where cognitive impulsivity played a role in delinquency for girls but not boys. In a cross-sectional analysis, the partial correlation between gender and moral neutralization, controlling for delinquency, was significantly higher than the partial correlation between gender and delinquency, controlling for moral neutralization, implying that gender differences in moral neutralization are stronger than gender differences in delinquency in early adolescence. In a longitudinal analysis, moral neutralization mediated the relationship between gender and delinquency in a design with proper temporal order between the independent (gender), mediating (moral neutralization), and dependent (delinquency) variables. These findings suggest that weak moral agency may be one of the factors driving the well-known relationship between male gender and antisocial behavior.

Associations between online communication with strangers and mild delinquency in junior high school students

Today, adolescents can easily make contact with strangers online. The present study examines the relation of online communication with strangers (OCS) and mild delinquency among junior high school students and explores which risk factors are associated with both types of behavior, taking gender differences into account. A total of 1873 Japanese adolescents (aged 12–15) with mobile phones completed online questionnaires assessing internet usage (duration, variability), parental behavior (violence, monitoring), and adolescent characteristics (depression, self-control) as potential predictors of OCS and mild delinquency. Sequential model testing revealed that the duration of internet usage was associated with both dependent variables, whereas its variability was associated with OCS alone. Self-control and parental violence predicted both outcome variables in girls, but only mild delinquency in boys. Depression was related with both behaviors in boys. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with OCS among girls and with mild delinquency among boys. Overall, OCS appeared to have a similar function for girls as mild delinquency did for boys. Implications for future studies and preventive programs will be discussed.

Differential longitudinal outcomes of in-person and cyber victimization in early adolescence.

Few studies have tested a commonly held assumption that cyber victimization is more harmful than in-person victimization. This study examined differential longitudinal relations between in-person and cyber victimization and outcomes, including problem behaviors and distress symptoms. Possible moderation by gender and grade was also explored. Participants were 1,542 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students (77% African American or Black; 21% Latino/a) who completed surveys in the fall, winter, spring, and summer. The two forms of victimization combined to predict increases in physical and relational aggression, cyberbullying, and delinquency, but victimization did not predict increases in distress or substance use. There were generally no differences in the strength of relations between in-person and cyber victimization for longitudinal outcomes, although there were some cross-sectional differences. Cyber victimization predicted increases in delinquency for boys but not for girls, but there were no other differences in effects across gender or grade. Overall, there was little support for the argument that cyber victimization produces greater harm than in-person victimization. Future research examining outcomes of cyber victimization should focus on longitudinal relations, given the different patterns of outcomes in this study's cross-sectional and longitudinal findings.

Testing a Contextual Model of Effects of Father Involvement on Child Behaviors

To conduct secondary data analyses to test a heuristic contextual model of father involvement (mother and father report of father caregiving) at 5 years of age on children’s internalizing, externalizing, and delinquency behaviors subsequently measured at middle childhood. Data from two waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were analyzed. Path analyses found that mother-reported father involvement was significantly negatively predictive of child externalizing in girls and delinquency in boys, even after controlling for the effects of father age, socioeconomic status, and health, and including the effects of mother involvement in the models. Mother involvement was significantly positively predictive of child externalizing in girls and delinquency in boys. In the context of a model that explicitly considers the confounding effects of father characteristics and mother involvement, early father involvement was found to be predictive of later lessened child externalizing behaviors.

The role of gender in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and delinquency and substance use in adolescence

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), a construct measuring childhood adversity via abuse and household dysfunction, is linked to subsequent health problems and maladaptive behaviors. Theorized as a cumulative stressor, ACEs promote a chain of negative outcomes across the life-course. Though ample medical and health research has provided support for this proposition, less studies have examined the relationship between ACEs and delinquency, and very few have examined the role of gender. Analyzing data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study assesses the associations between ACEs and delinquency and substance use separately for boys (n = 964) and girls (n = 947). Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models show that ACEs may be uniquely associated with delinquency for boys and substance use for girls. Gender differences in criminological risk factors reveal potential intervening mechanisms in these relationships, suggesting that ACEs may operate through different pathways for boys and girls.

