A Test of Moffitt’s Hypotheses of Delinquency Abstension
Author(s)
Barnes, JC
Beaver, Kevin M
Piquero, Alex R
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2011
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Criminologists have long noted that a small subset of the population will abstain from delinquent activity, even during adolescence, when such behavior is normative. Moffitt's developmental taxonomy in particular hypothesizes that abstainers "skip" the maturity gap and are likely social isolates who do not associate with peers. The current study assesses this hypothesis by examining whether the maturity gap and peer associations are associated with abstention from delinquency. Findings are consistent with Moffitt's hypotheses. Specifically, the maturity gap, the amount of time spent with peers, and the amount of contact ...
View more >Criminologists have long noted that a small subset of the population will abstain from delinquent activity, even during adolescence, when such behavior is normative. Moffitt's developmental taxonomy in particular hypothesizes that abstainers "skip" the maturity gap and are likely social isolates who do not associate with peers. The current study assesses this hypothesis by examining whether the maturity gap and peer associations are associated with abstention from delinquency. Findings are consistent with Moffitt's hypotheses. Specifically, the maturity gap, the amount of time spent with peers, and the amount of contact with drug-using peers were significant predictors of abstention for males and females.
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View more >Criminologists have long noted that a small subset of the population will abstain from delinquent activity, even during adolescence, when such behavior is normative. Moffitt's developmental taxonomy in particular hypothesizes that abstainers "skip" the maturity gap and are likely social isolates who do not associate with peers. The current study assesses this hypothesis by examining whether the maturity gap and peer associations are associated with abstention from delinquency. Findings are consistent with Moffitt's hypotheses. Specifically, the maturity gap, the amount of time spent with peers, and the amount of contact with drug-using peers were significant predictors of abstention for males and females.
View less >
Journal Title
Criminal Justice & Behavior
Volume
38
Issue
7
Subject
Criminology
Criminology not elsewhere classified