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Title: A Developmental Perspective: Early Childhood Externalizing Behaviors Pathway to Delinquency in Adolescence
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Sias, Tandra Nicole
A Developmental Perspective: Early Childhood Externalizing Behaviors Pathway to Delinquency in Adolescence
M.A. Thesis, West Virginia University, 2014
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavior, Antisocial; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Delinquency/Gang Activity; Drug Use; Family Structure; Gender Differences; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Parenting Skills/Styles; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Early childhood externalizing behaviors are a known risk factor for future problem behaviors (e.g., poor achievement, delinquency). The present study seeks to illuminate the pathway of early childhood externalizing behaviors to five adolescent delinquency types (i.e., violent offenses, property offenses, illicit drug use, licit drug use, and minor offenses), in addition to overall delinquency. Study data came from two waves of the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 (CNLSY-79; N = 855, 52.4% male, 24.1% Hispanic, 36.6% Black, and 39.1% white). Boys engaged in higher levels of violent and property crimes, and black youth were less likely to engage in substance use than white teens. Contrary to predictions, externalizing problems at ages 4-5 years were not directly associated with any form of adolescent delinquency. Instead, the combinations of high levels of early externalizing and low levels of spanking led to high illicit substance use, and for European American teens only, high externalizing predicted involvement in property crimes. These findings suggest that risk factors vary by delinquency type.
Bibliography Citation
Sias, Tandra Nicole. A Developmental Perspective: Early Childhood Externalizing Behaviors Pathway to Delinquency in Adolescence. M.A. Thesis, West Virginia University, 2014.