Beyond Peer Influence and Selection: A Gendered Pathways Analysis of Social Environmental Predictors of Change in Child and Peer Delinquency

The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal closeness and participation in unstructured routine activities differentially predicted change in child and peer delinquency for female and male youth above and beyond the effects of peer influence and selection. Participants were 3,370 (1,759 boys, 1,611 girls) members of the Fragile Families and Child Welfare Study. When regression analyses were performed on boys and girls separately, unstructured routine activities effectively predicted a rise in child and peer delinquency in boys and maternal closeness successfully predicted a drop in child and peer delinquency in girls, findings consistent with gendered pathways theory.

Ask Me! self-reported features of adolescents experiencing neglect or emotional maltreatment: a rapid systematic review.

Neglect is often overlooked in adolescence, due in part to assumptions about autonomy and misinterpretation of behaviors being part of normal adolescent development. Emotional maltreatment (abuse or neglect) has a damaging effect throughout the lifespan, but is rarely recognized amongst adolescents. Our review aims to identify features that adolescents experiencing neglect and/ or emotional maltreatment report. A rapid review methodology searched 8 databases (1990-2014), supplemented by hand searching journals, and references, identifying 2,568 abstracts. Two independent reviews were undertaken of 279 articles, by trained reviewers, using standardised critical appraisal. Eligible studies: primary studies of children aged 13-17 years, with substantiated neglect and/ or emotional maltreatment, containing self-reported features. 19 publications from 13 studies were included, demonstrating associations between both neglect and emotional maltreatment with internalising features (9 studies) including depression, post traumatic symptomatology and anxiety; emotional maltreatment was associated with suicidal ideation, while neglect was not (1 study); neglect was associated with alcohol related problems (3 studies), substance misuse (2 studies), delinquency for boys (1 study), teenage pregnancy (1 study), and general victimization for girls (1 study), while emotionally maltreated girls reported more externalising symptoms (1 study). Dating violence victimization was associated with neglect and emotional maltreatment (2 studies), while emotional abuse of boys, but not neglect, was associated with dating violence perpetration (1 study), and neither neglect nor emotional maltreatment had an association with low self-esteem (2 studies). Neither neglect nor emotional maltreatment had an effect on school performance (1 study), but neglected boys showed greater school engagement than neglected girls (1 study). If asked, neglected or emotionally maltreated adolescents describe significant difficulties with their mental health, social relationships, and alcohol or substance misuse. Practitioners working with youths who exhibit these features should recognize the detrimental impact of maltreatment at this developmental stage, and identify whether maltreatment is a contributory factor that should be addressed.

School climate and delinquency – on the significance of the perceived social and learning climate in school for refraining from offending

School is regarded as a central arena for crime prevention. This study analyses the effects of student perceptions of school contextual aspects on self-reported offending, using logistic regression with control for clustering effects. The data comprise a census of pupils in year nine in comprehensive school (15 year olds) and in year two of upper secondary school (17 year olds) in the City of Stockholm in 2006, 2008 and 2010 (n = 25,850 of which 47% are boys and 53% are girls). Besides showing that several aspects of students’ perceptions of the school setting have direct protective effects on offending, the study shows that perceiving schoolwork as meaningful appears to moderate the effect of adverse home conditions on delinquency for boys. The only aspect of school investigated in this study that was not significantly related to offending was the perception of classroom order, indicating that emotional support from teachers is more important for crime preventive implications than maintaining order in the classroom. Controlling for clustering effects shows differences in offending between classes and schools that are not produced by differences between the students.

