Identity and Offending Onset: Examining the Role of Adolescent Self-Reflection

• In Event: Contemporary Review of Predictors of Juvenile Offending

Abstract

A substantial body of criminological research focuses on the role of identity in explaining the processes of secondary deviance and desistance from crime, but significantly less research has explored the role of identity and self-concept as they pertain to the onset of delinquency. Much of the existing research in this area has focused heavily on the role of reflected appraisals in predicting both onset and continuity in delinquent behavior. However, extant literature has not yet fully considered the extent to which adolescents actively engage in self-reflection and how it contributes to adolescent susceptibility to peer influence and subsequent delinquency. This paper uses data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study to evaluate the role of adolescent self-reflection and self-certainty in shaping the effect of reflected appraisals on delinquent behavior. Structural equation modeling is used to assess the degree to which the proposed theoretical model adequately explains the relationship between these constructs. Findings and their implications for better understanding delinquency onset and identity formation in early adolescence are discussed.

Author

• Michael Lebron, University of Maryland, College Park