NCJ Number
178183
Journal
Adolescence Volume: 34 Issue: 133 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 33-46
Date Published
1999
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Seventy-two male adolescents and 91 female adolescents completed a 23-item self-report instrument that measured antisocial behaviors; the research aimed to determine whether antisocial behavior is multidimensional and whether the factor structure differs for males and females.
Abstract
The participants attended a metropolitan middle school. The youths were asked whether they had ever engaged in particular antisocial behaviors and how many times they had done so in the last year. The results were analyzed separately for males and females, using a t test and exploratory factor analysis. Antisocial behavior was multidimensional and had different factor structures for males and females. Males were more likely than females to have ever taken less than $25, beaten up someone because they were angry at them, snatched a purse or wallet, broken into a place for fun, and been picked up by the police. Females were more likely than males to have ever cut classes and been drunk in a public place. In addition, three factors accounted for 43.9 percent to 53.5 percent of the variance in total antisocial behavior, as well as two-thirds of the variance accounted for by the five to seven factors of other analyses. These three factors involved drugs/alcohol and violent behaviors. Further research is recommended on several issues. Tables and 22 references (Author abstract modified)