Do adolescent delinquency and problem drinking share psychosocial risk factors? A literature review
Highlights
► We found shared risk factors for delinquency and problem drinking. ► Risk factors include peers, family, school, impulsivity and sensation seeking. ► Risk factors encompassed by psychosocial control theory and social learning theory ► Parsimonious framework for problem behaviours discussed
Introduction
Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of adolescent problem drinking, relative to delinquency, it has received far less attention using an integrated theoretical approach (Ennett et al., 2008, Petraitis et al., 1995). One of the more dominant approaches to explaining adolescent problem behaviour, Akers's (1977) social learning theory, suggests that problem drinking, like other deviant behaviours, is shaped by social processes. Yet, few attempts have been made to understand the psychological aspects that may contribute to this phenomenon (Baker, 2010, Costello et al., 2006, Ennett et al., 2008). This has been a substantial omission within the literature, particularly as there are well-established psychosocial theories of delinquent behaviour with considerable explanatory value (Lanier & Henry, 1998). Given that delinquency and problem drinking are two prevalent types of adolescent problem behaviour, they are likely to share classes of aetiological causes (Jessor & Jessor, 1977), warranting further research in this area.
Unfortunately, research that has investigated adolescent problem drinking and delinquency has generally examined these variables separately (e.g., Buist, 2010, Crosnoe, 2006, Montgomery et al., 2011). Of those that have analysed these behaviours concurrently, relatively few researchers have attempted to classify the underlying psychosocial risk factors common to both (e.g., Kenny and Schreiner, 2009, Putniņš, 2006). Meta-analytical studies that have comprehensively reviewed and organised psychosocial risk factors for adolescent delinquency and problem drinking have been limited. As demonstrated by the following literature review, meta-analytical articles summarising psychosocial causes were found only for delinquency and were few in number (Cottle et al., 2001, Leschield et al., 2008). From this perspective, the scope of the current literature review builds upon previous literature in an attempt to gain a theoretical understanding of adolescent delinquency and problem drinking.
In meta-analytical studies of delinquency, recurrent risk factors for delinquency were identified as regulatory agents, that is, elements of social or psychological control (Cottle et al., 2001, Leschield et al., 2008). An integrated theoretical framework that encompasses sociological and psychological control factors of delinquency is Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory. Its synthesis with earlier social models of problem behaviours, such as social learning theory (Akers, 1977), may provide a comprehensive theoretical account of adolescent delinquency and problem drinking. If collective psychosocial control factors for both behaviours are identified, an extended version of psychosocial control theory may provide a parsimonious framework to organise adolescent delinquency and problem drinking, and may also facilitate understanding of problem behaviours, and assist detection and early intervention efforts.
Problem behaviour theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977), an overarching theory of deviance, encompasses a social-psychological framework of common causes to account for adolescent involvement in a range of multiple problematic behaviours. Variables derived from individual, social, and environmental systems are thought to serve as instigations for involvement in unconventional problematic behaviours. Finding collective risk factors for two types of problem behaviours across these dimensions would provide support for the assumption of common causes within problem behaviour theory.
Social learning theory (Akers, 1977), a dominant sociological perspective of deviant behaviour, argues that unconventional actions are the result of group influence, observation, and modelling of salient role models (Ennett et al., 2008, Vold et al., 2002). Research has shown that adolescents who are exposed to delinquent or alcohol-using peers or parents are more likely to engage in these behaviours (Haynie, 2002, May and Jarjoura, 2006), thus providing some empirical validation (Akers, 2009). Social learning theory provides a valuable explanation of adolescent peer influence, a variable overlooked in Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory. Peer influence may be a particularly important variable for adolescent drinking styles, which have been shown to include heavy alcohol consumption in predominantly social situations (Coker & Borders, 2001). From this perspective, the integration of elements of social learning theory with Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory is likely to provide a more inclusive account of adolescent involvement in delinquent and problem drinking behaviours. However, social learning theory does not account for the psychological aspects involved in problem behaviours, unlike Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory, which considers both sociological and psychological risk factors.
Building on Hirschi's (1969) social control theory, and consistent with Jessor and Jessor's (1977) assumption that risk factors emerge from multiple domains, Mak (1990) developed psychosocial control theory, an integrated approach to explaining adolescent delinquency.
Mak (1990) argued that adolescents with strong attachments to family are less likely to engage in delinquent activity due to fear of disrupting this relationship. This is consistent with research which has found that adolescents with weakened attachments to family were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviours (Cottle et al., 2001, Hoeve et al., 2011, Leschield et al., 2008).
Those who are attached to school, or have educational or occupational aspirations, avoid delinquent behaviour as it may jeopardise future career options (Mak, 1990). This is consistent with research finding that poor school attitudes or school exclusion is related to higher levels of delinquency (Li et al., 2011, McCrystal et al., 2006).
Parallel to Jessor and Jessor's (1977) assumption that risk factors for adolescent problem behaviour emerge from various domains, Mak (1990) expanded on Hirschi's (1969) original theory and introduced psychological control variables of impulsiveness and emotional empathy. Mak (1990) argued that those who have heightened levels of impulsivity and lower levels of emotional empathy are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviours due to the inability to foresee the consequences of their actions and failure to fully appreciate the disapproval of others, respectively.
In addition to delinquency, research has indicated that impulsivity is often associated with problem drinking (Cooper et al., 2003, Curcio and George, 2011). Sensation seeking, a facet of impulsivity, has also been linked with drinking behaviours (Hittner and Swickert, 2006, Park et al., 2009), although differs from impulsivity in that it is particularly linked with binge drinking (Castellanos-Ryan and Conrod, 2011, Curcio and George, 2011). Impulsivity and sensation seeking are seldom investigated separately (yet concurrently) due to conceptual overlaps (Steinberg et al., 2008). Given that empirical evidence suggests impulsivity and sensation seeking are associated with differing outcomes, it may be valuable to include both traits in a revised version of psychosocial control theory.
