A single common factor underlies variation in delinquent acts; thus, by statistical criteria, they appear “unitary.” We extended the analysis of single-factoredness from delinquency itself to explanatory variables associated with delinquency (e.g., parental affection, personality traits, school involvement). Three factors were extracted from 15 explanatory variables. All three factors were statistically associated with delinquency, but the first factor extracted dominated in terms of variance explained (21.6% vs. 1.6% and 3.4%, respectively). This first factor had loadings from variables in conceptually diverse domains (e.g., family and peer relations, school success, and personality). A question for delinquency theory is why diverse explanatory variables load primarily on one factor, if theories postulate multiple and complex social and individual influences.
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