Does a change in moral neutralization from early to mid-adolescence predict a change in delinquency?

ABSTRACT

A growth mixture modeling (GMM) analysis of neutralization scores in 1,830 youth across six waves of data revealed evidence of a three-class model in which moral neutralization either increased (low accelerating), decreased (high decelerating), or remained the same (moderate stable) over time. Controlling for age, sex, race, group assignment, and Wave 1 delinquency, an analysis of covariance revealed a significantly greater increase in Wave 6 delinquency in the moderate stable group than in the low accelerating group. When the average neutralization score was added as a control variable, the low accelerating group was highest, the moderate stable group next highest, and the high decelerating group lowest on Wave 6 delinquency. These results indicate that change in the pattern of neutralization scores (accelerating, stable, decelerating) may be as important as the level of moral neutralization at any particular point in time in determining the effect of neutralization on future delinquency.

KEYWORDS:

• Moral neutralization
• delinquency
• growth mixture modeling
• trajectories

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author received no funding for this paper and has no conflicts of interest to report.

Notes on contributors

Glenn D. Walters

Glenn D. Walters, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University where he teaches classes in corrections and criminology. His principal research interests include offender assessment, mediation analysis, and the development of an overarching psychological theory of crime.