RT Article
T1 Towards an Explanatory Taxonomy of Adolescent Delinquents: Identifying Several Social-Psychological Profiles
JF Journal of quantitative criminology
VO 24
IS 2
SP 179
OP 203
A1 Brennan, Tim
A2 Breitenbach, Markus
A2 Dieterich, William
LA English
YR 2008
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1767143508
AB Taxonomic structure is examined in two large samples of delinquent youth in a domain of socio-psychological and personality factors. This paper offers a partial empirical test of the overlapping theoretical taxonomies of Moffitt (Pshycol Rev 100:674–701, 1993), Lykken (The antisocial personalities, 1995) and Mealey (1995). The first sample consisted of juvenile offenders ( n = 1,572) from three state systems. Multiple cluster analysis methods were applied (Wards method, standard K-means, bootstrapped K-means and a semi-supervised pattern recognition technique). Core or exemplar cases were identified by means of a voting procedure. Seven clusters recurrently emerged across replications. While clear analogues of Moffitt’s two main categories were found, several additional stable subtypes emerged that were clearly reminiscent of Lykken’s sociopathic, neurotic-internalizing and “normal” types. However, boundaries between types were fuzzy and unstable, and many unclassified cases existed. Internal validation was assessed by cross-method verification. External validation assessed type differentiation on several delinquent behaviors. Finally, generalizability was assessed by repeating the clustering on a large replication sample ( n = 1,453) from another state. Six of the seven initial types re-emerged.
K1 Bootstrap aggregation
K1 Delinquent types
K1 Cluster Analysis
K1 Patterns
K1 Taxonomy
DO 10.1007/s10940-008-9045-7