Age Differences in Delinquency - A Test of Theory

• NCJ Number: 100384
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1985) Pages: 19-45
• Author(s): R L LaGrange; H R White
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 27 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Society of Criminology Meeting, November, 1983, Denver, Colorado.

Annotation

This study tests an integrated theoretical model of delinquency on a representative sample of 341 male New Jersey adolescents.

Abstract

The model is a modified version of Herschi's control theory that integrates, in part, cultural deviance theory. This study addresses two questions: (1) how well does the theory explain delinquency within different age groups? and (2) does the salience of individual components in the model differ from one age group to another? Path analysis indicates that parameter estimates vary substantially across age groups. The influence of parents and the school peak considerably in midadolescence while the influence of delinquent companions is greatest among the oldest male group. The findings indicate that the processes related to delinquency change considerably as youths age through adolescence, thus implying that the issue of 'age generalizability' warrants greater attention than presently given in delinquency theory and research. (Publisher abstract)