The Effects of Gender and Bonds with Parents and Grandparents on Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents

This study examines the influences of bonds with parents and grandparents on delinquent participation among Chinese adolescents, and whether these effects may differ for adolescent boys and girls. Using data provided by over 2,300 middle school students from Fuzhou City, China, regression analyses yield results consistent with the hypotheses. Chinese teens who indicate that they are close to their parents and paternal grandparents report lower levels of delinquency; such effects are independent of each other and other putative common correlates. While the effects of bonds are consistent across domains of delinquency, the strongest appears on deceitful behavior, followed by aggression and substance use. Bonds with parents and paternal grandparents exert significant effects on the delinquency of boys; among girls, however, the effects are weaker or not statistically significant. These results are interpreted in light of social bond theory, parent and grandparent support in mainland China, and policy implications.

Pubertal Development, Spare Time Activities, and Adolescent Delinquency: Testing the Contextual Amplification Hypothesis

Extensive evidence supports associations between early pubertal timing and adolescent externalizing behavior, but how and under which conditions they are linked is not fully understood. In addition, pubertal development is also characterized by variations in the relative speed at which individuals mature, but studies linking pubertal 'tempo' and outcomes are scarce. This study examined the mediating and moderating roles of spare time activities in associations between pubertal development and later delinquency, using data from a large (4,327 girls, 4,250 boys) longitudinal UK cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). Self-reports of Tanner stage were available from ages 9 to 14, spare time activities at age 12 and delinquency at age 15. Pubertal development was examined using latent growth models. Spare time activities were categorized using factor analyses, yielding four types (hanging out at home, hanging out outside, consumerist behavior, and sports/games), which were examined as mediators and moderators. Earlier and faster maturation predicted delinquency in boys and girls. Spare time activities partially mediated these links such that early maturing girls more often engaged in hanging out outside, which placed them at greater risk for delinquency. In addition, compared to their later and slower maturing counterparts, boys who matured earlier and faster were less likely to engage in sports/games, a spare time activity type that is linked to lower delinquency risk. No moderation effects were found. The findings extend previous research on outcomes of early maturation and show how spare time activities act as proxies between pubertal development and delinquency.

Attachment and Parental Practices as Predictors of Behavioral Disorders in Boys and Girls

This study’s objective was to investigate how two parental systems (attachment and parental practices) interact to predict internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems in girls and boys. The Security Scale was administered to 289 children (mean age = 10.5 years), and 205 parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and an instrument addressing parental practices. The results indicate that poor maternal attachment predicts aggression and delinquency in boys, while problems of this nature among girls are predicted by parental rejection and low behavioral control. Poor paternal attachment was the only predictor for social withdrawal and anxiety/depression in boys. A tendency of association between poor maternal attachment and social withdrawal was observed among girls, while low behavioral control and high psychological control predicted anxiety/depression. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to understanding the complex relationship among gender, parental systems, and behavioral disorders.

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Peer Violence and Popularity and Delinquency in Adolescent Boys: Examining Effects by Family Functioning

Mapping the relationship of peer influences and parental/family characteristics on delinquency can help expand the understanding of findings that show an interdependence between peer and family predictors. This study explored the longitudinal relationship between two characteristics of peer relationships (violence and perceived popularity) with subsequent individual delinquency and the moderating role of family characteristics (cohesion and parental monitoring) using data from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Participants were 364 inner-city residing adolescent boys (54% African American; 40% Hispanic). After controlling for the effects of age and ethnicity, peer violence is positively related to boys' delinquency. The effect of popularity depends on parental monitoring, such that the relationship between popularity and delinquency is positive when parental monitoring is low, but there is no relationship when parental monitoring is high. Furthermore, parental monitoring contributes to the relationship between peer violence and delinquency such that there is a stronger relationship when parental monitoring is low. Additionally, there is a stronger relationship between peer violence and delinquency for boys from high cohesive families. Findings point to the value of attention to multiple aspects of peer and family relationships in explaining and intervening in the risk for delinquency. Furthermore, findings indicate the importance of family-focused interventions in preventing delinquency.

