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

• Published in: Journal of youth and adolescence 2020-06, Vol.49 (6), p.1260-1276
• Main Authors: Siennick, Sonja E., Widdowson, Alex O., Feinberg, Mark E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Child development; Clinical Psychology; Delinquency; Depression (Psychology); Deviance; Drug use; Empirical Research; Grade 9; Health Psychology; History of Psychology; Influence; Juvenile delinquency; Latent class analysis; Law and Psychology; Mental depression; Peer relationships; Peers; Psychology; Social networks; Social research; Substance abuse; Symptoms; Teenagers; Youth
• ISSN: 0047-2891; 1573-6601
• DOI: 10.1007/s10964-020-01213-1

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; M age 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.