Ann Marie Sorenson

Self-control and juvenile delinquency: theoretical issues and an empirical assessment of selected elements of a general theory of crime

Social control theory has been one of the most influential explanations of crime and delinquency for many years. Gottfredson and Hirschi propose a new general theory of crime that includes individual restraints on behavior, or “self‐control,” as distinguished from social restraints. The elements of self‐control include an ability to defer gratification, the tendency to be cautious and diligent, cognitive ability, and sensitivity toward others. In this paper we analyze the construct of self‐control and its relationship to official and self‐reported measures of juvenile delinquency.

Religion and drug use among adolescents : a social support conceptualization and interpretation

In this paper the relationship between religion and drug use among adolescents is examined. Measures of religious participation and religiosity are found to be strong negative correlates of drug use. Using latent class analytic methods, we develop and test the concept of “social support” to interpret the effects of religion on adolescent drug use. The concept of social support is incorporated into social control theory. The effects of peer associations, deviant values, and parental attachment are also examined in a multivariate analysis. All of the variables examined have a reduced impact on more extensive or serious forms of drug use relative to the effects on minor forms of drug use.

Religious Involvement Among Unmarried Adolescent Mothers: A Source of Emotional Support?†

Distress in unmarried mothers is related to conflict between religious norms and behavior particularly when cohabitation is involved. There is a significant increase in distress scores for those attending religious services or in contact with fellow participants in the religious community. Bivariate analysis indicated only one significant relationship between any background variable and religious factors; this variable was the greater likelihood of having grown up in a 2 parent family. Background variables pertained to socioeconomic aspects of the adolescents family of origin and her marital status. Religious factors were not directly associated with social sport in terms of parents bonds or perception of support from the family. Previous findings do show an association between social support and depression but the bivariate results showed no significant relationship between any background variables and depression (CES-D) scores. There was no evidence of a statistically significant relationship between cohabitation and psychological distress alone. Higher depression levels were found among Catholics of whom 75% attended services compared to only about 50% of Protestants and 20% with no faith. Nonprotestants attending services also increased their depression scores by 70.7 points but whether or not Protestants attended services showed no effect on depression scores. Longitudinal data were obtained for bivariate and multivariate models from a study of 260 pregnant adolescents living in Southwestern Ontario Canadabetween 1984 and 1986. The sample included 22% who were <16 years of age and an average age of 17.6 years. About 33% were married or living with a partner. Almost 80% reported a religious faith. CES-D scores were measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale of Radloff. Higher scores indicated greater depression. Social support was measured by Parkers Parental Bonding Instrument and by the Provisions of Social Relations Scale of Turner et al. Religious preference attendance and religiosity were measured. The aim was to examine the emotional consequences for unmarried women having a child while involved with traditional religious organizations.

Husbands’ and wives’ characteristics and fertility decisions: A diagonal mobility model

In this article a diagonal mobility model is used to describe the relative effects of husbands’ and wives’ characteristics on fertility. Compared with the characteristics of their wives, the characteristics of non-Hispanic husbands are nearly insignificant in their effect on fertility. The relative importance of husbands’ attributes is much greater among Mexican-American couples. Although this suggests ethnic stereotypes about male dominance in Mexican-American families, differences in female educational attainment may offer a better explanation. The most immediate conclusion from this analysis pertains to the use of wives’ characteristics as a proxy for couple data. This strategy is reasonable if female educational levels generally extend into high school. Relying on wives’ characteristics to study marital fertility, however, may be problematic if the analysis involves respondents with a wide range of educational levels.

