Effects of self-concept and perceived disapproval of delinquent behavior in school children

It is argued that a multidimensional approach to self-concept may reveal intricate relations between self-concept and delinquent behavior, and that perceived approval of delinquent behaviors from referent groups may be related to the frequency of their occurrence. To evaluate these hypotheses, 1668 students from Grade 7 to Grade 9 responded to a questionnaire that measured their general self-esteem; their self-concept with regard to physical ability, social ability, physical appearance, and academic ability; the frequency they committed 15 delinquent acts; and the perceived approval of committing these acts from their parents, teachers, and friends. Regression analyses indicated that poor academic self-concept and poor relationship with school and parents were related to a higher frequency of delinquent behavior. However, a higher frequency of delinquent behavior was related to a more positive selfconcept with regard to social ability and physical ability. Finally, higher perceived approval from parents and peers was related to more delinquent behavior. Implications of these findings for identifying the antecedents and consequences of delinquent behavior were discussed.Received his Ph.D. from University of Illinois in social, industrial, and organizational psychology. His research interests included cross-cultural psychology, social justice, and the psychology of adolescence.Received his Ph.D. from Purdue University, and his research interests include values, selfconcept, family processes, and the psychology of adolescence.     

Violent Victimization,Aggression, and Parent-Adolescent Relations: Quality Parenting as a Buffer for Violently Victimized Youth

Prospective associations between violent victimization, the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, and the subsequent onset of violent aggression were examined. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), participants were divided into violent and non-violent cohorts based on whether they had committed an act of violence prior to Wave 1. Results showed that violent victimization at Wave 1 predicted the onset of violent aggression at Wave 2 for adolescents who were non-violent at baseline. Earlier violent victimization, however, had no effect on aggression trajectories for baseline violent adolescents. Parent-adolescent relations functioned as a protective buffer, such that violently victimized adolescents who reported high quality relationships with parents were less likely to be involved in violent aggression at Wave 2. Subsequent gender interaction analyses revealed that while the buffering effect was evident for males, parent-adolescent relations did not protect females from the onset of aggressive behaviors. Findings are evaluated in light of social learning and cycle of violence theories that highlight the role of violent victimization among adolescents.

Parental Incarceration and Multiple Risk Experiences: Effects on Family Dynamics and Children’s Delinquency

Children of incarcerated parents are exposed to factors that place them at risk for delinquency. Few studies have examined the effects of having an incarcerated parent after controlling for other experiences such as contextual risk factors and family processes. Past studies have also not examined effects of recent, but not current, parental incarceration on children. The present study examines an archival dataset, in which children aged 10–14 years and their parents/guardians reported children’s risk experiences (e.g., exposure to poverty, parental substance use), family processes (e.g., level of family victimization, family conflict), and children’s delinquent behaviors at two time points. Parents also reported their recent and past incarceration history. Hierarchical linear regression analyses show that a history of parental incarceration predicted family victimization, delinquent behaviors of children’s older siblings, and delinquent behaviors of the child participants, over and above children’s demographic characteristics and other risk experiences. Recent parental incarceration predicted family conflict, family victimization, and parent-reports of children’s delinquency after also controlling for previous parental incarceration. The role of family processes in research and intervention directions involving children of incarcerated parents is discussed.     

The Impact of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Exposure to Violence on Self-Report of Antisocial Behavior Among Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

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. These risk factors were used to predict violent and delinquent behavior post-release. Furthermore, race specific pathways were examined to determine if the impact of these risk factors varied among Black (n = 69) and White girls (n = 53). Results indicated that Black girls were more likely than White girls to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods, but both reported similar levels of exposure to violence and self-report of antisocial behavior. Physical abuse by parents, time at risk, and age were related to violent behavior, while witnessing violence and time at risk were related to delinquent behavior. Multiple group analyses indicated the existence of race specific pathways. Specifically, physical abuse by parents was related to violent behavior for White girls while witnessing violence was related to violent and delinquent behaviors for Black girls. Results suggest that contextual processes play an important role in predicting antisocial behavior for Black girls.

