Characteristics of adolescent

females with limited delinquency

Developmental challenges in relation to family, peers and education

Azadé Azad

Doctoral Thesis in Psychology at Stockholm University, Sweden 2019

Characteristics of adolescent females with limited
delinquency
Developmental challenges in relation to family, peers and education
Azadé Azad
Academic dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Stockholm
University to be publicly defended on Friday 26 April 2019 at 10.00 in David Magnussonsalen
(U31), Frescati Hagväg 8.

Abstract
Adolescence is a developmental period marked with several changes in a young person’s life. Most adolescents who commit
crimes desist over time. Despite this, research has mainly focused on those with extensive and long-term delinquency,
including mostly males. Young females with limited delinquency are thus an under-researched group. The overall aim
of the thesis was to explore the characteristics of young females with limited delinquency, and relate these features
to developmental aspects of adolescence. Further, the objective was to study potential challenges they experience, in
connection to family, peers and school. All four studies were based on data from young females sentenced to youth service.
Studies 1 and 2 include all (N=144) females convicted in a major city in Sweden during 2007–2012. The data collected
through self-reports based on ADAD interviews at the beginning of youth service in Study 1 was further complemented
and followed up in Study 2 with registry data on education and recidivism 24 months after starting their sentence. Studies
3 and 4 were based on in-depth interviews with nine adolescent females who started their sentence between 2012–2013
in one of two major cities in Sweden. The results confirmed the assumption that this group of offenders displayed limited
delinquency. Their self-reports in Study 1 showed low involvement in crimes during twelve months prior to youth service,
which was similar to the reporting of a reference group of females in general. Displaying limited delinquency was supported
by registry data in Study 2, showing that the majority of the females did not reoffend within two years after being sentenced,
as measured by suspicion and conviction rates. However, they did show high educational deficits. This was evident both
by high levels of self-reported school problems in Study 1 and final grade point in compulsory and upper secondary
school in Study 2. Their educational attainment was lower than adolescent females in general, irrespective of whether they
reoffended or not. These findings suggest that although the females were limited in their delinquency, their low levels
of education could still put them at risk for suboptimal development. In the interviews, participants ascribed particular
importance to peers and family when describing their delinquency. The narratives illustrated how the process of delinquency
as it concerned interpersonal relations involved mutually influential exchanges, both contributing to as well as being
affected by the delinquency. As such, delinquency was, in Study 3, portrayed as a way to socialize, where delinquent
peers were considered important for committing crimes, and pro-social peers for desisting. Likewise, family relations in
Study 4 were given a prominent role in the entire process. Accordingly, delinquency was described as a consequence of
the relations to the family, where these were negatively as well as positively affected by the crimes. The collective results
indicate that committing crimes for the females may be viewed as part of normative development, in which the quest for
independence and establishing ones’ identity can contribute to these behaviors. Practical implications for work with young
female offenders are also discussed.

Keywords: female offenders, limited delinquency, adolescence, educational attainment, interpersonal relations, peers,
family.

Stockholm 2019
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-166492

ISBN 978-91-7797-608-0
ISBN 978-91-7797-609-7

Department of Psychology
Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm
CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENT FEMALES WITH LIMITED
DELINQUENCY
Azadé Azad
Characteristics of adolescent
females with limited
delinquency
Developmental challenges in relation to family, peers and education

Azadé Azad
©Azadé Azad, Stockholm University 2019

ISBN print 978-91-7797-608-0

ISBN PDF 978-91-7797-609-7

Illustration by Miriam Napadow

Printed in Sweden by Universitetsservice US-AB, Stockholm 2019

To Skorpan and Nebo, without whom this thesis would have
been completed in half the time, and with half the pleasure

for all I am unable to give

for all that you endure too much of
and all the love between us
in between
Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period marked with several changes in a

