Towards identifying causal risk and protective factors of delinquency: A meta-analysis of between- and within-individual effects - CANCELLED

• In Event: Measurement and Methodologies in Life Course Criminology

Abstract

Understanding the causes of delinquent behavior is essential for developing effective intervention strategies. While extensive research has been conducted within the risk factor framework, much of this work is based on correlational between-individual designs, which fail to establish causality. Identifying causal risk factors, rather than mere correlational markers, is necessary for designing effective intervention programs. Farrington et al. investigated the distinction between risk factors for delinquency using both between- and within-individual analysis. Findings revealed that only three out of ten factors examined predicted delinquency when analyzed within-individual variations. Notably, the association with delinquent peers, which emerged as the strongest between-individual predictor, did not hold in within-individual analyses. This suggests that while parental factors may be a pervasive causal risk factor for delinquency, peer influence may be specific to explaining between-person differences alone. The present study aims to systematically review and meta-analyze existing research on between- and within-individual analyses of risk and protective factors for delinquency, identifying which factors are pervasive across levels of analysis. To our knowledge, this will be the first meta-analysis comparing between- and within-individual risk/protective factors for delinquency. This review will clarify the available longitudinal evidence regarding causes in delinquency research, which is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Authors

• Hugo S. Gomes, EPIUnit ITR, Institute of Public Health of the University Porto

• Tânia Gonçalves, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

• Michelle Degli Esposti, Human Development and Violence Research Centre (DOVE), Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil

• Hannah Gaffney, University of Greenwich, London, UK