Cultural Orientation as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Chinese American Adolescents’ Discrimination Experiences and Delinquent Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Chinese American adolescents’ discrimination experiences, cultural orientations, and delinquent behaviors. Data were collected from three hundred and eleven Chinese American adolescents (58% girls) and their parents when the adolescents were 7th or 8th graders and again 4 years later. The data analyses demonstrated that adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination and victimization experiences were significantly related to their delinquent behaviors conditionally based upon their cultural orientation. Specifically, adolescents’ high Chinese cultural orientation amplified the negative impact of discriminatory experiences on delinquent behaviors whereas high Western cultural orientation protected them against that impact. The significance of both ethnic and mainstream cultural orientations for understanding ethnic minority adolescents’ adjustment and improving their adjustment outcomes is discussed.     

Social Orientation: Problem Behavior and Motivations Toward Interpersonal Problem Solving Among High Risk Adolescents

A model of problematic adolescent behavior that expands current theories of social skill deficits in delinquent behavior to consider both social skills and orientation toward the use of adaptive skills was examined in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 113 male and female adolescents. Adolescents were selected on the basis of moderate to serious risk for difficulties in social adaptation in order to focus on the population of youth most likely to be targeted by prevention efforts. Structural equation modeling was used to examine cross-sectional data using multiple informants (adolescents, peers, and parents) and multiple methods (performance test and self-report). Adolescent social orientation, as reflected in perceived problem solving effectiveness, identification with adult prosocial values, and self-efficacy expectations, exhibited a direct association to delinquent behavior and an indirect association to drug involvement mediated by demonstrated success in using problem solving skills. Results suggest that the utility of social skill theories of adolescent problem behaviors for informing preventive and remedial interventions can be enhanced by expanding them to consider adolescents' orientation toward using the skills they may already possess.     

An Adolescent Victimization Immigrant Paradox? School-Based Routines, Lifestyles, and Victimization Across Immigration Generations

There is a growing body of research that suggests parallels between assimilation and increased adolescent violence, which is often referred to as the “immigrant paradox” in the United States. Few studies explore how theories, such as routine activity and lifestyle, could explain the relationship between assimilation and increased violence. This study explores whether and how the adolescent associations between routines, lifestyles, and adolescent school-based victimization vary across immigration generations. Data are drawn from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, which is a nationally representative sample of tenth graders. This study focuses on a subsample consisting of 9,870 first (N = 1,170, 12 %), second (N = 1,540, 16 %), and third-plus (N = 1,117, 73 %) generation public school students (N = 5,050; 51 % female) in 580 public schools for this analysis of routine activity, lifestyle, and school-based victimization across immigration generations. Findings do indicate important nuances related to immigration in the conceptual links between routine activity, lifestyle, and adolescent victimization. For instance, engagement in school-based sport activities is a potential risk factor for first and second generation adolescents but is found to be a potential insulating factor against violent victimization for third-plus generation adolescents. The implications of the relationships between routines, lifestyles, and violence across immigration generations are discussed more generally.     

The Tangled Web: Delinquency, Deception, and Parental Attachment

Delinquent youth display weaker attachment to their parents than do other youth, but the reasons for this remain unclear. One explanation is that delinquent youth poison their relations with parents by lying to them about their friends, behavior, whereabouts, and more. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health reveals that lying to parents is an exceptionally strong and robust correlate of delinquent behavior, and is associated with a variety of surreptitious behaviors – late bedtimes, hanging with friends, concealing whereabouts. Lying to parents appears to have a progressively negative impact on the parent-child bond, meaning that the well-established attachment/delinquency association is not solely a parent effect. Youth who lie to their parents do not appear to do so blithely, however. Compared to other youth, they hold themselves in lower regard and are more often depressed. Although parents are often angered by and distrustful of deceitful children, their children's fabrications may say less about their regard for their parents than about the strength of other loyalties.

The social networks,family involvement,and pro- and antisocial behavior of adolescent males in Norway

The focus of this study is on the ecology of pro- and antisocial behavior. The study was conducted in Stavanger, Norway, with a representative sample of ninety-two 16-year-old boys. Data collected included socioeconomic background, neighborhood risk level, amount of time spent with parents and peers, maps of social network relations, self-reports of alcohol use and criminal activity, and school reports of academic performance, truancy, school motivation, and social behavior. Analysis of results produced two models linking background and process with outcome variables: (A) higher neighborhood risk and less time spent by the boys with their parents were linked with greater propensity for self-reported alcohol use and illegal activity, and (B) more educated parents and larger numbers of nonkin adults in the boy's network were related to better school performance, less absenteeism, and more positively evaluated social behavior. Discussion of these findings centers on the neighborhood and family processes involved in social control, and on adult network members in their roles as positive models, norm reinforcers, and sources of information for adolescent boys.College of Human Ecology, MVR Hall. He is trained in psychology and sociology. His current interests are in development in context with particular reference to personal social networks, child care, and family policy.He is trained in youth development. His current interests are in youth culture, including the influences of the social network, schooling and clubs and organizations.     

