Examining Effects of Parental Sexual Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency Using a Social Developmental Perspective
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Theses and Dissertations College of Psychology 1-1-2019 Examining Effects of Parental Sexual Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency Using a Social Developmental Perspective Michelle Nagle Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] This document is a product of extensive research conducted at the Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology. For more information on research and degree programs at the NSU College of Psychology, please click here. Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Nagle, M. (2019). Examining Effects of Parental Sexual Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency Using a Social Developmental Perspective. Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd/125 This Dissertation is brought to you by the College of Psychology at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Examining Effects of Parental Sexual Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency Using a Social Developmental Perspective by Michelle Nagle A Dissertation Presented to the College of Psychology of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY 2019 DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation was submitted by Michelle Nagle, M.S. under the direction of the Chairperson of the dissertation committed listed below. It was submitted to the College of Psychology and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. Approved: _____6/11/19____________ Date of Defense ___6/15/19______________ Date of Final Approval ii Statement of Original Work I declare the following: I have read the Code of Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility as described in the Student Handbook of Nova Southeastern University. This dissertation represents my original work, except where I have acknowledged the ideas, words, or material of other authors. Where another author’s ideas have been presented in this dissertation, I have acknowledged the author’s ideas by citing them in the required style. Where another author’s words have been presented in this dissertation, I have acknowledged the author’s words by using appropriate quotation devices and citations in the required style. I have obtained permission from the author or publisher—in accordance with the required guidelines—to include any copyrighted material (e.g., tables, figures, survey instruments, large portions of text) in this dissertation manuscript. ______Michelle Nagle_____________ Name ____June 11, 2019_________________ Date iii Acknowledgments This work would not have been possible without the support of the Psychology faculty at Nova Southeastern University, who have been supportive of my career goals and who worked actively to provide me with the protected academic time to pursue these goals. I am grateful to all of those with whom I have had the pleasure to work during this and other related projects. Each of the members of my Dissertation Committee has provided me extensive personal and professional guidance and taught me a great deal about both scientific research and life in general. I would especially like to thank both Dr. David Shapiro and Dr. Lenore Walker, the chair and former chair of my committee. Both have taught me more about the field of forensic psychology than I could have ever imagined. They have provided me an example of what a good psychologist (and person) should be. I am extremely grateful for the support in the pursuit of this project from the members of my family, who have always offered love and guidance with whatever I wished to pursue. My friends, and now current colleagues, have also provided a significant amount of support for the pursuit of this project, with countless late-night work sessions and having to listen to the description of this study for the last 4 years. You all provide unending inspiration. iv Abstract Examining Effects of Parental Sexual Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency Using a Social Developmental Perspective by Michelle Nagle Nova Southeastern University Delinquency has traditionally been viewed as a male phenomenon, often defined in androcentric terms, and neglecting females in studies regarding delinquent behavior. However, females are the fastest growing subpopulation of the correction population, which amplifies the importance of understanding the nature and etiology of their offending. Recent research has suggested that predictors of male juvenile delinquency do not adequately explain delinquency in females, because the androcentric research ignores the damaging impact of sexual childhood abuse and other prominent family factors on female juvenile delinquents. This study aimed to examine the impact of childhood parental sexual abuse on female juvenile delinquency from a social developmental perspective by testing a sub-model of the SDM using a longitudinal database of child abuse and neglect. Results from PLS-SEM indicated that there were multiple relationships between constructs that differed between females and males, further supporting the idea of gender-specific risk factors. The strongest effect of male gender was on the relationships between parental monitoring and parental bonding and family socialization, and sexual abuse and moderate delinquency and family socialization. The strongest effect of female gender was on the relationship between sexual abuse and serious delinquency, and neighborhood safety and antisocial beliefs. Results point towards new ideas regarding differences in male and female delinquency and the impact of sexual abuse and offer support in using the Social Development Model in the study of delinquency. Table of Contents CHAPTER I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM............................................................1 Females in the Juvenile Justice System..................................................................1 Historical Perspectives of Female Delinquency.....................................................2 Neglected Risk Factors...........................................................................................2 The Social Development Model.............................................................................4 The Present Study...................................................................................................4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................7 Adolescence............................................................................................................7 Definitions of Juvenile Delinquency......................................................................8 Rates of Juvenile Delinquency.............................................................................11 Risk Factors of Juvenile Delinquency..................................................................12 An Overview of Female Juvenile Delinquency...................................................19 Theories of Female Juvenile Delinquency...........................................................21 Risk Factors of Female Juvenile Delinquency.....................................................22 A Closer Look at Child Abuse on Female Juvenile Delinquency........................29 Theories of Juvenile Delinquency........................................................................48 The Social Development Model...........................................................................51 The Current Study................................................................................................66 CHAPTER III: METHODS...............................................................................................69 Overview of Project and Sample Selection..........................................................69 Measures...............................................................................................................71 Analytic Strategy..................................................................................................73 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS.................................................................................................86 Demographic and Contextual Characteristics of Participants..............................86 Descriptive Analysis of Constructs......................................................................87 Structural Equation Modeling..............................................................................89 Conclusion..........................................................................................................101 CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION..........................................................................................103 Demographic and Contextual Characteristics....................................................103 Constructs of the SDM and Findings Relevant to Research..............................105 Limitations.........................................................................................................112 Implications for Practice and Future Research..................................................113 REFERENCES................................................................................................................117