Elsevier

Journal of Adolescence

Volume 22, Issue 1, February 1999, Pages 157-171
Journal of Adolescence

Regular Article
Pubertal timing and self-reported delinquency among male adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1998.0208Get rights and content

Abstract

Pubertal timing has consequences for adolescent adaption, and Moffitt has theorized that puberty is a motivating factor for delinquency. Pubertal timing and self-reported delinquency were examined in a questionnaire-based survey of 14-year-old boys (n=99). The questionnaire was completed anonymously, under test conditions, in the school classroom. The results showed that offtime maturers (those early or late) reported a wider range of delinquency, including higher levels of crime and school opposition behaviours. Offtimers also reported a greater frequency of particular delinquent acts over a 12-month period. Overall, the results lend support to the “deviance hypothesis” of pubertal timing.

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Reprint requests and correspondence should be addressed to Dr J. Williams, Lecturer in Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Edinburgh, St John's Land, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, U.K. (E-mail: [email protected]).

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