Risk factors of girl delinquency HOW ARE THEY

Risk factors of girl delinquency HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF BOYS? September, 2008 European Society of Criminology Thessa Wong Annemarie Slotboom Catrien Bijleveld VU University Amsterdam

Review Purpose �Overview risk factors girl delinquency �Comparison with boys – within studies

Review Studies � 26 studies � 12 countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Hungary �All studies from 1982 till now

Review Criteria studies �Risk factors of girl delinquency �Delinquent or criminal behaviour �Age: 12 -24 �Non-delinquent girls as a control group

Review Results �Individual factors �Family factors �Peer factors �School factors

Review Individual factors � Victimization � Negative life events � Self-esteem (positively and negatively) � Aggression � Obedience � Intelligence � Depression (suicidal behaviour) � Substance use � Attitude delinquency

Review Individual factors Compared with boys �Unique factors: Amount of negative life events Obedience Suicidal behaviour

Review Family factors � Criminal father � Delinquent siblings � Beaten by parents � Parental monitoring � Permissive parenting � Child disclosure � Being seldom at home � Rules at home � Parental trust � Conflicts at home � Quality of parent-child relationship � Maternal support

Review Family factors Compared with boys �Unique factors: Permissive parenting styles (father and mother) Being seldom at home Beaten by parents Quality of sibling relationship Maternal support Quality of mother-child relationship

Review Family factors Compared with boys �Remarkable: Role of mother Single parenthood

Review Peer factors � Delinquent friends � Gangmembership � Being in a romantic relationship � Parents dislike friends

Review Peer factors Compared with boys �Not many differences �Cross-sex friends

Review School factors � Grades � Attachment � Commitment � Quality of relationship with teachers

Review School factors Compared with boys �Remarkable: School achievement School attachment and commitment

Review Conclusion difference girls/boys �It seems that girls and boys do not differ a lot in their risk factors to become delinquent �Differences girls/boys appear when distinguished between: Different types of delinquency � Example: empathy (Jollife & Farrington, 2007) Different domains of factors � Example: self-esteem (Van de Schoot & Wong, forthcoming)

Review Beperkingen studies �Only 26 studies �Not many longitudinal studies �Delinquent girls are often seen as if they are one group �Remarkable: little overlap between studied risk factors