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Exposure to peer delinquency as a mediator between self-report pubertal timing and delinquency: A longitudinal study of mediation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2011

Sonya Negriff ,
Juye Ji  and
Penelope K. Trickett
Sonya Negriff*
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Juye Ji
Affiliation:
Syracuse University
Penelope K. Trickett
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Sonya Negriff, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, MRF, MC 0411, Los Angeles, CA 90089; E-mail: negriff@usc.edu.
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Abstract

This study examined exposure to peer delinquency as a mediator between pubertal timing and self-reported delinquency longitudinally and whether this mediational model was moderated by either gender or maltreatment experience. Data were obtained from Time 1, 2, and 3 of a longitudinal study of maltreatment and development. At Time 1 the sample comprised 454 children aged 9–13 years. Analyses via structural equation modeling supported full mediation. Gender did not moderate this mediational relationship, but maltreatment experience did. The results show that early maturing males and females are both at risk for being exposed to peers that may draw them into delinquent behavior. In addition, the mechanism linking early pubertal timing to delinquency differs depending on maltreatment experience.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 293 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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