Girl Members of Deviant Youth Groups, Offending Behaviour and Victimisation: Results from the ISRD2 in Italy and Switzerland

Although a lot of research has been conducted on the delinquency of boys who are members of gangs, only a few quantitative studies have analysed the involvement of girl gang members in delinquency and its link with victimisation. In this study, the prevalence rates of girls who are members of gangs in Italy and in Switzerland are shown. We compared the Italian data (N = 5.784) and Swiss data (N = 3.459) from the second wave of the International Self-Reported Delinquency Study (ISRD-2); the population used for this comparison was made up of teenagers from the ages of 13 to 16. Members of deviant youth groups accounted for 5.7% of the Italian sample and 4.7% of the Swiss sample; in both countries, about a third of gang members were girls. In general, girls who are members of gangs commit more delinquent acts than both girls and boys who are not members of gangs. Girl gang members are also more often victimised than girls and boys who are not members of a deviant youth group.

Evidence of Parallel Pathways: Gender Similarity in the Impact of Social Support on Adolescent Depression and Delinquency

Despite an apparent connection, depression and delinquency have rarely been examined simultaneously. Instead, research has examined each topic separately and emphasized gender differences - rather than similarities - in outcomes. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this paper examines possible parallel pathways between social support (from parents, peers and schools) and depression in females and delinquency in males. Results show that support from these sources operates in a similar direction for both boys and girls, regardless of outcome. However, some significant differences in the magnitude of these associations exist. The paper concludes with a discussion of the merits of framing research as an examination of similarity, rather than difference. Rutter, Giller and Hagell (1998) argue that depression and delinquency represent equivalent outcomes for females and males, respectively. Their claim is consistent with gender socialization theory which posits that males and females are taught to cope with stress in different ways, with females showing higher rates of internalizing responses (depression) and males showing higher rates of externalizing responses (delinquency) (Simon and Nath 2004). Despite the apparent connection, depression and delinquency have rarely been examined together. Instead, researchers have tended to focus on either depression (Rosenfeld 2002) or delinquency (Adler 1975; Steffensmeier and Allan 1996), and consequently to emphasize gender differences in outcomes as opposed to gender similarities in underlying processes. This research investigates the hypothesis that parallel mechanisms account for depression in girls and delinquency in boys. Using the stress process model and delinquency theory as guides, I examine whether the mechanisms underlying depression and delinquency operate in a similar manner, both in magnitude and direction, for boys and girls. Key pathway variables include social support garnered from a number of sources in an adolescent's life. If these support variables operate in different directions, at different levels of significance, or at different magnitudes for males and females across outcomes, then it makes sense to think of depression

The Prediction of Violence and Homicide in Young Men.

In this prospective study, the authors predicted violence and homicide in 3 representative school samples (N = 1,517). Participants were part of a longitudinal, multiple cohort study on the development of delinquency in boys from late childhood to early adulthood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty-three participants were convicted of homicide, 193 participants were convicted of serious violence, whereas another 498 participants self-reported serious violence. Predictors of violence included risk factors in the domains of child, family, school, and demographic characteristics. Boys with 4 or more violence risk factors were 6 times more likely to later commit violence in comparison with boys with fewer than 4 risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 6.05). A subset of risk factors related to violence also predicted homicide among violent offenders. Boys with 4 or more risk factors for homicide were 14 times more likely to later commit homicide than violent individuals with fewer than 4 risk factors (OR = 14.48). Implications for the prevention of violence and homicide are discussed.

