Abstract
This study explores gender-specific patterns and transitions of adolescent substance use and delinquency in a sample of youths at ages 12, 15, and 18 (N = 803). Latent transition analysis identified “Primary Delinquent,” “Delinquency and Substance Use,” and “Low Risk” classes. Females were less likely to be in the “Primary Delinquent” class at age 12 than males. From 15 to 18, females were approximately equally likely to transition from “Primary Delinquent” to both other classes, whereas males were more likely to transition from “Primary Delinquent” to “Delinquency and Substance Use.” These gender differences in behavior can inform services.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Investigators and PHDCN participants who provided the data necessary for our analysis. We are also grateful to the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research for facilitating data access, and to Jenny Afkinich for her thoughtful feedback.
Funding
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA031264, PI: Bright).