Gang Membership, Race, and Social Class: a Test of the Group Hazard and Master Status Hypotheses

This article examines the extent to which gang membership, race, and social class affect a youths chances of being arrested, independent of their self-reported delinquent behavior. We couple the concepts of group hazard and master status to frame our theoretical predictions. Using data from the Seattle Youth Study (Hindelang, Hirschi, and Weis 1981), we find that the odds of being arrested are roughly similar for gang and nongang members, controlling for the nature and level of self-reported delinquency. While being a gang member does not pose a group hazard to being arrested, a youths master status based on race and social class is associated with arrest risk. Both being black and lower class increases a youths odds of being arrested, independent of delinquency. Neither race nor class effects can be accounted for by the frequency with which youth hang out with their best friends. We propose several recommendations for reducing race and class profiling.This article examines the extent to which gang membership, race, and social class affect a youths chances of being arrested, independent of their self-reported delinquent behavior. We couple the concepts of group hazard and master status to frame our theoretical predictions. Using data from the Seattle Youth Study (Hindelang, Hirschi, and Weis 1981), we find that the odds of being arrested are roughly similar for gang and nongang members, controlling for the nature and level of self-reported delinquency. While being a gang member does not pose a group hazard to being arrested, a youths master status based on race and social class is associated with arrest risk. Both being black and lower class increases a youths odds of being arrested, independent of delinquency. Neither race nor class effects can be accounted for by the frequency with which youth hang out with their best friends. We propose several recommendations for reducing race and class profiling.

Latent Class Analysis of Anxiety and Depression

This article applies the technique of Latent Class Analysis to data on 41 symptoms of anxiety and depression from the Baltimore and Durham sites of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program. An exploratory analysis on the Baltimore data fit three latent classes, which were then replicated on the Durham data. An analysis of Dysphoria and eight symptom groups related to depression revealed a close fit between the DSM-III configuration of Major Depressive Disorder and one of three latent classes.

Sibship size and sibling delinquency

Research findings consistently document a positive correlation between family size and delinquency. However, no study has yet provided a complete explanation for the effects of family size on delinquency. In this paper, we review several of the explanations of this correlation advanced in previous work. Explanations based on demographic or background characteristics (such as birth order and ethnicity) and on social control theory are rejected. We find that exposure to sibling delinquency seems to provide an explanation of the effects of sibship size on self‐reported delinquency. We argue that this finding is consistent with propositions derived from social learning theory.

The Measurement of Parental Influence

The influence that parents have on the social, behavioral, and psychological status of their children is the focus of a large and important body of literature in the social sciences. The data collected to study parental influence often describe individual mothers and fathers, leaving the researcher with the problem of representing the joint influence of these individuals as parents. A diagonal ANOVA model is proposed to represent parental influence as the weighted effects of one variable that describes father and one that describes mother. Extensions of the diagonal model that facilitate tests of various hypotheses pertaining to variation in the relative influence of mother and father are proposed. Models that represent the effects of asymmetry of parental characteristics are discussed as well. This application of the diagonal ANOVA model is illustrated using data on the effects of social bonds to mother and to father as a deterrent to the delinquent behavior of black and white male adolescents.

Adult reports of juvenile delinquency: A research note on the reliability of a retrospective design

In this study we present evidence which supports the use of retrospective research designs to study the transition from delinquency to adult deviance. Delinquency rates based on adolescents’ responses to the Richmond Youth Study in 1965 are compared to the rates based on retrospective accounts of delinquency provided by adults to the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study in 1981–82. These comparisons were enhanced by controlling for race, sex, birth cohort and the greater period at risk of delinquency experienced by the adult respondents. The item specific pattern of adolescent behavior recalled by adult respondents in 1981–82 is very similar to that reported by adolescents in 1965.

Patterns of adolescent drug use: Inferences from latent structure analysis

We find that five observable measures of substance use can be combined to form a single scale of drug use. An unrestricted latent class model specifies assignment of respondents to three categories based on their pattern of responses to items on the use of alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, and pills such as barbiturates. Tests of external validity examining levels of association with independent variables such as attitudes toward the law, attachment, and religiosity are conducted, comparing the latent class scale with an additive scale of drug use. Levels of association are generally increased moderately utilizing the latent class scale. Finally, a modified Guttman scale is fit, assessing the pattern of progression of drug use from more commonly used drugs such as alcohol to the less commonly used drugs such as cocaine and hallucinogens.