young person’s life. Most adolescents who commit crimes desist over time.
Despite this, research has mainly focused on those with extensive and long-
term delinquency, including mostly males. Young females with limited
delinquency are thus an under-researched group. The overall aim of the thesis
was to explore the characteristics of young females with limited delinquency,
and relate these features to developmental aspects of adolescence. Further, the
objective was to study potential challenges they experience, in connection to
family, peers and school. All four studies were based on data from young
females sentenced to youth service. Studies 1 and 2 include all (N=144)
females convicted in a major city in Sweden during 2007–2012. The data
collected through self-reports based on ADAD interviews at the beginning of
youth service in Study 1 was further complemented and followed up in Study
2 with registry data on education and recidivism 24 months after starting their
sentence. Studies 3 and 4 were based on in-depth interviews with nine
adolescent females who started their sentence between 2012–2013 in one of
two major cities in Sweden. The results confirmed the assumption that this
group of offenders displayed limited delinquency. Their self-reports in Study
1 showed low involvement in crimes during twelve months prior to youth
service, which was similar to the reporting of a reference group of females in
general. Displaying limited delinquency was supported by registry data in
Study 2, showing that the majority of the females did not reoffend within two
years after being sentenced, as measured by suspicion and conviction rates.
However, they did show high educational deficits. This was evident both by
high levels of self-reported school problems in Study 1 and final grade point
in compulsory and upper secondary school in Study 2. Their educational
attainment was lower than adolescent females in general, irrespective of
whether they reoffended or not. These findings suggest that although the
females were limited in their delinquency, their low levels of education could
still put them at risk for suboptimal development. In the interviews,
participants ascribed particular importance to peers and family when
describing their delinquency. The narratives illustrated how the process of
delinquency as it concerned interpersonal relations involved mutually
influential exchanges, both contributing to as well as being affected by the
delinquency. As such, delinquency was, in Study 3, portrayed as a way to
socialize, where delinquent peers were considered important for committing
crimes, and pro-social peers for desisting. Likewise, family relations were in
Study 4 given a prominent role in the entire process. Accordingly, delinquency
was described as a consequence of the relations to the family, where these
were negatively as well as positively affected by the crimes. The collective
results indicate that committing crimes for the females may be viewed as part
of normative development, in which the quest for independence and
establishing ones’ identity can contribute to these behaviors. Practical
implications for work with young female offenders are also discussed.

Keywords: female offenders, limited delinquency, adolescence, educational

attainment, interpersonal relations, peers, family
Svensk sammanfattning

Under tonåren ökar olika typer av normbrytande beteenden, däribland att begå
brott. De flesta tonåringar som begår brott slutar med dessa beteenden över
tid. Trots detta har forskning mestadels fokuserat på de som uppvisar
långvarig brottslighet, och framförallt på män. Unga kvinnor som uppvisar
begränsad kriminalitet är därmed en underbeforskad grupp. Det övergripande
syftet med denna avhandling är att explorativt undersöka vad som
karaktäriserar tonårsflickor med begränsad kriminalitet. Vidare är syftet att
studera olika utvecklingspsykologiska utmaningar som de kan uppleva i
interpersonella relationer, däribland familj, vänner och skola. Samtliga
delstudier är baserade på unga kvinnor som är dömda till ungdomstjänst.
Studie 1 och 2 inkluderar alla flickor (N=144) som dömdes till ungdomstjänst
i en storstad i Sverige under 2007-2012. Studie 1 utgår från självrapporterad
data i form av ADAD-intervjuer och Studie 2 följer upp samma grupp över tid
med registerdata med fokus på återfall i brott inom två år efter att ha påbörjat
ungdomstjänsten samt skolprestation i grundskolan och gymnasiet. Studie 3
och 4 består av kvalitativa intervjuer med nio flickor som påbörjade sin
ungdomstjänst 2012-2013 i en av två storstäder i Sverige. Resultaten från
Studie 1 och 2 bekräftade grundantagandet att detta är en grupp med begränsad
brottlighet. Deras självrapporter visade låga frekvenser av kriminalitet och
drog/alkoholbruk ett år innan ungdomstjänsten, i linje med en referensgrupp
av tonårsflickor. Den begränsade brottsligheten bekräftades av
registeruppföljningen vilket visade att majoriteten av gruppen varken
misstänktes eller lagfördes för nya brott inom två år efter att ha påbörjat
ungdomstjänst. Däremot visade båda studierna på skolrelaterade problem. I
Studie 1 självrapporterade flickorna höga nivåer av skolproblem (ex.
läs/skrivsvårigheter, skolk, mobbning) och i Studie 2 fann vi att majoriteten
hade låga betyg både i grundskolan och gymnasiet, i jämförelse med flickor
generellt. Detta oavsett om de återföll i brott eller inte. Dessa resultat indikerar
att även om flickorna är begränsade i sin kriminalitet är de fortfarande i risk
för utanförskap där deras låga nivåer av utbildning kan leda till suboptimal
utveckling på lång sikt. Vidare visade de kvalitativa intervjuerna att flickorna
lade särskild vikt vid interpersonella relationer när de beskrev sin brottslighet.
Dessa processer beskrevs innehålla ömsesidiga utbyten, där relationerna till
vänner och familj både påverkade och påverkades av brottet. I linje med detta
beskrevs brottslighet i Studie 3 som ett sätt att socialisera med vänner, där
antisociala vänner tillskrevs betydelse för att begå brott och prosociala
kompisar ansågs vara av vikt för att sluta. På samma sätt tillskrevs familjen
stor betydelse i processen av att begå brott. Detta illustrerades bland annat
genom att beskriva brottsligheten som en konsekvens av relationen till
familjen, med särskild vikt på föräldrarna. Dessa relationer beskrevs också ha
blivit påverkade av kriminaliteten, både på ett negativt men också positivt sätt.
Resultaten diskuteras utifrån utvecklingspsykologiska perspektiv, där begå
brott i vissa avseenden föreslås kunna ses som en del i normalutvecklingen
under tonårstiden där strävan efter självständighet och identitetsskapande kan
bidra till kriminella beteenden. Vidare diskuteras praktiska implikationer för
socialtjänstens arbete med flickor dömda för brott.
Ode to those of importance

