The Effect of Risk and Resilience Factors on the Prediction of Delinquency in Adolescent Girls

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of risk factors including poverty, single parent status and sexual abuse report, and resiliency factors such as school involvement, drug abstinence and religious belief on predicting delinquency in adolescent girls. It was hypothesized that the resiliency factors would improve the prediction of delinquency beyond risk factors alone. An initial regression analysis examined self-reported delinquency in a sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 2245). Resiliency factors improved prediction of delinquency beyond risk factors alone. A second investigation with a separate sample (n = 335) focused on girls at risk for delinquency. Resiliency items which were significant in the initial analysis distinguished girls who reported high levels of delinquency from those with low delinquency with 80 percent accuracy.