TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - Desire for Autonomy and Adolescent Delinquency
JO  - Criminal justice and behavior
A1  - Xiaojin Chen, 
SP  - 989
EP  - 1004
VL  - 37
IS  - 9
N2  - Leading criminological theories, including Moffitt’s adolescence-limited delinquency theory and Agnew’s general strain theory, identify adolescents’ need for autonomy as a key factor in shaping the trajectories of delinquency. Few empirical studies, however, approach it from a life course perspective. Applying latent growth curve modeling, this study uses a national longitudinal data set, Add Health, to demonstrate that there is a significant association between delinquency and the desire for autonomy. Prior cross-sectional studies, however, overestimate this linkage. In addition, the association between desire for autonomy and delinquency is offense specific, suggesting that criminology theories and future research need to consider adolescents’ developmental stages and their social environments. Finally, adolescents’ expression of negative emotions partially explains the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between the need for autonomy and delinquency.<p />
LA  - 
SN  - 0093-8548
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810367481
ID  - ref1
ER  -