The impact of romantic relationships in adulthood, specifically marriage, has received consistent attention in existing scholarship. However, the impact of romantic relationships during adolescence has received much less attention. As such, the current study uses two waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance study to examine how elements of…

The risk of delinquent to antisocial behaviors among youth (teenagers) seem to be more prevalent in group homes than other foster homes. The aim of this study was to examine the association between negative peer influence and youth antisocial behaviors in group homes. Participants were 875 youth aged 10 to 17 at baseline (2010-2011). Logistic…

The onset of behavioral problems in early childhood is associated with an increased frequency of delinquent behavior. A significant amount of youth in the juvenile justice system have histories of mental illness and psychological distress. However, little is known about what factors mediate the relationship between early onset behavioral problems…

This study examined how early adolescents' risk taking propensity and urban stress were linked to their affiliation with risky peers. Participants (n = 297; [X-bar] age = 10.48 years [SD = 0.93 years]; 54% male; 58% Black/African American) completed a brief laboratory-based behavioral risk taking task. They also completed self-report measures of…

The current study explored early adolescent child-level predictors (physical aggression, impulsivity, empathy) and contextual-level predictors (peer deviance, neighborhood dangerousness) of violent and nonviolent antisocial behavior (AB) in late adolescence. Additionally, we tested the moderating role of rejecting parenting on these associations…

Adolescent bullying is a concern for adolescents, parents, teachers, school officials, and the general public. The purpose of the study is to apply Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems perspective and explore factors that are correlated with bullying perpetration and victimization among 638 urban African American adolescents in Chicago's Southside.…

Although school violence is on the decline, it remains a significant concern for the general public, policymakers, and researchers. This report commissioned by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) takes a comprehensive look at the state of the research on school violence and includes additional discussions about research on serious violence and…

Criminologists have long noted that offenders are more likely to be the victims of crime as compared to nonoffenders. What has not been established, however, is "why" there is a significant degree of victim-offender overlap. While numerous explanations have been advanced and a significant number of studies have been conducted, there…

Research has supported the existence of distinct behavioral patterns, demographic correlates, and etiologic mechanisms for aggressive (AGG) versus nonaggressive but delinquent (DEL) antisocial behavior. Though behavioral genetic studies have the potential to further crystallize these dimensions, inconsistent results have limited their…

Although boys engage in more delinquent and criminal acts than do girls, female delinquency is on the rise. In 1980, boys were four times as likely as girls to be arrested; today they are only twice as likely to be arrested. In this article, the author explores how the juvenile justice system is and should be responding to the adolescent female…

The current study extended previous research with adults and boys to girls in the juvenile justice system (N = 122; M = 16.7; SD = 1.3). Using a longitudinal research design, neighborhood disadvantage and exposure to violence (i.e., physical abuse by parents, physical abuse by peers, and witnessing violence) were assessed during incarceration.…

School suspensions are commonly used in schools to address challenging student behaviours, often on the understanding that suspensions send a clear message to the school community about what is acceptable behaviour. However, there is a growing body of evidence that school suspensions have a range of unintended negative consequences including…

In this paper a theoretical framework is presented in an attempt to find an answer to the question of why some juveniles display sexually abusive behaviour and others do not. Until recently, this question has been approached mainly in terms of the presence of psychiatric illness, deviant sexual interests and/or impaired psychosocial development.…

The results of this study suggest that the impact of the family on delinquency varies directly with the quality of the environment. (Author)

Suggests that what we are seeing in virtually every industrialized country for which there is data is a profound shift in values and institutional attachments that is producing all manner of rebellion. Without unacceptable reductions in personal liberty, we are not likely to reverse the world-wide change in values. (Author/AM)