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Delinquency and Gender

NCJ Number
148477
Author(s)
P Y Miller
Date Published
Unknown
Length
66 pages
Annotation
This study used self-reported data to assess gender differences in the level and form of delinquent involvement and to estimate the level of male and female involvement in violative behavior for contemporary adolescents in the noncustodial population as well.
Abstract
The data were collected in 1972 from adolescents in Illinois between the ages of 14 and 18. The sample was a stratified random probability sample of households without replacement. Nineteen thousand households in 600 clusters were screened to locate 4,299 eligible respondents. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 3,185 (74 percent) of these. The questionnaire was self-administered in the home. The questionnaire included 379 items that pertained to a variety of adolescent behaviors, attitudes, and aspirations. In addition to the delinquency inventory, respondents were asked at what age they had three forms of sexual experience: light petting, heavy petting, and coitus. The findings show that the current level of delinquent activity by adolescent boys has remained stable in the recent past, while the level of delinquency among adolescent girls has increased. This increase is evident across the entire range of offenses considered, including crimes against persons and property as well as status offenses. There is no support in the data for a distinctive pattern of delinquent activity among girls. 5 tables and 39 references