In some research, the main focus is to highlight the extent to which deviant child and adolescent behaviors affect life in adulthood (Sampson & Laub, 1992). Studies have found that early aggressiveness predict later aggression and criminal behavior and they have also found that there is a significant level of stability in crime and aggression over the course of a lifetime (Sampson & Laub, 1992). This inquisitiveness has led to many studies trying to find causes for adolescents to be criminals or be involved in criminal behavior throughout their lives.

While there are several differences between the genders, there are also many similarities at the time of adolescence. However, I wanted to highlight the differences because I believe that some researchers unknowingly group males and females in their studies. In examining the age differences of adolescents, there was more delinquency reported in late adolescence than in early. This seemed to be the case for both sexes. There was also evident differences between the races in some of the studies I researched, however, I was only focusing on the white adolescent results.

Another predictor of adolescent delinquency that, I found, is not really explored as frequently, is sexual abuse. There was only one article found in my research that examined the effects of sexual abuse on delinquency. Also, this study only focused on females. Watts & Ellis (1993) found that female risk of alcoholism is significantly effected by sexual abuse in childhood or early adolescence. This study found an obvious difference in the drug and alcohol use among girls who had been sexually molested and those who had not (Watts & Ellis, 1993). The females that participated were in grades seven through twelve. The adolescent girls in the lower grade levels that were sexually abused were more likely to engage in drug and alcohol use than girls in the higher grade levels who had also been abused (Watts & Ellis, 1993). Even though all these findings were discovered, the researchers stated that there is a significant but weak positive correlation between sexual abuse and drug and alcohol use as well as other delinquent behaviors (Watts & Ellis, 1993).

Another explanation of adolescent delinquency is environmental influences. In one study, researchers found that of 836 adolescents (with a mean age of 13.5 years) interviewed, 11 percent said that they had used an illicit drug at least once, 39 percent had drank alcohol in the past year, 18 percent had smoked tobacco, and 60 percent had some dating experience with adolescents of the opposite gender (Rowe & Flannery, 1994). This study looked at factors such as value of academic achievement, parental encouragement of academic achievement, and the child's ability to control their emotions. Rowe & Flannery (1994) found that compared to peer relations and negative emotionality, delinquency proneness accounted for four times more delinquencies.

Another study conducted by Rowe & Flannery (1994), found that more positive peer relations were linked to higher levels of delinquency. Why would positive peer relations motivate adolescents to more delinquent activity? This particular study found that ado

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