The Gender Gap in Delinquency: Does SES Matter?

Some researchers argue that the gender gap in delinquency will vary by socioeconomic status (SES); others argue instead for similarity in the gender gap in delinquency across SES. An important shortcoming of the existing research is the paucity of studies that disaggregate the data on delinquent outcomes to consider the possible impact of socioeconomic status on both the extent of overlap in predictors of females' and males' delinquency, and the extent to which these predictors help to explain the gender gap in delinquency. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study addresses the shortfalls in empirical research by examining the gender gap for the juvenile population as a whole as well as across specific SES groupings, focusing on these key mediators of delinquency: grades, parental attachment, and delinquent peers. Data support the argument for similarity in the gender gap across SES, though the effect of predictors varies.