The Impact of Early Onset Delinquency on Violent Delinquency Across Different Developmental Trajectories of Delinquent Peer Association

This study explores how and to what extent early onset of delinquency and developmental trajectories of delinquent peer association influence the likelihood of violent delinquency during mid- to late adolescence. Relying on a sample of Korean adolescents, we employed group-based trajectory models and mixed effects negative binomial regression models to estimate the questions. We identified distinctive developmental patterns of delinquent peer association and found that the effect of early onset delinquency on violent delinquency was greater at lower levels of delinquent peer association while early onset delinquency was not predictive of violent delinquency among adolescents with higher levels of delinquent peer association. Policy implications, including intervention and prevention efforts, as well as suggestions for future research are highlighted.