Cited by 69Crime Patterns and InterventionsIdentity, Memory, and TherapyChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Linking delinquency and personal identity formation across adolescence: examining between- and within-person associations

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Mercer, Natalie, Crocetti, Elisabetta, Branje, Susan, van Lier, Pol, Meeus, Wim·2017·Developmental Psychology

Abstract

Adolescent delinquency and identity formation have both been described in relation to the confusion, doubt, and need for individuation and autonomy faced by adolescents. While theoretical conceptualizations (e.g., Erikson, 1968; Moffitt, 1993) suggest that delinquency and identity formation might be developmentally intertwined across adolescence, this link had yet to be longitudinally examined. This study tested whether delinquency and identity are related and whether we could determine a developmental order considering both between- and within-person associations across adolescence. We examined these associations in a multi-informant sample of 497 Dutch adolescents followed for 5 annual waves from age 14-18. Between-person cross-lagged models showed that adolescents who scored higher on delinquency relative to their peers, scored lower on commitment and higher on reconsideration, 1 year later. Within-person cross-lagged models showed that when adolescents reported above their own average on delinquency, they reported decreased commitment and increased reconsideration 1 year later. Additionally, within-persons, when adolescents reported an increase in in-depth exploration compared with their own average they reported decreased delinquency 1 year later. From these results we can conclude that delinquency and personal identity are indeed related across adolescence. Experimenting with delinquency hampers identity formation by increasing reconsideration and decreasing commitment. Within-person results suggest that interventions tailored to increase in-depth exploration in adolescents may help to prevent adolescent delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record

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  • Increasing delinquency predicted more identity reconsideration.

    “and more identity reconsideration”

    From Adolescent identity development in context. (2022) · cites this paper as [40]

  • An increase in in-depth exploration predicted a decrease in delinquency one year later.

    “an increase of in-depth exploration predicted a decrease in delinquency one year later [40]”

    From Adolescent identity development in context. (2022) · cites this paper as [40]

  • Increasing delinquency predicted weaker identity commitments.

    “increasing delinquency predicted weaker identity commitments”

    From Adolescent identity development in context. (2022) · cites this paper as [40]

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  1. [48]48. Muthén, L. K. and Muthén, B. O. (1998 -l2015). Mplus user's guide (7th ed.) Los Angeles, CA: Author.

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Authors
Mercer, N., Crocetti, E., Branje, S., van Lier, P., & Meeus, W.
Affiliations
Utrecht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Mercer, Natalie
Venue
Developmental Psychology
Published
2017-11
Volume
53
Issue
11
Pages
2182-2194
ISSN
  • 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-0599
OpenAlex
W2765667556
Cited by
69
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
FWCI
10.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • Research portal (Tilburg University) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
juvenile delinquency, personal identity formation, identity commitment, reconsideration, within-person associations, between-person associations, developmental order, juvenile delinquency prevention, multi-informant data
MeSH terms
Problem Behavior, Adolescent, Psychology, Adolescent, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Models, Psychological, Personality Development, Prospective Studies, Likelihood Functions

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