Examining the Decline in Gender-Specific Youth Offending Since the 1990s: A Decomposition Analysis of Two Cohorts

Abstract

This study compares gender-specific offending in two cohorts from different historical eras (early 1990s vs. late 2010s). Using KBO decomposition analysis with MTF 12th-grade data (N = 17,102), the study analyzes changes in social bonds, routine activities, and motivation for crime across genders, assessing their associations with reductions in gender-specific offending. Results suggest consistent behavioral changes across genders. The declines in unstructured socializing and alcohol use are the two most important characteristic changes contributing to the reductions in both male and female offending, but their effect sizes vary across genders. Moreover, the decomposition results underscore that effect changes across cohorts also matter in understanding the gender-specific crime decline, an aspect often overlooked in prior crime trend literature.

Keywords

social change gender and crime decomposition analysis youth crime unstructured socializing

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