NCJ Number
155716
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1995) Pages: 195-222
Date Published
1995
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study used self-report data from a panel study of African-American adolescents to examine the sex-invariant model of differences in delinquency rates between boys and girls; the model holds that the causes of delinquency are established early and life and the differences between male and female deviancy will remain relatively constant throughout adolescence.
Abstract
Data were drawn from the multiwave Rochester Youth Development panel study; data were collected through interviews, schools, police agencies, social welfare offices, and the courts. The sample oversampled youth at risk of delinquency and drug use. The four factors included in the analysis were age, gender, parental supervision, and delinquency. The results of the study do not support the sex-invariance hypothesis. The gap between boys and girls in terms of delinquency varies over time, following the pattern of a concave downward curve. Sex differentials for public disorder, property crime, and personal crime increase between the ages of 13 and 15 and decrease between the ages of 15 and 17. The results also show that parental supervision explains the relationship between sex and delinquency, but only in early adolescence. 5 tables, 28 notes, and 93 references