Acknowledgments; shout outs; words of appreciation;

the most fun part of a thesis to read/write

I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to my main supervisor Hanna

Ginner Hau* and my co-supervisor Ann-Charlotte Smedler*.

Hanna,
without whom this thesis would not exist, since it was you who introduced me
to this particular field of research and took me on your project in the first place.
You were also the one who kept this whole thing afloat for long periods of
time. All your helpful and creative ideas were of great value for this work, and
I am indebted for all your advice, encouragement and helpful guidance. I
especially thank you for making me see the bigger picture when I got lost in
details.

Ann-Charlotte,
you are a true scholar, and your insights, careful review and immense
knowledge have been invaluable throughout the whole process.

To the both of you, I thank you not only for your support and dedication
throughout the journey of writing this thesis, but mostly I thank you for your
kind hearts and the compassion you showed me throughout the darkest days
of not writing this thesis, and for letting me know that it was ok.

Thank you Sara Hellqvist*, for all the meticulous work in collecting,
analysing and documenting data when working on this project.

I appreciate the input and contribution of Markus Karlsson*, Sigridur

Sigurjónsdóttir*, and Stephan Hau* in the analysis procedure of the data.

I am also grateful to Marie Gustafsson Sendén*, Lilianne Eninger*, Laura

Ferrer-Wreder* and Stefan Wiklund* for your excellent and insightful
comments and suggestions in reviewing my work.

Thanks to Fredrik Jönsson, who, at one point, said it would be close to

impossible to see this thing through, and for letting me prove you wrong.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Heidi Selenius and Lina Leander.
Lina, for giving me my first research assistant job, thus introducing me to the
world of research. Working alongside you within the child witness field was
extremely interesting and inspiring. Heidi, for being an excellent co-worker
and colleague and for letting me come to you with questions relating to
research and everything beyond that.

Ivo*# and Max*#, you have both contributed to this thesis in so many ways,
big and small, and for that I am eternally grateful. But mostly you have been
the truest of friends, in times when this thesis was the furthest on my mind,
and for that I am lost for words.

Ivo,
your long (bearded) hugs (som balsam för min själ). I will cherish the
memories of all the rides on your motorcycle when I lost grip on life, always.
Thank you for being my constant pizza pusher, they were all delicious.
Although we both know that your constant threats about withdrawing from
the world of research are merely empty ones, I do not allow you to leave; you
may not need academia (me) but academia (I) need you. Kitties for life.

Max,
for all that you are
one standard deviation
above all the rest

A special shout out to Sebastian# for always lending me your key and letting
me into my office, as, during periods of time, I always seemed to compulsively
misplace my own. Although there is no such thing as “personality”, yours is
truly one of the best ones. Tell Miriam*#, whose creative genius I am in awe
of, that we’ll always have Paris and that the best is Mljet to come.

