On the Development of Self-Control and Deviance from Preschool to Middle Adolescence

Purpose The study tested whether developmental changes in self-control stabilize by late childhood (age 10) or continue into early and middle adolescence. Second, it tested the bidirectional, longitudinal relationship between self-control and deviance over an 11-year period. Methods Children (N = 1159) from the longitudinal NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) were assessed six times, ages 4.5 to 15 years. Latent growth models tested self-control and deviance trajectories, using competing growth functions to capture change over time. The longitudinal, bidirectional self-control-deviance links were examined in a cross-lagged latent model. Results Findings showed that children\u27s self-control significantly increased during childhood, but stabilized sometime between 8.5 and 10.5 years. Deviance also changed in parallel, but in the opposite direction; some evidence was found of continued change in deviance during early adolescence. Finally, self-control and deviance were bidirectionally and longitudinally linked across all assessments through childhood only. Conclusions Findings support theoretical predictions that self-control principally develops during childhood (by age 10) and subsequently remains stable. They also support longitudinal, bidirectional self-control-deviance links, largely identical in size prior to the age of 10; study findings are contextualized vis-à-vis self-control theory as well as recent behavior genetic evidence

Routine Activities and Adolescent Deviance across 28 Cultures

Purpose The current study tested the links between routine activities and deviance across twenty-eight countries, thus, the potential generalizability of the routine activities framework. Methods Data were collected as part of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) from 28 cultures, from seventh, eighth, and ninth grade adolescents (N = 66,859). Routine activities were operationalized as family, peer, solitary, and community activities. Country-level predictors included unemployment rate, prison population, life expectancy, and educational attainment. Results Three-level, hierarchical linear modeling (individual, school, and country) was used to test both individual and country-level effects on deviance. Findings supported predictions by the routine activities framework, where routine activities explained 3.1% unique variance in deviance, above and beyond effects by background variables as well as low self-control. Models showed that the effects of family activities, solitary activities, and peer activities were stronger in countries with higher life expectancies. In addition, mean educational attainment increased the effect of solitary activities on deviance, while the effect of family activities on deviance was lower in countries with higher levels of unemployment. Conclusions The routine activities framework generalized across these 28 countries in how it explains deviance; some unique country-level effects were found that conditioned person-context links

It\u27s Time: A Meta-Analysis on the Self-Control-Deviance Link

Purpose The current meta-analysis examines the link between self-control and measures of crime and deviance, taking stock of the empirical status of self-control theory and focusing on work published between 2000 and 2010. Methods A total of 796 studies were reviewed for inclusion/exclusion criteria and yielded a final study sample of 99 studies (88 cross-sectional and 19 longitudinal effect sizes, analyzed separately). Random effects mean correlations between self-control and deviance were analyzed for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, respectively. Publication bias was assessed using multiple methods. Results A random effects mean correlation between self-control and deviance was Mr = 0.415 for cross-sectional studies and Mr = 0.345 for longitudinal ones; this effect did not significantly differ by study design. Studies with more male participants, studies based on older or US-based populations, and self-report studies found weaker effects. Conclusions Substantial empirical support was found for the main argument of self-control theory and on the transdisciplinary link between self-control and measures of crime and deviance. In contrast to Pratt and Cullen, but consistent with theory, the effect from cross-sectional versus longitudinal studies did not significantly differ. There was no evidence of publication bias

Is Individualism-Collectivism Associated with Self-Control? Evidence from Chinese and U.S. Samples

Self-control plays an important role in human’s daily life. In the recent two decades, scholars have exerted tremendous effort to examine the etiologies of the individual differences in self-control. Among numerous predictors of self-control, the role of culture has been relatively overlooked. In this study, the influences of cultural orientation on self-control were examined based on the collectivism-individualism framework using both self-report and behavioral task to assess self-control. A convenience sample of 542 Chinese and 446 U.S. undergraduates participated in the research. They were invited to fill out self-report questionnaires reporting their levels of attitudinal self-control and individualistic-collectivistic orientation after completing a computer-based Stroop task. Results of hierarchical regression models showed that Chinese participants reported less attitudinal self-control but had higher behavioral self-control than their U.S. counterparts. Moreover, individual-level individualism and collectivism was negatively and positively related to attitudinal self-control in both countries, respectively. Individual-level collectivism was significantly related to better behavioral self-control, but no significant results were found for the relationship between individual-level individualism and behavioral self-control. In sum, individualism and collectivism have some influences on individual differences in self-control. Implications for future research were discussed

Violent and Criminal Behaviors in Rural and Non-Rural African American Youth: A Risk-Protective Factor Approach

