Delinquency Risk as a Function of Number of Early Onset Problem Behaviors

• NCJ Number: 189553
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 436-448
• Author(s): W. Alex Mason; Michael Windle
• Date Published: August 2001
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the risk for juvenile delinquency as a function of the number of early-onset problem behaviors in a sample of 840 adolescent males and females in New York who self-reported retrospectively through a questionnaire survey administered at school.

Abstract

The participants were high school students who were mainly white and middle class. The data came from the second and third waves of a four-wave panel study that focused on vulnerability factors and adolescent problem behaviors. The participants ranged in age from 13 to 19 when they began the study; the majority were 15 or 16. Results revealed that the number of early first experiences of problem behaviors was linearly associated with an increased frequency of juvenile delinquency in this group. In addition, the number of early-onset behaviors explained a small but significant amount of variance in the self-reported frequency of delinquency over and above that explained by prior delinquency and the additional psychosocial variables of peer deviance and family support. Results also demonstrated that the risk for incarceration during adolescence increased in proportion to the number of early first experiences of problem behaviors. Findings suggested the existence of multiple pathways to adolescent delinquency and adult crime. The analysis also concluded that in the short term, a focus on the number of early-onset behaviors may have the greatest usefulness as a screening device for the targeting of at-risk youth in greatest need of intervention programs. The analysis also concluded that further research should focus on the mediating and moderating processes involved in early-onset behaviors and delinquency and on the relationship between early-onset behaviors and later non-criminal outcomes. Tables, figure, and 35 references (Author abstract modified)