The Relationship Between Parents’ Intimate Partner Victimization and Youths’ Adolescent Relationship Abuse

Witnessing inter-parental intimate partner violence has been found to be associated with adolescents’ own relationship abuse. This study investigates the relationship between patterns of inter-parental intimate partner verbal and physical violence victimization reported by parents and their children’s reports of dating abuse experiences and behavior. Latent class analysis was performed on a sample of 610 parents (42% male and 67% white) and their dating adolescent children (ages 12–21 years; 52% male). Parents reported five types of victimization by their partners in the past year, while youth concurrently reported their own victimization and perpetration within their dating relationships. Three profiles of parents’ intimate partner victimization were related to youth relationship abuse experiences and behaviors. Children of parents who experienced verbal abuse were more likely to experience similar patterns in their own relationships, whereas children of parents who report physical and verbal abuse were more likely to report psychological, physical and sexual abusive encounters in their partnerships. Findings indicate that parents’ relationship quality and abusive behaviors may have a long lasting effect on their children as they enter mid and late adolescence. Parents should pay attention to their own relationship quality and behavior even as their teen-age children gain independence.     

Depression and suicidal behavior among delinquent females

Depressive symptomatology and suicidal behavior were evaluated in a multiethnic sample of 48 delinquent females through ratings on self-reports and probation officers' reports. Psychological functioning of the subjects was also evaluated through the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, the Rorschach, and the WAIS or WISC-R in order to identify delinquent personality patterns. Four personality patterns were identified: the borderline, the antisocial, the neurotic, and the socialized delinquent personalities. A chi-square analysis of the data demonstrated that level of depression and frequency of suicidal behavior were both significantly related to personality patterns. Level of depression was also significantly related to ethnicity, but not to socioeconomic status. The results have implications for assessment and treatment of delinquent females and also raise issues concerning the interaction of personality, cultural factors, and delinquent behavior which should be addressed in future research with larger, socioculturally diverse samples.This research is based on the author's doctoral dissertation and was supported by a Pre-Doctoral National Research Service Fellowship award from the National Institute of Mental Health.Received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980. Major interest is adolescent psychopathology and delinquency.     

Delinquent behaviors and male adolescent development: A preliminary study

Commonly identified developmental tasks of male adolescence were examined for their relationship to delinquent behavior during adolescence among a general sample of 11-to 18-year-old males (N=337). Evaluations of the prevalence and mean level of delinquent acts across the age groups confirms previous suggestions that delinquent behavior follows the adolescent years quite closely. Measures of three primary developmental domains—family relations, social relations, and educational/vocational orientations—were taken and correlated with delinquent behavior across three substages of adolescence. The patterns of correlations suggest there is support for the view that a substantial portion of delinquent behavior is tied to struggles with adolescent development tasks.This work was conducted while the author was a Clinical Research Training Fellow in Adolescence (funded by T32 MH 14668) at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, in a program also sponsored by the Departments of Behavioral Science and Psychiatry, University of Chicago and the Adolescent Program of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute. It is based, in part, on a presentation made at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August 1985.Dr. Tolan received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1983. Primary research interests are delinquency, prevention, and families.     

Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use

The impact of bullying in all forms on the mental health and safety of adolescents is of particular interest, especially in the wake of new methods of bullying that victimize youths through technology. The current study examined the relationship between victimization from both physical and cyber bullying and adolescent suicidal behavior. Violent behavior, substance use, and unsafe sexual behavior were tested as mediators between two forms of bullying, cyber and physical, and suicidal behavior. Data were taken from a large risk-behavior screening study with a sample of 4,693 public high school students (mean age = 16.11, 47 % female). The study’s findings showed that both physical bullying and cyber bullying associated with substance use, violent behavior, unsafe sexual behavior, and suicidal behavior. Substance use, violent behavior, and unsafe sexual behavior also all associated with suicidal behavior. Substance use and violent behavior partially mediated the relationship between both forms of bullying and suicidal behavior. The comparable amount of variance in suicidal behavior accounted for by both cyber bullying and physical bullying underscores the important of further cyber bullying research. The direct association of each risk behavior with suicidal behavior also underscores the importance of reducing risk behaviors. Moreover, the role of violence and substance use as mediating behaviors offers an explanation of how risk behaviors can increase an adolescent’s likelihood of suicidal behavior through habituation to physical pain and psychological anxiety.     