Prosocial neighbourhood values, commitment to conventional lines of action, and community involvement was also found to be a deterrent to delinquent activity (Mak, 1990). Mak (1990) also found that those who did not believe in the moral validity of the law were more likely to engage in delinquency, as they did not respect societal laws and therefore did not feel obliged to obey them Hirschi (1969) and, more recently, Mak (1990) found that family, school, individual, and neighbourhood attachments act as social and psychological regulatory agents, encouraging compliance with societal norms. When these attachments are disrupted or weakened, it can interfere with the adolescents' ability or willingness to comply with conventional lines of action, and may result in problematic behaviour.
Even with consideration of sociological and psychological aspects of delinquency, Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory has some limitations. First, psychosocial control theory fails to consider peer influence. Given that peers have been found to be more influential than parents for adolescents (Crawford & Novak, 2002), integrating elements of social learning theory with psychosocial control theory may strengthen explanatory value. Second, impulsivity in this model has not been differentiated from sensation seeking. Despite being a facet of impulsivity, sensation seeking has considerable differences. For example, impulsivity refers to the inability to plan ahead and consider the consequences of one's actions (Whiteside & Lynam, 2009), whereas sensation seeking refers to those who seek out various, novel and thrilling forms of stimulation (Whiteside and Lynam, 2009, Zuckerman and Kuhlman, 2000). Unfortunately, separate measurement of impulsivity and sensation seeking, which are arguably distinct constructs, is rarely undertaken due to conceptual overlaps (Steinberg et al., 2008). In this regard, two separate, conceptually focused measures of impulsivity and sensation seeking are required to target only the core aspects of each construct. In spite of these limitations, psychosocial control theory may provide a plausible account of adolescent involvement in problem drinking behaviours due to common aetiological causes (Jessor & Jessor, 1977).
The overarching aim of the current research was to review the existing literature on psychosocial risk factors for delinquency and problem drinking. To do so, we examined research published post 1990 examining aetiological or psychosocial causes of delinquency or problem drinking, paying particular attention to concurrent delinquency and problem drinking outcomes. We thought it important to review literature published post 1990 to explore whether more recent literature still supports the 1990 psychosocial control model.
We outline four key research objectives underlying the overall aim of this review. First, we will explore the aetiological or psychosocial causes of delinquency. Based on previous meta-analytical studies, we expect to find recurrent psychosocial risk factors of delinquency, including family, individual, school, and neighbourhood factors. We also expect peer influence, an element of social learning theory, to emerge as a risk factor for delinquency.
Second, we will explore the aetiological or psychosocial causes of problem drinking, and assess whether these factors are consistent with those described in Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory. We expect that peer influence and sensation seeking will also emerge as risk factors for problem drinking, suggesting that the inclusion of these variables in a revised version of psychosocial control theory would strengthen its explanatory power.
Third, we will examine empirical studies that have assessed the aetiological or psychosocial causes of delinquency and problem drinking concurrently, and assess whether these risk factors could be encompassed by a revised version of psychosocial control theory (including peer influence and sensation seeking).
Finally, we will distill the findings of all studies reviewed, and classify the significant aetiological or psychosocial risk factors for both types of problem behaviours according to types of psychosocial categories. We expect to identify recurrent psychosocial control factors shared by delinquency and problem drinking. This would provide support for a parsimonious model of delinquency and problem drinking that could better assist early detection, prevention, screening, and intervention efforts.
Section snippets
Search strategies
We chose to conduct a systematic literature review to answer our research objectives, particularly due to the expansiveness of the terms “delinquency” and “problem drinking”. For example, delinquency has been extended to describe aggression, recidivism, sexual assault, sexual promiscuity, illicit drug use, alcohol use, and murder. The extensive description of this term causes difficulties when trying to compare effect sizes as the actual outcome variable being analysed may vary greatly between
Risk factors of adolescent delinquency
This search returned 28 studies that focused on aetiological factors contributing to adolescent delinquency (see Table 1). The most frequently reported significant risk factor of delinquency was attachment to delinquent peers cited in 13 studies (Baerveldt et al., 2008, Boers et al., 2010, Carroll et al., 2008, Cottle et al., 2001, Fergusson et al., 2000, Hartnagel, 1997, Haynie, 2002, Johnson et al., 2001, Losoncz and Tyson, 2007, Mak et al., 2003, Mak and Kang, 2005, Monohan et al., 2009),
Discussion
The overarching aim of the current research was to review the existing literature on psychosocial risk factors for delinquency and problem drinking. We did so by examining research published post 1990 exploring aetiological or psychosocial causes of delinquency and problem drinking, and paying particular attention to concurrent delinquency and problem drinking outcomes. We found recurrent psychosocial control factors shared by delinquency and problem drinking that are encompassed by a revised
Conclusion
The current study found that delinquency and problem drinking share psychosocial risk factors that are encompassed by extending Mak's (1990) psychosocial control theory to include social learning processes. This model could help gain a better understanding of a range of adolescent problem behaviours. Future investigations could explore whether psychosocial control theory could be extended to explain other health compromising behaviours, such as gambling, sexual promiscuity, and illicit drug
Role of the funding source
This research report was submitted by Angela L. Curcio as a partial requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology at the University of Canberra. This research was conducted with the financial support of an Australian Postgraduate Award PhD Scholarship awarded to Angela L. Curcio.
Contributors
All authors designed the study. Angela Curcio conducted the research and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final version of the manuscript. Anita Mak and Amanda George provided overall supervision for the research presented in the manuscript and edited the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The author(s) declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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