Gender Differences in Patterns of Substance Use and Delinquency: A Latent Transition Analysis

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.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescence
• delinquency
• gender
• substance use

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).