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Sexual Orientation and Involvement in Nonviolent and Violent Delinquent Behaviors: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

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Abstract

This study examined the association between sexual orientation and nonviolent and violent delinquency across the life course. We analyzed self-reported nonviolent and violent delinquency in a sample of heterosexual males (N = 5220–7023) and females (N = 5984–7875), bisexuals (N = 34–73), gay males (N = 145–189), and lesbians (N = 115–150) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The analyses revealed, in general, that bisexuals were the most delinquent of the sexual orientation categories for both males and females. Additional analyses revealed that heterosexual males reported significantly higher levels of both violent and nonviolent delinquency than gay males, whereas lesbians reported more involvement in nonviolent delinquency and, to a lesser extent, violent delinquency relative to heterosexual females. Analyses also revealed that lesbians reported significantly more delinquent behavior, particularly for nonviolent delinquency, than gay males. Future research should explore the mechanisms that account for these observed patterns and how they can be used to more fully understand the etiology of delinquency.

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Notes

  1. We wish to thank the Editor for pointing out this relatively parsimonious explanation.

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Acknowledgments

This research used data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a Grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due to Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (addhealth@unc.edu). No direct support was received from Grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.

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Correspondence to Kevin M. Beaver.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 6.

Table 6 Post hoc group comparisons for males (Bonferroni method)

Appendix 2

See Table 7.

Table 7 Post hoc group comparisons for females (Bonferroni method)

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Beaver, K.M., Connolly, E.J., Schwartz, J.A. et al. Sexual Orientation and Involvement in Nonviolent and Violent Delinquent Behaviors: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1759–1769 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0717-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0717-3

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