Language-learning disorders and youth incarceration

Many speech–language pathologists are serving delinquent boys with language-learning disorders who are both current and former residents of correctional institutions. These youngsters demonstrate personal maladjustments that have a negative impact on school performance and socialization. Those boys within chaotic families are at risk of poverty, institutionalization, and substance abuse. Boys with language-learning disorders, who have encountered the law, need to be provided with services through collaborative and individualized efforts toward improving language skills, learning, and re-incorporating them into society. Further investigations are needed in order to clarify how the elements of personal, family, neighborhood, school and service conditions serve as either protective or risk factors for a life of incarceration in these individuals. Learning outcomes: As a result of this presentation, the reader will understand the complex relationship among language-learning disorders, poverty, poor school performance, and delinquency in boys. The reader will become aware of the elements that should be present in school and correctional services in order to prevent recidivism in boys with language-learning disorders who have had problems with the law.

Juvenile Delinquency and Gender

This article considers differences in patterns of youth delinquency and problem behaviour between boys and girls. It uses cross-sectional surveys of self-reported youth offending in 11 European countries, and a similar survey covering various ethnic groups in Rotterdam, both carried out in 1992. These surveys show that there remains a substantial gap in the level of delinquency between girls and boys across all countries and ethnic groups. The findings confirm that weak social controls by family and school are an important correlate of delinquency for males and females in all country clusters and across all ethnic groups. On the whole, the correlates of delinquency are found to be similar in males and females, which suggests that there is no need for a different theory to explain delinquency in boys and girls. Social control explains part of the gap in delinquency between boys and girls, simply because social controls of girls tend to be stronger and tighter. Culturally determined differences in the strength of family-based social controls can also explain some of the variation in delinquency between ethnic groups.

Community violence exposure and delinquent behaviors among youth: The moderating role of coping

AbstractThis study examines the moderating roles of guardian and peer support and behavioral coping strategies on the relations between youths' community violence exposure and their delinquent behavior. A sample of 667 public school sixth‐graders in a large inner‐city school district, and their parents or guardians, were interviewed to assess youths' recent exposure to community violence, their delinquent behavior, and proposed moderating variables. Support from guardians buffered the relation between girls' victimization by community violence and delinquency. Support from peers buffered the effects of witnessing community violence on delinquent behavior of boys, but it amplified the effects of victimization for both girls and boys. Avoidant coping behavior buffered the effect of victimization on delinquency for boys but unexpectedly amplified the effect of witnessing violence on delinquency for girls. For both genders, confrontational coping strategies amplified the impact of victimization on delinquency and, for boys only, amplified the impact of witnessing violence as well. Controls were imposed for variables expected to influence the relation between exposure and delinquency, such as ethnicity, family violence, delinquent behavior of friends, and recruitment cohort. Suggestions for future research and implications for intervention are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 31: 489–512, 2003.

Gender, Peers, and Delinquency

Unlike most other European countries, no self-report research in France has been published, so aside from available data or ethnographic and interview studies, little is known about the delinquent behavior of French youth and practically nothing about young people in the French countryside. In the research reported here, the authors administered a self-reported delinquency questionnaire to a sample of 387 lycée and collège students in the Poitou-Charentes region of central France. Employing indices used in the National Youth Survey, the authors sought to test the extent to which measures of social control and learning/differential association theories could be generalized to, and similarly help explain, the delinquency of boys and girls in rural France. Of the two theories investigated, social control measures either did not form reliable scales or were not significantly related to various offense scales, although measures of learning/differential association theory were strongly related to delinquency and about equally so for both boys and girls. The implications and limitations of the research are discussed.

PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL FACTORS, AND DELINQUENCY AMONG ADOLESCENT BOYS*

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is used to examine the relationship between pubertal development and delinquency among boys (grades 7–9). We find strong positive relationships between pubertal development and violence, on one hand, and property crimes, drug use, and precocious sexual behavior on the other. However, we find no evidence that these effects are due to the effects of puberty on risk‐taking, maladjustment, dominance behavior, or autonomous behavior. We do find evidence that pubertal development interacts with social factors—mature boys are more strongly influenced by delinquent friends. Pubertal development also has stronger effects on the delinquency of boys who are academically successful and thus are generally disinclined to engage in delinquency.