NCJ Number
107606
Journal
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1987) Pages: 47-65
Date Published
1987
Length
19 pages
Annotation
A normal sample of 199 male juveniles aged 15 to 18 were studied to determine the relationship of age of onset of delinquency to subsequent delinquent behavior, and a multivariate model of psychosocial variables was tested to assess its ability to predict delinquency.
Abstract
Subjects indicated the age at which they first committed nine acts taken from a general behavioral deviance scale (minor offenses). They were also asked to report the number of times in the last year they had committed each act. Data were also obtained on individual functioning, school functioning, family functioning, and demographic characteristics. Subjects reporting the onset of delinquency at an early age were more likely to report more delinquent behavior, to be adjudicated, and to show different delinquency patterns. Late onset of delinquency was more suggestive of transient and minor delinquency. Age of onset of delinquency was reliably differentiated by a combination of individual, school, family, and demographic variables. 5 tables, 2 figures, and 32 references.