Title: Self-Reported Delinquency by 12-Year-Olds, 1997
Series: OJJDP Fact Sheet #03
Author: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Charles
M. Puzzanchera
Published: February 2000
Subject: Juvenile delinquency prevention, juvenile violence
4 pages
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

February 2000 #03
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Self-Reported Delinquency by 12-Year-Olds, 1997

by Charles M. Puzzanchera

Survey of youth documents delinquent and other deviant behaviors

Amid concern about juvenile violence, particularly the availability of guns,
it is important to develop an accurate picture of the delinquent and other
deviant behaviors of the Nation's youth. Findings from self-report surveys,
such as the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97),
include information about behavior that often does not come to the
attention of juvenile justice agencies. As such, NLSY97 data can provide
policymakers with unique insights into delinquency and other deviant
behaviors by youth in America.

The first wave of NLSY97 interviewed a nationally representative sample
of nearly 9,000 youth who were between the ages of 12 and 16 at the end
of 1996. The interviews were conducted in 1997 and early 1998. The
survey asked youth to report whether they had engaged in a variety of
delinquent or other behaviors that may lead to future delinquency. These
youth will be interviewed annually to track changes in delinquent and
other deviant behaviors. This Fact Sheet presents estimates of these self-
reported behaviors by the youngest age group--youth who were age 12 at
the end of 1996.

One in seven 12-year-olds has engaged in assaultive behaviors

More than one-fifth of 12-year-olds reported that they had smoked
cigarettes (22%) or drunk alcohol (21%). Delinquent behaviors reported
included purposely destroying property (24%) and engaging in assaultive
behaviors (14%). A smaller proportion of these youth reported carrying a
handgun (7%), belonging to a gang (3%), being arrested (2%), or selling
any drugs (1%).

Prevalence of deviant behaviors varied little by sex, race, or where the
youth lived

Males and females, whites and nonwhites, and rural and urban 12-year-
olds were equally likely to report that they had engaged in most deviant
activities. The following exceptions were noted: 

o Males were significantly more likely than their female peers to report
that they had drunk alcohol (24% vs. 19%), carried a handgun (13% vs.
2%), purposely destroyed property (31% vs. 16%), and engaged in
assaultive behaviors (18% vs. 10%).

o White youth were significantly more likely than nonwhite youth to report
that they had smoked cigarettes (25% vs. 18%) and carried a handgun (9%
vs. 5%). Nonwhite youth were significantly more likely to report that they
had stolen something worth more than $50 (6% vs. 2%) or had been
arrested (4% vs. 2%).

o Youth living in rural areas were significantly more likely than their
urban counterparts to report that they had drunk alcohol (24% vs. 19%).

One in twenty 12-year-olds carried a handgun in the past 12 months

Although knowledge of lifetime participation in delinquent or other
deviant activities is helpful for planning and decisionmaking, it is more
important for those working with young juveniles to know if the juveniles
are currently engaging in such behaviors. The data collected by NLSY97
provide a distinction between lifetime participation and recent
involvement in various behaviors. In general, more than half of the 12-
year-olds who reported ever committing a specific delinquent act said they
had committed the act within the past year. For example, while 24% of
youth reported ever purposely destroying property, more than half (57%)
had done so in the past year. This represents 13% of all 12-year-olds. In
addition: 

o A small proportion of 12-year-olds reported that they had stolen
something worth more than $50 (2%), belonged to a gang (2%), or sold
any drugs (1%) in the past 12 months. 

o Five percent of all 12-year-olds reported that they had carried a handgun
in the past year and 2% said they had carried a handgun in the past 30
days. 

o Nine percent of all 12-year-olds reported that they had engaged in
assaultive behaviors in the past year. 

Recent delinquent behaviors by 12-year-olds did not vary significantly by
sex or race

Similar proportions of males and females reported recent participation in
many problem or delinquent behaviors. The same was true for white and
nonwhite youth. Exceptions are as follows:

o In the past year, males were significantly more likely than their female
counterparts to report that they had carried a handgun (9% vs. 1%),
purposely destroyed property (17% vs. 10%), and engaged in assaultive
behaviors (12% vs. 6%).

o In the past year, white youth were significantly more likely than their
nonwhite peers to report that they had carried a handgun (6% vs. 2%).

o In the past year, nonwhite youth were more likely than white youth to
report having stolen something worth more than $50 (4% vs. 2%).

For further information

This Fact Sheet was prepared by the National Juvenile Justice Data
Analysis Project, a program of the National Center for Juvenile Justice
(NCJJ). It is the first release in a planned series of reports analyzing data
from NLSY97. A more comprehensive report is currently in development;
it will present detailed analyses of self-reported delinquency and other
deviant behaviors for the entire NLSY97 cohort. Copies will be available
from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's
(OJJDP's) Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, 800-638-8736. 

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Charles M. Puzzanchera is a Research Assistant with NCJJ, which is
supported by an OJJDP grant.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component
of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of
Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute
of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

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