Delinquent Behavior of Dutch Rural Adolescents

This article compares Dutch rural and non-rural adolescents’ delinquent behavior and examines two social correlates of rural delinquency: communal social control and traditional rural culture. The analyses are based on cross-sectional data, containing 3,797 participants aged 13–18 (48.7% females). The analyses show that rural adolescents are only slightly less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Furthermore, while rural adolescents are exposed more often to communal social control, this does not substantially reduce the likelihood that they engage in delinquent behavior. Concerning rural culture, marked differences appeared between rural and non-rural adolescents. First, alcohol use and the frequency of visiting pubs were more related to rural adolescents’ engagement in delinquent behavior. Second, the gender gap in delinquency is larger among rural adolescents: whereas rural boys did not differ significantly from non-rural boys, rural girls were significantly less likely to engage in delinquent behavior than non-rural girls. However, the magnitude of the effects of most indicators was rather low. To better account for the variety of rural spaces and cultures, it is recommended that future research into antisocial and criminal behavior of rural adolescents should adopt alternative measurements of rurality, instead of using an indicator of population density only.     

Effects of Student Participation and Teacher Support on Victimization in Israeli Schools: An Examination of Gender,Culture, and School Type

Much of the research literature on school violence has focused narrowly on individual characteristics of troubled youth, without careful examination of contextual factors that might influence violence and victimization in school settings. This study examines the associations among Student Participation in Decision-Making in their Schools, Teacher Support, and Student Victimization (by students and staff members) in a nationally representative sample of 10,254 students in 164 junior high and high schools in Israel. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling for full group analyses and for group comparisons of patterns among junior high, high school, male, female, and Jewish and Arab students. Across all models, higher levels of teacher support were associated with lower rates of victimization. Participation in Decision-Making was also related to Victimization, with varying patterns depending on students' gender and ethnicity. Theoretical and social cultural factors contributing to these gender and cultural differences are discussed. The general findings are consistent with the research literature on teacher support, however they raise future research questions about culture and gender effects when considering participation and school contexts. Presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, July 31st, 2004 Honolulu, Hawaii. Roxana Marachi is an Assistant Professor of Education at San José State University. She received her Ph.D.in Education and Psychology in 2003 from the University of Michigan. Her major research interests include school climate, learning environments, social behavior in schools, and the prevention of school violence Ron Avi Astor is Professor of Social Work and Education at the University of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. in School Psychology and Human Development from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. His major research interests include school violence, moral reasoning about family and school violence, violence interventions, and student empowerment methods using mapping and monitoring methods Rami Benbenishty is a Gordon Brown Professor of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He received his Ph.D. in Social Work and Psychology in 1981 from the University of Michigan. His major research interests include child welfare, student victimization, and clinical judgment and decision making     

Links Between Adolescents’ Expected Parental Reactions and Prosocial Behavioral Tendencies: The Mediating Role of Prosocial Values

The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between adolescents’ social cognitions regarding parenting practices and adolescents’ prosocial behavioral tendencies. A mediation model was tested whereby the degree to which adolescents perceived their parents as responding appropriately to their prosocial and antisocial behaviors was hypothesized to predict adolescents’ tendencies toward prosocial behavior indirectly by way of adolescents’ prosocial values. Adolescents (N = 140; M age = 16.76 years, SD = .80; 64% girls; 91% European Americans) completed measures of prosocial values and of the appropriateness with which they expected their parents to react to their prosocial and antisocial behaviors. In addition, teachers and parents rated the adolescents’ tendencies for prosocial behaviors. A structural equation model test showed that the degree to which adolescents expected their parents to respond appropriately to their prosocial behaviors was related positively to their prosocial values, which in turn was positively associated with their tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors (as reported by parents and teachers). The findings provide evidence for the central role of adolescents’ evaluations and expectancies of parental behaviors and of the role of values in predicting prosocial tendencies. Discussion focuses on the implications for moral socialization theories and on the practical implications of these findings in understanding adolescents’ prosocial development.     

