NCJ Number
148278
Date Published
1993
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the nature of differing causal structures of male and female delinquency.
Abstract
The emphasis in this orientation is placed upon socialization in a group context. Delinquency is viewed as the product of group influences through which individuals learn, by way of interaction in intimate personal groups, the skills and the rationalizations supportive of misconduct. A central finding in much delinquency research is that the possession of delinquent friends is a factor strongly predisposing youth to participation in delinquent activity. While association with delinquent friends affects delinquency for both males and females, females are consistently more strongly predisposed toward a variety of delinquent acts than are males. Belief in the law reduces involvement in status and criminal offenses for both males and females. Males are more subject to and affected by formal social controls (law, police, courts) while females are more subject to and influenced by informal social controls (family, peers). While for girls the relationship between school performance and all types of delinquency is nonexistent, for boys, lower levels of academic performance prefigure both status and criminal offenses. There is no direct causal relationship between socioeconomic status and delinquent behavior. Age is a significant predictor of status offenses for both sexes. Tables, endnotes