The Development Of Offending By Girls Between Ages 11 And 19.

• In Event: Key Findings On Girls’ Delinquency Based On Two Longitudinal Studies And One Early Intervention Study

Abstract

This paper redresses the balance by concentrating on delinquency careers of females in the longitudinal study entitled the Pittsburgh Girls Study between the ages of 11 and 19. Most girls were not delinquent (68%). The overall prevalence of self-reported offending for the PGS females between ages 11-19 was 38.0%, and serious violence was the most prevalent offense (29.9%). Approximately 10% of the active chronic offenders in the sample were responsible for roughly 75% of the offenses committed. The majority of the active offenders (65.2%) self-reported an onset of offending between the ages of 11-14, and for those whose age of onset was during this age range they offended more frequently on average and had much lengthier career durations relative to those whose age of onset was during ages 15-19. Nearly four out of every five actively offending girls recidivated, 44.2% were categorized as chronic offenders (e.g., committed 5 or more offenses), and 19.6% of active offenders had a career duration of 5 years or longer during ages 11-19. Developmental trajectories of self-reported offending indicated that three trajectory groups best characterized girls’ offending, and these groups were: non-offenders (72.5%), low rate offenders (21.4%), and high rate offenders (6.1%). The results have implications for theory, policy, and prevention.

Authors

• Rolf Loeber, University of Pittsburgh

• Lia Ahonen, University of Pittsburgh

• Wesley Jennings, University of South Florida

• Alex R. Piquero, University of Texas at Dallas