Once believed to be a poor inner city neighborhood characteristic, youth violence and crime are now recognized as problems in rural areas as well (Osgood and Chambers 2000). Studies on their etiology remain scarce, particularly with a focus on minority youth. Given the importance of individual characteristics and a positive future orientation (educational aspirations) during adolescence, the current study tested a riskprotective factor approach with measures of risk proneness, self-esteem, educational commitment, and educational expectations to predict both direct and “indirect” measures of violence and criminal behaviors (assault, encounters with law enforcement, and court appearances) in samples of rural (n=687) and non-rural (n=182) African American youth. Results show that self-esteem, risk-proneness, and educational commitment were highly associated with measures of violent and criminal behaviors in both samples. Importantly, no differences were found in how risk or protective factors were associated with measures of violence and crime in rural and non-rural developmental contexts

Predictors of Online and Offline Sexual Activities and Behaviors Among Adolescents

Despite the fact that many adolescents spend much time on the Internet, it is unknown who engages in sexually related online activities (SROA) and how these affect adolescent sexual development. The present longitudinal study on 323 adolescents (51.1% girls) aimed to explore how peer attachment processes predicted both SROA and offline sexual behaviors at the age of 17, while also considering puberty and prior offline sexual experiences in order to elucidate potential similarities or differences. Findings based on hierarchical, binary logistic regression analyses revealed that SROA were predicted by alienation attachment to peers (OR=3.36, p\u3c0.05), puberty (OR=1.03, p\u3c0.05), and prior SROA (OR=0.56, p\u3c0.001), while only previous offline sexual experiences at the age of 15 increased the likelihood of offline sexual behaviors at the age of 17 (OR=6.04, p\u3c0.001). Study findings indicate that the Internet provides an additional context for acquiring sexual experiences during adolescence

A cross-national study of direct and indirect effects of cyberbullying on cybergrooming victimization via self-esteem

The present study reports frequency rates of cybergrooming, profiled characteristics of cybergrooming perpetrators, and examine direct and indirect associations between cyberbullying victimization, self-esteem, and cybergrooming victimization. The study sample included 2,162 adolescents between 11 and 19 years from three Western (Germany, the Netherlands, the United States) countries and one Southeast Asian country (Thailand). Across countries, 18.5% of participants reported having had contact with a cybergroomer. Western girls, as compared to boys, were at greater risk to have been contacted by a cybergroomer. No significant sex difference was found for Southeast Asian adolescents. Also, Southeast Asian adolescents reported higher rates of cybergroomer contact as compared to Western adolescents. Cybergroomers were most often males and older than victims. Both cyberbullying victimization and low self-esteem increased the probability of coming into contact with a cybergroomer, and self-esteem mediated the effects of cyberbullying victimization on cybergrooming victimization. The results are discussed in relation to practical implications and future research

Cross-National Associations Among Cyberbullying Victimization, Self-Esteem, and Internet Addiction: Direct and Indirect Effects of Alexithymia

The relationship among cyberbullying victimization, lower self-esteem, and internet addiction has been well-established. Yet, little research exists that explains the nature of these associations, and no previous work has considered the inability to identify or describe one’s emotions, namely, alexithymia, as a potential mediator of these links. The present study sought to investigate the indirect effects of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem and internet addiction, mediated by alexithymia. The sample consisted of 1,442 participants between 12 and 17 years (Mage = 14.17, SD = 1.38, 51.5% male) from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results showed a direct relationship between cyberbullying victimization and self-esteem and an indirect association mediated by alexithymia in the Dutch sample. However, in the German and U.S. samples, only an indirect relationship via alexithymia, but not a direct effect of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem, was found. Consistent across the three country samples, cyberbullying victimization and internet addiction were directly and also indirectly associated via alexithymia. In sum, findings indicate that alexithymia might help better understand which detrimental effects cyberbullying victimization has on adolescent psychological health. Thus, cyberbullying prevention programs should consider implementing elements that educate adolescents on the ability to identify and describe their own emotions

Converging identities: dimensions of acculturation and personal identity status among immigrant college students

The present study was designed to ascertain the extent to which dimensions of acculturation would differ across personal identity statuses in a sample of 2,411, first and second generation immigrant college‐attending emerging adults. Participants from 30 colleges and universities around the United States completed measures of personal identity processes as well as of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications. Cluster‐analytic procedures were used to classify participants into personal identity statuses based on the personal identity processes. Results indicated that, across ethnic groups, individuals in the achieved and searching moratorium statuses reported the greatest endorsement of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications; and individuals in the carefree diffusion status reported the lowest endorsement of all the cultural variables under study. These results are discussed in terms of the convergence between personal identity and cultural identity processes