Examining the Influence of Family Environments on Youth Violence: A Comparison of Mexican,Puerto Rican,Cuban, Non-Latino Black,and Non-Latino White Adolescents

Existing research rarely considers important ethnic subgroup variations in violent behaviors among Latino youth. Thus, their risk for severe violent behaviors is not well understood in light of the immense ethnic and generational diversity of the Latino population in the United States. Grounded in social control theory and cultural analyses of familism, we examine differences in the risk for severe youth violence, as well its associations with family cohesion, parental engagement, adolescent autonomy, household composition, and immigrant generation among Mexican (n = 1,594), Puerto Rican (n = 586), Cuban (n = 488), and non-Latino Black (n = 4,053), and White (n = 9,921) adolescents with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results indicate a gradient of risk; White youth had the lowest risk for severe violence and Puerto Rican youth had the highest risk compared to all other racial/ethnic subgroups. Within-group analysis indicates that family factors are not universally protective or risk-inducing. While family cohesion decreased the risk of severe violence among all groups, parental engagement was associated with increased risk among Blacks and Whites, and adolescent autonomy was associated with increased risk among Puerto Ricans and Cubans. In addition, Cuban and White adolescents who lived in single parent households or who did not live with their parents, had higher risk for severe violent behaviors than their counterparts who lived in two parent households. Among Latinos, the association of immigrant generation was in opposite directions among Mexicans and Cubans. We conclude that family and immigration factors differentially influence risk for violence among Latino subgroups and highlight the significance of examining subgroup differences and developing intervention strategies that are tailored to the needs of each ethnic subgroup.     

Longitudinal Associations of Electronic Aggression and Victimization with Social Standing During Adolescence

Prior empirical work has documented that the dynamics of social standing can play a critical role in the perpetration and receipt of aggression during adolescence. Recently, investigators have emphasized the emergence of new, electronic modalities for aggressive acts. Our longitudinal project therefore considered electronic forms of aggression and victimization as correlates of social standing. We recruited 415 ninth grade students (53 % female) from a high school in Southern California. In the spring of two consecutive school years, participants completed peer nominations assessing their social standing, aggression, and victimization. More popular youths were concurrently more electronically aggressive and victimized than their peers. Popularity also was associated with increases in electronic aggression over time. In turn, electronic aggression was related to increases in popularity for girls and decreases for boys. We additionally found concurrent, positive associations between social acceptance and electronic forms of aggression and victimization, although these effects held only at the first time point. Among adolescent males, social acceptance also was related to increases in electronic victimization over time. Overall, our results suggest that adolescents may rely on electronic aggression to establish and maintain a privileged position in their peer hierarchy. Our results additionally highlight that popular and accepted youths, who likely possess a large, digitally-connected social network, may be at increased risk for electronic victimization.     

Adolescents’ Information Management: Comparing Ideas About Why Adolescents Disclose to or Keep Secrets from Their Parents

Recognizing that adolescents providing or withholding information about their activities is a strong predictor of parental knowledge, this article compares several ideas about what prompts adolescents to disclose information or keep secrets from their parents. Using a sample of 874 Northern European adolescents (aged 12–16 years; 49.8 % were girls), modified cross-lagged models examined parental monitoring (solicitation and monitoring rules), adolescent delinquency, and perceived parental support as predictors and consequences of adolescents disclosing to parents or keeping secrets, with adolescents’ acceptance of parental authority as a moderator. Results suggest that, when adolescents view their parents as supportive, they subsequently disclose more and keep fewer secrets. Engaging in delinquent behavior was related reciprocally to keeping secrets. By comparison, the results generally did not support the idea that adolescents who are monitored provide information to parents, even when they accept parental authority. These results suggest that relationship dynamics and adolescents’ delinquent behaviors play an important role in adolescents’ information management.     

Aspects of social differentiation in rural England,c. 1580–1660

The article attempts to identify and account for changes in local social relations which accompanied economic and social‐structural change in early‐modern England. An overview of recent findings is provided to highlight both the enduring characteristics of rural society in the period and the elements of change. Next it is argued that the aspects of change can be interpreted as a process of incorporation with economic, administrative and cultural dimensions which had the ultimate effect of promoting integration nationally, but differentiation locally. Particular illustration of this general argument is given in an examination of change in the Essex village of Terling.