NCJ Number
222611
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 179-203
Date Published
June 2008
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study grouped the socio-psychological and personality profiles (taxonomy) identified in two large samples of delinquent youth, comparing the groupings with those identified by Moffitt (1993), Lukken (1995), and Mealey (1995).
Abstract
The seven clusters identified are "internalizing youth A" (withdrawn, abused, and rejected); "socially deprived" (social deprivation and inadequate socialization); "low-control" (high impulsivity, low empathy, aggression, and low remorse); "normal" (accidental, situational delinquent behavior); "internalizing youth B" (internalizing pattern similar to "A" group, but with stronger negative cognitive attributions, mistrust, and hostile aggression); "low-control B" (early onset, versatile offenders with multiple risk factors); and "normative delinquency" (relatively normal social and economic advantages but antisocial behaviors related to drugs, sex, and peer-group associations). Although Moffitt's two main categories of delinquents are evident, several additional stable subtypes emerged that closely resemble Lykken's sociopathic neurotic-internalizing and "normal" types; however, boundaries between delinquent types were not precise and were unstable, and many unclassified cases existed. The first sample consisted of juvenile offenders (n=1,572) from 3 State systems. Multiple cluster analysis methods were applied (Ward's method, standard K-means, bootstrapped K-means, and a semisupervised pattern recognition technique). Core or exemplar cases were identified with a voting procedure. Internal validation was assessed by cross-method verification. External validation assessed type differentiation on several delinquent behaviors. Generalizability was assessed by repeating the clustering on a large replication sample (n=1,453) from another State. 4 tables, 1 figure, 75 references, and appended study instrument and equations