NCJ Number
208871
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2005 Pages: 39-66
Date Published
January 2005
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study examined risk factors for different patterns of delinquent behavior over the life course.
Abstract
The identification of risk factors that predispose youth to later delinquent behavior is important in order to accurately target interventions at those most likely to become delinquent members of society. Despite volumes of research on the topic, holes still exist in the understanding of the mechanisms involved with antisocial behaviors. The current study drew on data from a prospective longitudinal study to identify the risk factors involved in four life course patterns: (1) episodic juvenile delinquency; (2) continued juvenile delinquency up to adulthood; (3) late start of delinquency in early adulthood; and (4) no delinquency throughout adolescence and young adulthood. The data were drawn from a longitudinal study carried out between 1977 and 1996 of 1,444 children born in 1970 in southern Germany. The current study analyzed a smaller cohort of 321 8-year old students who were followed up at the ages of 13, 18, and 25 years. Data consisted of parent questionnaires and interviews, as well as student completed questionnaires beginning at age 13 years. Among the variables assessed were individual, psychosocial, and environmental risk factors, as well as officially recorded and self-reported criminal or delinquent behaviors. Results indicated a similar biographical background for students experiencing episodic and late-onset delinquency in terms of social class, educational attainment, and absence of specific developmental disorders in adolescents. The most relevant determinant of episodic juvenile delinquency was the psychosocial burdens encountered by the students in their environments; none of the individual risk factors were found to contribute to delinquency. Adverse family conditions significantly increased the risk of delinquency in both early-onset groups. For both continued and late-onset groups, risk factors in adolescence were more salient in predicting later outcomes than were risk factors in childhood. Tables, figures, references