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ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to examine the reciprocal relationship between alcohol use and delinquency. Beyond any direct effects, this study was also interested in possible indirect effects. In order to examine these indirect effects this study modeled social bonding as an intervening variable, connecting prior alcohol and delinquency to future alcohol and delinquency. With five waves of data from the National Youth Survey, this study used structural equation modeling to examine the research question. Findings indicate stability in both behaviors over time, as well as a reciprocal relationship between alcohol use and delinquency. This finding is, in part, due to the significant indirect connections via the social bond. Alcohol and delinquency weaken the social bond and promote continued involvement in both behaviors.
The author would like to thank Stephen Cernkovich, Peggy Giordano, Al DeMaris, Josh Rossol, and Steve Lab for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. The National Youth Survey was originally collected by Delbert Elliott and associates at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, and were made available by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Notes
1All analyses were also run without including the respondents with missing data on the school questions and the findings did not change substantially.
Means with standard deviation in parentheses. Sample size for all analyses is 1,490.
Standardized parameter estimates shown
(*p < .05,
**p < .01,
***p < .001).
Standardized factor loadings shown; all are significant at p < .001.
Standardized parameter estimates shown
(*p < .05,
**p < .01,
***p < .001).
Means with standard error in parentheses.