NCJ Number
153878
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1995) Pages: 377-399
Date Published
1995
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship of previously determined predictors of general delinquency to violent behavior in black and white adolescent males.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 925 black students and 267 white students from four inner-city schools. The variables considered here included family structure, family relationship variables (cohesion, conflict, expressiveness, religious emphasis, communication with parents, and adult support), individual variables (self-esteem, depression, school achievement, and leisure activities). The results of hierarchical regressional analysis showed that predictors of general delinquent behavior were also predictors of violent behavior for both black and white teenaged males. However, for white males, 58 percent of the variance in violent behavior was accounted for by variables in the full model, compared to only 39 percent for the black males. Conflict was the best family variable predictor for black violent behavior, while both conflict and religious emphasis were significant for whites. The most reliable individual predictor variable for both whites and blacks was the amount of time spent in leisure activity with peers. 6 tables and 52 references