Social bonds and profiles of delinquency among adolescents: Differential effects by gender and age

Abstract

This study aims to identify the profiles of delinquent behaviors among adolescents in a Chinese context, examine the association between social bonds and delinquent patterns, and explore the variations by gender and age. Data were drawn from the 2010 National Taiwan Children and Youth Survey. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify the profiles of delinquent behaviors, and logistic regression was used to explore the association between social bonds and delinquency profiles. Two latent profiles were identified from the LCA, and logistic regression results showed that attachment, involvement, and commitment were associated with delinquency whereas belief was not; these associations further differed by gender and age. Our study showed that social bonds could be a useful framework in explaining adolescents’ delinquent behaviors in a Chinese context, whereas more effort in cross-culture comparison is needed. Our results highlight the importance of considering gender and age differences in the link.