Youth with Co-occurring Delinquency and Depressive Symptoms: Do They Have Better or Worse Delinquent Outcomes?

J Youth Adolesc. 2020 Jun;49(6):1260-1276. doi: 10.1007/s10964-020-01213-1. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Abstract

Delinquent youth often experience depression, but depression's impact on their future deviance is unclear. Using survey and social network data on a panel of 9th graders (N = 8701; Mage at baseline = 15.6; 48% male; 85% white; 18% eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch) followed throughout high school, this study tested whether depressive symptoms predicted later deviance or deviant peer affiliations among already delinquent youth. A latent class analysis revealed that 4% of respondents showed above-average levels of delinquency but not depressive symptoms, and 3% were above average on both. Compared to the delinquent-only group, the delinquent-depressed group went on to have less deviant friends, and to engage in less deviance themselves. However, peer deviance was not a reliable explanation for the reductions in respondents' own future deviance. Depressive symptoms thus may play a protective role against continued delinquency and substance use among youth who are already delinquent, but it is not because they reduce deviant peer affiliations.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / complications
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology*
  • Depression / complications
  • Depression / psychology*
  • Female
  • Friends
  • Humans
  • Juvenile Delinquency / psychology*
  • Male
  • Peer Group
  • Risk Factors
  • Social Behavior
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires