Early predictors of male delinquency: A review.

Loeber, R.; Dishion, T.

Psychological Bulletin, Vol 94(1), Jul 1983, 68-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-

2909.94.1.68

Reviews prediction studies on delinquency in order to identify etiological variables.

The principal predictors of delinquency were the parents' family management and
techniques (supervision and discipline), the child's conduct problems, parental
criminality, and the child's poor academic performance. The best predictors of
recidivism were reports of the child's stealing or lying, followed by the child's own
problem behavior or prior delinquency. Data are presented to show the earliest age
of the child at which these predictors have been measured. Results of the prediction
data are used to demonstrate utility functions in which false positive and false
negative errors are minimized. (89 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all
rights reserved)