Three alternative theories of the continuity of delinquent behavior throughout childhood and into adolescence were evaluated with a series of nested structural equation models in a sample of 840 middle adolescents. Longitudinal analyses revealed that childhood behavior problems were related directly and indirectly (through age-graded social control variables) to adolescent delinquency among boys. Childhood behavior problems had unmediated effects on girls' major delinquency but were only indirectly related to girls' minor delinquency.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Akers, R. L. (1994). Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation. Los Angeles: Roxbury.
2.
Arneklev, B. J. , Grasmick, H. G., Tittle, C. R., & Bursik, R. J., Jr. (1993). Low self-control and imprudent behavior. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 9(3), 225-247.
3.
Belknap, J. (1996). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
4.
Brewin, C. R. , Andrews, B., & Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience: A reappraisal of retrospective reports. Psychological Bulletin, 113(1), 82-98.
5.
Broidy, L. , & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34(3), 275-306.
6.
Burton, V. S., Jr. , Cullen, F. T., Evans, T. D., Alarid, L. F., & Dunaway, R. G. (1998). Gender, self-control, and crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35(2), 123-147.
7.
Canter, R. J. (1982a). Family correlates of male and female delinquency. Criminology, 20(2), 149-167.
8.
Canter, R. J. (1982b). Sex differences in self-report delinquency. Criminology, 20(3,4), 373-393.
9.
Caspi, A. , & Moffitt, T. E. (1992). The continuity of maladaptive behavior: From description to understanding in the study of antisocial behavior. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Manual of developmental psychopathology (pp. 472-511). New York: Wiley.
10.
Cernkovich, S. A. , & Giordano, P. C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25(2), 295-321.
11.
Chesney-Lind, M. (1989). Girl's crime and woman's place: Toward a feminist model of female delinquency. Crime and Delinquency, 35, 5-29.
12.
Chesney-Lind, M. , & Shelden, R. G. (1992). Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
13.
Daly, K. , & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5, 497-538.
14.
Datesman, S. , & Scarpitti, F. (1975). Female delinquency: An application of self and opportunity theories. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 12, 107-123.
15.
Elder, G. H., Jr. (1985). Perspectives on the life-course. In G. H. Elder Jr. (Ed.), Life-course dynamics (pp. 23-49). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
16.
Elliott, D. , Huizinga, D., & Menard, S. (1989). Multiple problem youth: Delinquency, substance use, and mental health problems. New York: Springer-Verlag.
17.
Eme, R. F. (1992). Selective female affliction in the developmental disorders of childhood: A literature review. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21(4), 354-364.
18.
Eme, R. F. , & Kavanaugh, L. (1995). Sex differences in conduct disorder. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24(4), 406-426.
19.
Eron, L. D. (1987). The development of aggressive behavior from the perspective of a developing behaviorism. American Psychologist, 42, 435-442.
20.
Evans, T. D. , Cullen, F. T., Burton, V. S., Dunaway, R. G., & Benson, M. L. (1997). The social consequences of self-control: Testing the general theory of crime. Criminology, 35(3), 475-501.
21.
Fergusson, D. M. , & Horwood, L. J. (1996). The role of adolescent peer affiliations in the continuity between childhood behavioral adjustment and juvenile offending. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24(2), 205-221.
22.
Gibbs, J. J. , & Giever, D. (1995). Self-control and its manifestations among university students: An empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory. Justice Quarterly, 12(3), 231-255.
23.
Gibbs, J. J. , Giever, D., & Martin, J. S. (1998). Parental management and self-control: An empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35(1), 40-70.
24.
Giordano, P. C. , Cernkovich, S. A., & Pugh, M. D. (1986). Friendships and delinquency. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 1170-1202.
25.
Gottfredson, M. R. , & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
26.
Grasmick, H. G. , Tittle, C. R., Bursik, R. J., Jr., & Arneklev, B. J. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(1), 5-29.
27.
Hagan, J. , Gillis, A. R., & Simpson, J. (1985). The class structure of gender and delinquency: Toward a power-control theory of common delinquent behavior. American Journal of Sociology, 90(6), 1151-1178.
28.
Hagan, J. , Simpson, J., & Gillis, A. R. (1987). Class in the household: A power-control theory of gender and delinquency. American Journal of Sociology, 92(4), 788-816.
29.
Hawdon, J. E. (1996). Deviant lifestyles: The social control of daily routines. Youth and Society, 28(2), 162-188.
30.
Hawdon, J. E. (1999). Daily routines and crime: Using routine activities as measures of Hirschi's involvement. Youth and Society, 30(4), 395-415.
31.
Heimer, K. (1996). Gender, interaction, and delinquency: Testing a theory of differential social control. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59(1), 39-61.
32.
Heimer, K. , & DeCoster, S. (1999). The gendering of violent delinquency. Criminology, 37(2), 277-317.
33.
Hill, G. D. , & Atkinson, M. P. (1988). Gender, familial control, and delinquency. Criminology, 26(1), 127-147.
34.
Hindelang, M. (1971). Age, sex, and versatility of delinquent involvement. Social Problems, 18(4), 522-535.
35.
Hindelang, M. (1973). Causes of delinquency: A partial replication and extension. Social Problems, 21, 471-487.
36.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
37.
Hirschi, T. , & Gottfredson, M. R. (1995). Control theory and the life-course perspective. Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 4, 131-142.
38.
Huesmann, L. R. , Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120-1134.
39.
Johnson, R. (1979). Juvenile delinquency and its origins. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
40.
