Male and Female Delinquents' Attachments and Effects of Attachments on Severity of Self-Reported Delinquency

• NCJ Number: 180013
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 435-452
• Author(s): Bobbi J. Anderson; Malcolm D. Holmes; Erik Ostresh
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examines the differences in boys' and girls' level of attachment to parents, peers and school and the effects of the various attachments on the severity of boys' and girls' self-reported delinquency.

Abstract

The study used a survey of adolescent boys and girls incarcerated in the Wyoming Boys' and Girls' Schools. There were no differences in boys' and girls' levels of attachment. However, gender differences in the effects of the various attachments on severity of delinquency were found. Attachment to parents reduced the severity of boys' delinquency, whereas attachment to peers and school reduced the severity of girls' delinquency. On average, boys reported more delinquency, a finding that persisted even after the interaction terms for gender were added to the statistical model. Future research should focus particularly on gender differences in the psychological needs that are met by different attachments and how their fulfillment inhibits delinquency. Gender-specific causal models also are needed to examine the background factors that produce attachments and delinquency among boys and girls. Tables, appendix, notes, references