Browsing by Subject "Juvenile delinquency--Psychological aspects"
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Item Gender differences in delinquency and health risk behaviors: a test of general strain theory(2007-12) Francis, Kimberly Anne, 1971-; Stafford, Mark C.Gender is the strongest and most consistent correlate of crime and delinquency, but the reason is unclear and traditionally understudied in criminology. The current study tests the ability of a general theory of crime and deviance, general strain theory (GST), to explain gender differences in responses to strain. Preliminary research suggests that while girls and boys share many of the same types of strain, they also are exposed to qualitatively different types of strain and experience different types of negative emotions that may lead to gendered patterns of behavioral problems. Moreover, girls are thought to have fewer internal coping resources with which to cope. Using a sample of 1,915 adolescents from Wave 2 of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods: Longitudinal Cohort Study (1994-2001), I assess the effects of exposure to violence, sexual victimization, loss of close others, school strain, and fear of victimization on a range of behavioral outcomes including aggressive delinquency, running away, minor theft, substance use, suicidal behavior, and high risk sexual behavior. I also examine the extent to which these effects are mediated by anger, and the conditioning effects of depression and self-efficacy. Results indicate that girls are more exposed to sexual victimization, loss of close others, and fear of victmization, and boys are more exposed to general violence and school strain. However, girls and boys are equally vulnerable to exposure to violence and loss of close others, but respond in gendered ways. Depression and self-efficacy play important roles in explaining the nature of girls' problem behaviors: depression amplifies the effects of exposure to violence, sexual victimization, and loss of close others on running away and suicidality, while reducing the effect of anger on aggressive delinquency. Self-efficacy reduces the effects of exposure to violence and loss of close others on most outcomes, as well as the effect of depression on running away. This research advances the effort to explain how gender influences the complex relationships among strain, negative emotion, selfefficacy, and problematic coping behaviors, and makes a broad contribution to both criminology and the sociology of mental health.Item Interrupting the cycle of violence : identifying gender-specific pathways from childhood maltreatment to juvenile delinquency in a national sample of youth involved in the child welfare system(2008-08) Bender, Kimberly; Thompson, Sanna J.; Springer, David W.Youth who experience maltreatment are at increased risk for delinquent behavior. This pattern in which youth victims become offenders has been termed the Cycle of Violence. This study identifies intervening factors that explain how maltreatment leads to delinquency in order to highlight methods for interrupting the Cycle of Violence. A first primary objective of this study is to determine whether more severe maltreatment leads to more severe delinquency among youth involved in the child welfare system. Next, the study investigates what factors explain the relationship between maltreatment and delinquency, examining mental health, substance use, and school disengagement as potential intervening factors. Finally, this research tests whether pathways from maltreatment to delinquency differ by gender. The study sample is drawn from three waves of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) [1999-2003]. This national sample included 1179 youth (age 11-15 at baseline) who were involved in the child welfare system. Data were analyzed using Latent Growth Modeling (LGM). Findings indicate youth who were more severely maltreated had higher levels of initial delinquency and more stable delinquency over time. Sexually abused youth were no more or less likely to report delinquent behavior than youth who experienced other forms of maltreatment, and gender did not affect delinquency patterns. Among the intervening factors, mental health and school disengagement significantly mediated the maltreatment-delinquency relationship. These findings indicate that youth who were more severely maltreated reported more mental health problems (depression and PTSD) and more school disengagement. These problems resulted in youths’ increased risk for delinquent behavior. Substance use did not mediate the maltreatment-delinquency relationship. Substance use was, however, a strong predictor of delinquency among all youth involved in the child welfare system regardless of the level of maltreatment experienced. It is noteworthy that gender did not moderate the relationship between maltreatment and delinquency or any of the mediating effects. Results indicate a need for improved screening and intervention in child welfare to prevent youths’ delinquent behavior and strongly indicate the need for improved cross-system collaboration to bridge services systems.