A Differential Analysis of Criminal Behavior among African-American and Caucasian Female Juvenile Delinquents

ABSTRACT

This study examined how social control factors might contribute to criminal offenses among African-American and Caucasian adolescent females using Hirschi's 1969 model of social control. Secondary data was used from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Data were used for African-American and Caucasian girls from Wave I, resulting in a sample of 837. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship for attachment and commitment even though it was not in the predicted direction. Involvement and belief were the only statistically significant variables in the predicted negative direction. An interaction was detected between race-by-belief, race-by-involvement, and race-by-commitment, but only race-by-involvement was in the predicted direction. Further research is needed testing this model.

KEYWORDS:

• Females
• juvenile delinquency
• African-American girls
• Caucasian girls

Notes

∗∗Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).