Time to Recidivism Among Deliquent Youth: A Focus on Gender Differences in Age of Onset and Risk and Protective Factors

Background: Females have largely been ignored in studies on juvenile delinquency and crime (Tracy, Kempf-Leonard, & Abranisje-James, 2009), primarily due to a far less share of offenses than males in the justice system (Wolf & Kempf-Leonard, 2009).  However, most recently, females entering the juvenile justice system have sharply increased, while overall juvenile crime has decreased (Emeka & Sorensen, 2009).  In an effort to better understand delinquent behavior and recidivism, studies have focused on risk and protective factors with the focus, however, being mainly on males.  The lack of gender-specific risk and needs assessments (Emeka & Sorensen, 2009) has contributed to the limited studies on female specific studies.  Studies have also focused on age of onset of delinquent behavior, with an earlier age of onset having a higher risk of later serious and chronic violent behavior (Piquero et al., 2001).  The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine gender differences in the age of onset, risk and protective factors for onset, and the effects of age of onset on recidivism.  Using survival analysis, this study evaluated time to recidivism throughout the study period between age and gender.  Moreover, it evaluated the potential direct as well as interaction effects of protective factors on problem behavior in adolescence.

Methodology: A sample of 2,825 youth was identified from a large, ethnically diverse juvenile justice system.  Youth were ethnically diverse, with Latino (65%), African American (25.5%), and Caucasian (9.4%), and with males (78.6%) being the majority.  The Risk and Resiliency Checkup (RRC) was used to assess for risk and protective factors.  Risk and protective factors consisted of six domains: delinquency, education, family, peer, substance use, and individual factors.  Participants were stratified into early (14 yr. or younger of first arrest) and late (15 yr. or later of first arrest) starters.  Recidivism was coded as having a re-arrest or no re-arrest during the study period. 

Results: Age of onset of delinquent behavior was generally at age 15 or older (72.2%).  Youth in the early starter group were arrested significantly more than youth in the late starter group, with African American youth more likely to be in the early starter group, while Caucasian and Latino youth more likely to be in the late starter group.  Gender differences were also found in that males were younger when arrested for the first time than females.  Males had significantly more risk factors, while females had significantly more protective factors.  When examining rates of recidivism, males were re-arrested at a faster rate than females, and Latino and African American youth were more likely to be re-arrested at a faster rate than their Caucasian counterparts. 

Conclusion:  Findings from this study suggest gender and racial/ethnic disparities in rates of arrests, risk and protective factors, and age of onset of delinquent behavior.  Social workers and policy makers need to develop and implement interventions that target females to strengthen identified protective factors at an early age, which may serve as a buffer for later delinquent behaviors and re-arrests.