Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent Delinquency

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of protective and risk factors with adolescent delinquency. Using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) project, the delinquency level and the influence of individual characteristics, dyadic relationships in the family, school and peer variables on adolescent delinquency were examined by gender. Boys and girls differed in delinquency level with boys showing significantly higher delinquency than girls. The relative influence of protective and risk factors in individual, familial, peer, and school contexts differed by gender as well. More diverse variables influenced the delinquency level of girls than that of boys.