Abstract
Accurate descriptions of sex differences in the development of childhood conduct problems and adolescent delinquency will inform theories of their causes in fundamentally important ways. Using data on 4,572 offspring of a national sample of women, we tested descriptive hypotheses regarding sex differences. As predicted, the magnitude of sex differences varied with age, suggesting that multiple processes differentially influence levels of these behaviors in females and males across development. During childhood, boys scored lower on measures of cognitive ability and exhibited lower sociability and compliance and greater hyperactivity, oppositional behavior, and conduct problems. Most of these variables were associated with childhood conduct problems and adolescent delinquency equally in females and males, but maternal delinquency and early childhood sociability were correlated more strongly with childhood conduct problems in males and childhood compliance predicted adolescent delinquency more strongly in females. Both sexes exhibited both childhood-onset and adolescent-onset trajectories of delinquency. Although more males followed a childhood-onset trajectory, there were few sex differences in the early childhood risk correlates of either delinquency trajectory.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1978). The child behavior profile: I. Boys aged 6–11. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 478–488.
Arvanites, T. M., & Defina, T. H. (2006). Business cycles and street crime. Criminology, 44, 139–164.
Babinski, L. M., Hartsough, C. S., & Lambert, N. M. (1999). Childhood conduct problems, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and inattention as predictors of adult criminal activity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 347–355.
Baker, P. C., Keck, C. K., Mott, F. L., & Quinlan, S. V. (1993). NLSY child handbook. Columbus, OH: Center for Human Resources Research.
Bongers, I. L., Koot, H. M., Van Der Ende, J., & Verhulst, F. C. (2004). Developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Child Development, 75, 1523–1537.
Chase-Lansdale, P. L., Mott, F. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Phillips, D. A. (1991). Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: A unique research opportunity. Developmental Psychology, 27, 918–931.
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995) Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–722.
Crick, N. R., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2003). The development of psychopathology in females and males: Current progress and future challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 719–742.
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody picture vocabulary test-revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Dunn, L. M., & Markwardt, F. C. (1970). Peabody individual achievement test manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Elliott, D. S., & Huizinga, D. (1983). Social class and delinquent behavior in a national youth panel. Criminology, 21, 149–177.
Jones, B., Nagin, D., & Roeder, K. (2001). A SAS procedure based on mixture models for estimating developmental trajectories. Sociological Methods of Research, 29, 374–393.
Nagin, D. (1999). Analyzing developmental trajectories: A semi-parametric, group-based approach. Psychological Methods, 4, 139–177.
Keenan, K., Loeber, R., & Green, S. (1999). Conduct disorder in girls: A review of the literature. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2, 3–19.
Keenan, K., & Shaw, D. (1997). Developmental and social influences on young girls’ early problem behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 95–113.
Kratzer, L., & Hodgins, S. (1999). A typology of offenders: A test of Moffitt’s theory among males and females from childhood to age 30. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 9, 57–73.
Lahey, B. B., McBurnett, K., & Loeber, R. (2000). Are attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder developmental precursors to conduct disorder? In A. Sameroff, M. Lewis, & S. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology 2nd ed. (pp. 431–446). New York: Plenum.
Lahey, B. B., Miller, T. L., Gordon, R. A., & Riley, A. (1999). Developmental epidemiology of the disruptive behavior disorders. In H. C. Quay & A. Hogan (Eds.), Handbook of the disruptive behavior disorders (pp. 23–48). New York: Plenum.
Lahey, B. B., Schwab-Stone, M., Goodman, S. H., Waldman, I. D., Canino, G., Rathouz, P. J., et al. (2000). Age and gender differences in oppositional behavior and conduct problems: A cross-sectional household study of middle childhood and adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 488–503.
Lahey, B. B., & Waldman, I. D. (2003). A developmental propensity model of the origins of conduct problems during childhood and adolescence. In B. B. Lahey, T. E. Moffitt, & A. Caspi (Eds.), Causes of conduct disorder and serious delinquency (pp. 76–117). New York: Guilford Press.
Lahey, B. B., & Waldman, I. D. (2005). A developmental model of the propensity to offend during childhood and adolescence. In D. P. Farrington (Ed.), Advances in criminological theory Vol. 13 (pp. 15–50). Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. (1998). Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lynch, J. P. (2002, October). Trends in juvenile violent offending: An analysis of victim survey data. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 1–6.
McCord, J. (1990). Problem behaviors. In S. Feldman & G. Eliot (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 414–430). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
McLoyd, V. C., & Smith, J. (2002). Physical discipline and behavior problems in African American, European American, and Hispanic children: Emotional support as a moderator. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 40–53.
Moffitt, T. E. (1990). Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: Boys’ developmental trajectories from age 3 to 15. Child Development, 61, 893–910.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Dickson, N., Silva, P. A., & Stanton, W. (1996). Childhood-onset versus adolescent-onset antisocial conduct in males: Natural history from age 3 to 18. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 399–424.
Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2001). Childhood predictors differentiate life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways among males and females. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 355–375.
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Rutter, M., & Silva, P. (2001). Sex differences in antisocial behavior. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Nelder, J. A., & Wedderburn, R. W. M. (1972). Generalized linear models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 135, 370–384.
NLSY79 Child and Young Adult Data User’s Guide. (2002). Columbus, OH: Center for Human Resource Research.
Peterson, J. L., & Zill, N. (1986). Marital disruption, parent-child relationships, and behavior problems in children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 295–307.
Piquero, A. R., & White, N. A. (2003). On the relationship between cognitive abilities and life-course-persistent offending among a sample of African Americans: A longitudinal test of Moffitt’s hypothesis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 399–409.
Raine, A., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Lynam, D. (2005). Neurocognitive impairments in boys on the life-course persistent antisocial path. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 38–49.
Rowe, D., Rodgers, J. L., & Mesech-Bushey, S. (1992). Sibling delinquency and the family environment: shared and unshared influences. Child Development, 63, 59–67.
Rutter, M., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2003). Using sex differences in psychopathology to study causal mechanisms: Unifying issues and research strategies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 1092–1115.
Rutter, M., Giller, H., & Hagell, A. (1998). Antisocial behaviour by young people. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Silverthorn, P., & Frick, P. J. (1999). Developmental pathways to antisocial behavior: The delayed-onset pathway in girls. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 101–126.
U. S. Department of Defense. (1982). Profile of American Youth: 1980 Nationwide administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense.
Zeger S. L., & Liang, K.-Y. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis for discrete and continuous outcomes. Biometrics, 42, 121–130.
Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler intelligence scales for children-revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by R01 MH070025 to Benjamin B. Lahey.
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9124-5.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lahey, B.B., Van Hulle, C.A., Waldman, I.D. et al. Testing Descriptive Hypotheses Regarding Sex Differences in the Development of Conduct Problems and Delinquency. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34, 730–748 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9064-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9064-5