Abstract
This study examined the association between sexual orientation and nonviolent and violent delinquency across the life course. We analyzed self-reported nonviolent and violent delinquency in a sample of heterosexual males (N = 5220–7023) and females (N = 5984–7875), bisexuals (N = 34–73), gay males (N = 145–189), and lesbians (N = 115–150) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The analyses revealed, in general, that bisexuals were the most delinquent of the sexual orientation categories for both males and females. Additional analyses revealed that heterosexual males reported significantly higher levels of both violent and nonviolent delinquency than gay males, whereas lesbians reported more involvement in nonviolent delinquency and, to a lesser extent, violent delinquency relative to heterosexual females. Analyses also revealed that lesbians reported significantly more delinquent behavior, particularly for nonviolent delinquency, than gay males. Future research should explore the mechanisms that account for these observed patterns and how they can be used to more fully understand the etiology of delinquency.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
We wish to thank the Editor for pointing out this relatively parsimonious explanation.
References
Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 47–88.
Armour, S., & Haynie, D. L. (2007). Adolescent sexual debut and later delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 141–152.
Barnes, J. C., Jorgensen, C., Beaver, K. M., Boutwell, B. B., & Wright, J. P. (2015). Arrest prevalence in a national sample of adults: The role of sex and race/ethnicity. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40, 457–465.
Bell, N. J., O’Neal, K. K., Feng, D., & Schoenrock, C. J. (1999). Gender and sexual risk. Sex Roles, 41, 313–332.
Bennett, S., Farrington, D. P., & Huesmann, L. R. (2005). Explaining gender differences in crime and violence: The importance of social cognitive skills. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10, 263–288.
Biglan, A., Metzler, C. W., Wirt, R., Ary, D., Noell, J., Ochs, L., … Hood, D. (1990). Social and behavioral factors associated with high-risk sexual behavior among adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 13, 245–261.
Boutwell, B. B., Barnes, J. C., Deaton, R., & Beaver, K. M. (2013). On the evolutionary origins of life-course persistent offending: A theoretical scaffold for Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 322, 72–80.
Cantor, R. J. (1982). Family correlates of male and female delinquency. Criminology, 20, 149–167.
Ellis, L., Hoffman, H., & Burke, D. M. (1990). Sex, sexual orientation and criminal and violent behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1207–1212.
Ellis, L., & Walsh, A. (2000). Criminology: A global perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Garnette, L., Irvine, A., Reyes, C., & Wilber, S. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and the juvenile justice system. In F. T. Sherman & F. H. Jacobs (Eds.), Juvenile justice: Advancing research, policy, and practice (pp. 156–173). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Harden, K. P., Mendle, J., Hill, J. E., Turkheimer, E., & Emery, R. E. (2007). Rethinking timing of first sex and delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 373–385.
Harris, K. M. (2009). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Waves I & II, 1994–1996; Wave III, 2001–2002; Wave IV, 2007–2009 [machine-readable data file and documentation]. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Harris, K. M., Florey, F., Tabor, J., Bearman, P. S., Jones, J., & Udry, R. J. (2003). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health: Research design [www document]. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design.
Haynie, D. L., & South, S. J. (2005). Residential mobility and adolescent violence. Social Forces, 84, 361–374.
Koeppel, M. D. H. (2015). Assessing the association between self-control and self-reported criminal behaviors between sexual orientation groups. Criminal Justice Review, 40, 117–130.
Lippa, R. A. (2008). Sex differences and sexual orientation differences in personality: Findings from the BBC internet survey. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 173–187.
Lussier, P., Proulx, J., & LeBlanc, M. (2005). Criminal propensity, deviant sexual interests and criminal activity of sexual aggressors against women: A comparison of explanatory models. Criminology, 43, 249–282.
Mears, D. P., Cochran, J. C., & Beaver, K. M. (2013). Self-control theory and nonlinear effects on offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 29, 447–476.
Metzler, C. W., Noell, J., Biglan, A., Ary, D., & Smolkowski, K. (1994). The social context for risky sexual behavior among adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 17, 419–438.
Meyer, I. H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 38–56.
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Rutter, M., & Silva, P. A. (2001). Sex differences in antisocial behavior: Conduct disorder, delinquency, and violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Nedelec, J. L., & Beaver, K. M. (2012). The association between sexual behavior and antisocial behavior: Insights from an evolutionary informed analysis. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28, 329–345.
Pollock, W., Menard, S., Elliott, D. S., & Huizinga, D. H. (2015). It’s official: Predictors of self-reported vs. officially recorded arrests. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43, 69–79.
Ramrakha, S., Bell, M. L., Paul, C., Dickson, N., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2007). Childhood behavior problems linked to sexual risk taking in young adulthood: A birth cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 1272–1279.
Rowe, D. C., Flannery, A. T., & Flannery, D. J. (1995). Sex differences in crime: Do means and within-sex variation have similar causes? Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 32, 84–100.
Sandfort, T. G. (2005). Sexual orientation and gender: Stereotypes and beyond. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 595–611.
Savin-Williams, R. C., & Joyner, K. (2013). The dubious assessment of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents of Add Health. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 413–422.
Thornberry, T. P., & Krohn, M. D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. Criminal Justice, 4, 33–83.
Udry, J. R. (2003). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Waves I and II, 1994–1996; Wave III, 2001–2002 [machine readable data file and documentation]. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Widom, C. S. (1977). A methodology for studying non-institutionalized psychopaths. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 674–683.
Wilson, J. W., & Herrnstein, R. J. (1985). Crime & human nature: The definitive study of the causes of crime. New York: The Free Press.
Zuckerman, M., Bone, R. N., Neary, R., Mangelsdorff, D., & Brustman, B. (1972). What is the sensation seeker? Personality trait and experience correlates of the Sensation Seeking Scales. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 39, 308–321.
Zuckerman, M., Tushup, R., & Finner, S. (1976). Sexual attitude and experience: Attitude and personality correlates and changes produced by a course in sexuality. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 7–19.
Acknowledgments
This research used data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a Grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due to Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (addhealth@unc.edu). No direct support was received from Grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beaver, K.M., Connolly, E.J., Schwartz, J.A. et al. Sexual Orientation and Involvement in Nonviolent and Violent Delinquent Behaviors: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1759–1769 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0717-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0717-3