NCJ Number
124878
Date Published
Unknown
Length
97 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a theory of deviant behavior which organizes the results of research on risk factors for delinquency and adolescent substance use into hypotheses regarding the prevention of deviant behavior and the maintenance of conforming behavior.
Abstract
Following a review of the literature on causes and correlates of delinquency and adolescent substance use, a social development model is presented which hypothesizes that prevention programs designed to address key risk factors in naturally occurring causal processes will increase the strength of factors promoting prosocial outcomes, decrease the strength of factors promoting antisocial outcomes, and decrease rates of targeted antisocial behavior. Intervention points are designated in the model where two conditions are present. First, if a risk factor is amenable to change, it may be targeted for intervention. Second, an intervention is designed where a particular intervention has previously demonstrated some effectiveness in reducing the risk factor or increasing the preventive potential of a protective factor specified in the model. The model identifies developmental periods at which specific risk factors may influence behavior (preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school periods). The model hypothesizes that a social bond consisting of attachment to conventional others, commitment to conventional lines of action, and belief in the conventional moral order inhibits the initiation of drug use and delinquency. 300 references, 5 figures.