Keane, C. , Maxim, P. S., & Teevan, J. J. (1993). Drinking and driving, self-control, and gender: Testing a general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(1), 30-46.
41.
Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.
42.
Krohn, M. D. , & Massey, J. L. (1980). Social control and delinquent behavior: An examination of the elements of the social bond. Sociological Quarterly, 21, 529-543.
43.
Kruttschnitt, C. (1996). Contributions of quantitative methods to the study of gender and crime, or bootstrapping our way into the theoretical thicket. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 12(2), 135-161.
44.
LaGrange, T. C. , & Silverman, R. A. (1999). Low self-control and opportunity: Testing the general theory of crime as an explanation for gender differences in delinquency. Criminology, 37(1), 41-72.
45.
Laub, J. H. , & Sampson, R. J. (1993). Turning points in the life-course: Why change matters to the study of crime. Criminology, 31(3), 301-325.
46.
Lerner, R. M. , & Galambos, N. L. (1998). Adolescent development: Challenges and opportunities for research, programs, and policies. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 413-446.
47.
Little, R.J.A. , & Rubin, D. B. (1987). Statistical analysis with missing data. New York: Wiley.
48.
Liu, X. , & Kaplan, H. B. (1999). Explaining the gender difference in adolescent delinquent behavior: A longitudinal test of mediating mechanisms. Criminology, 37(1), 195-215.
49.
Loeber, R. (1982). The stability of antisocial child behavior: A review. Child Development, 53, 1431-1446.
50.
Loeber, R. , & LeBlanc, M. (1990). Toward a developmental criminology. In M. Tonry and N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 12, pp. 375-473). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
51.
Longshore, D. (1998). Self-control and criminal opportunity: A prospective test of the general theory of crime. Social Problems, 45(1), 102-113.
52.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescent-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.
53.
Morash, M. (1986). Gender, peer group experiences, and seriousness of delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 23, 43-67.
54.
Morash, M. , & Chesney-Lind, M. (1991). Are-formulation and patriarchal test of the power control theory of delinquency. Justice Quarterly, 8, 347-378.
55.
Muthen, L. K. , & Muthen, B. O. (1998). Mplus: The comprehensive modeling program for applied researchers. Los Angeles: Muthen & Muthen.
56.
Nagin, D. S. , & Paternoster, R. (1991). On the relationship of past to furture participation in delinquency. Criminology, 29(2), 163-189.
57.
Nye, F. I. (1958). Family relationships and delinquent behavior. New York: Wiley.
58.
Olweus, D. (1979). Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 852-875.
59.
Pajer, K. A. (1998). What happens to “bad” girls? A review of the adult outcomes of antisocial adolescent girls. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(7), 862-870.
60.
Paternoster, R. , & Brame, R. (1998). The structural similarity of processes generating criminal and analogous behaviors. Criminology, 36(3), 633-669.
61.
Paternoster, R. , Dean, C. W., Piquero, A., Mazerolle, P., & Brame, R. (1997). Generality, continuity, and change in offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 13(3), 231-266.
62.
Patterson, G. R. , DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A developmental perspective on anti-social behavior. American Psychologist, 44(2), 329-335.
63.
Polakowski, M. (1994). Linking self and social control with deviance: Illuminating the structure underlying a general theory of crime and its relation to deviant activity. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 10(1), 41-78.
64.
Procidano, M. E. , & Heller, K. (1983). Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: Three validational studies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 1-24.
65.
Sampson, R. J. , & Laub, J. H. (1992). Crime and deviance in the life-course. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 63-84.
66.
Sampson, R. J. , & Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
67.
Sampson, R. J. , & Laub, J. H. (1994). Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: A new look at structure and process in a classic study. Child Development, 65, 523-540.
68.
Sampson, R. J. , & Laub, J. H. (1997). A life-course theory of cumulative disadvantage and the stability of delinquency. In T. P. Thornberry (Ed.), Developmental theories of crime and delinquency (Vol. 7, pp. 133-161). New Brunswick, NJ: Transactions Publishers.
69.
Simons, R. L. , Johnson, C., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G., Jr. (1998). A test of latent trait versus life-course perspectives on the stability of adolescent antisocial behavior. Criminology, 36(2), 217-241.
70.
Simons, R. L. , Miller, M. G., & Aigner, S. M. (1980). Contemporary theories of deviance and female delinquency: An empirical test. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 17, 42-53.
71.
Singer, S. I. , & Levine, M. (1988). Power-control theory, gender, and delinquency: A partial replication with additional evidence on the effects of peers. Criminology, 26(4), 627-647.
72.
Smith, D. A. , & Paternoster, R. (1987). The gender gap in theories of deviance: Issues and evidence. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 24(2), 140-172.
73.
Warr, M. (1998). Life-course transitions and desistance from crime. Criminology, 36(2), 183-216.
74.
White, J. L. , Moffitt, T. E., Earls, F., Robins, L., & Silva, P.A. (1990). How early can we tell? Predictors of childhood conduct disorder and adolescent delinquency. Criminology, 28(4), 507-533.
75.
Windle, M. (1992). An alcohol involvement typology for adolescents: Convergent validity and longitudinal stability. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 57, 627-637.
76.
Windle, M. (1993). A retrospective measure of childhood behavior problems and its use in predicting adolescent problem behaviors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 54, 422-431.
77.
Windle, M. , & Miller-Tutzauer, C. (1992). Confirmatory factor analyses and concurrent validity of the perceived social support-family measure among adolescents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 777-787.
