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Title: Continuous versus Categorical Models of Delinquency Risk
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Walters, Glenn D. |
Continuous versus Categorical Models of Delinquency Risk American Journal of Criminal Justice 39,3 (September 2014): 395-410. Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-013-9235-1 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Springer Keyword(s): Delinquency/Gang Activity; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; School Suspension/Expulsion; Substance Use Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Two groups of participants, one a nationally representative sample with roughly equal numbers of male and female participants (N = 8,984) and the other a sample of mostly male adjudicated delinquents (N = 1,354), were used to test whether risk factors for delinquency are organized continuously or categorically. A continuous (variable-centered) model was created using factor scores from a one-factor confirmatory factor analysis and a categorical (person-centered) model was constructed using posterior probabilities from a two-class finite mixture modeling analysis. In both samples the continuous model correlated significantly better with subsequent offending than did the categorical model, a finding that was replicated in males from both samples and in females from the nationally representative sample. The current findings suggest that risk factors are better construed as points along a continuum rather than as properties of distinct groups or types. These results further suggest that the etiology of offending, in the form of risk factors, is general/additive rather than specific/selective. The implications of these results for theory development, clinical practice, and future research are discussed. |
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Bibliography Citation
Walters, Glenn D. "Continuous versus Categorical Models of Delinquency Risk." American Journal of Criminal Justice 39,3 (September 2014): 395-410.
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