Nich Nich#, I will miss how our open doors combined closed off a whole
corridor and I have enjoyed all our banters immensely, even those who were
never ending (especially those). Thank you for the trust and honesty shown by
lending me your thoughts and emotions and for making this “radikala PK-
vänsterfeminist” appreciate all your inappropriate jokes.

Dianita#, you are the perfect combination of chili, lime and chocolate (strong
and feisty yet enriching and sweet). I apologize for all the crying, laughing,
nonsense-conversations as well as PG-13 behaviors in your office (cause it is
first and foremost your office) way too often. However, I am only one-third
to blame (read: Ivo and Joel).

Katarina#, for all your irreducibly detectable qualities making our

interactions fundamental as well as necessary during the last part of this
journey.
Kristina#, you are dear to my heart and I have enjoyed our conversations
tremendously. “En bra avhandling är en färdig avhandling”, am I right?

Philip#, you are so weird. Don’t ever change.

Johanna#, even if you only were present sporadically at the end, your presence
was always a delight. Also, thank you (as well as you are welcome) for the
quotations.

“Magnus”^, for being a person that made me realize how reality never
measures up to the fantasy and for showing me that there is no exception to
the rule. You contributed to the completion of this thesis as much as you did
yours.

To every single person who during lunch/fika endured all my morbid topics
of conversation and answered all/some of my never-ending questions relating
to attachment patterns, relationships and darkest thoughts: wow! I don’t know
why you played along, but I’m glad you did.

My parents# for always being in favor of and encouraging academic pursuits.

Marcus#, min bror från en annan mor, for our life-changing-friendship and
how you for so long were the voice in my head letting me know things would
be ok; I adore your whole essence.

Samira#, for never asking me about my research, and for still not knowing
what it is that I do; your lack of interest is one of many reasons why you are
my BFF in addition to the love of my life.

Emily#, for having the mind-set of a researcher, while being an artist at heart,
and for keeping me sane during insane periods of life, as well as being a
cheerleader of the highest rank, encouraging me to look beyond what is
unbearable.

To the young females* who I interviewed, thank you for allowing your
experiences to be shared. I hope that I was able to do justice to your stories.

A very special gratitude goes out to City of Stockholm / Social Services R &
D* for supplying data as well as providing funding and opportunity for the
work. I am also very appreciative to all the social workers* for their help in
gathering data. Also, big up to all the other different institutions* (i.e., the
Children’s House Foundation; the Lars Hiertas Foundation; the Queen Silvia’s
Jubilee Fund; and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Stockholm University)
giving me financial support, thus allowing me to finish the work, pay my rent
and so forth. FSK^ not included.
Joel<3,
for becoming the words
to a language I had forgotten how to speak
turning my long-lasted ambivalence
into longing for the memory of Ambivalencia

but mostly

for making me dare to choose

for making me choose to dare
so now I no longer need to hide
further away than you can find me

And finally, Skorpan and Nebo, the most wonderful sources of

procrastination, who at one point brilliantly asked me what problems I am
trying to solve when I conduct research, to whom which I had no clever
response at the time. Unfortunately, I still don’t know the answer to that
question.

* those contributing to my thesis in actual terms (e.g., supervising, help in collecting data,
coming up with helpful suggestions, financial support)
# those contributing to my thesis in other terms (e.g., emotional support, TLC, laughter, snacks)
^ those who did not contribute to my thesis in any way possible
List of publications

The original papers are reprinted with permission from the publishers and use
of Open access.

I: Azad, A., & Ginner Hau, H. (2018). Adolescent females with limited
delinquency – At risk of school failure. Children and Youth Services
Review, 95, 384–396.

II: Azad, A., & Ginner Hau, H. (2019). Adolescent females with limited
delinquency – A follow up on educational attainment and
recidivism. Submitted manuscript.

III: Azad, A., Ginner Hau, H., & Karlsson, M. (2018). Adolescent female
offenders’ subjective experiences of how peers influence norm-
breaking behavior. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 35(3),
257–270.

IV: Ginner Hau, H., & Azad, A. (2019). Adolescent female offenders’
subjective experiences of their families’ roles in relation to their
delinquency. Submitted manuscript.
Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................... i
Svensk sammanfattning................................................................................. iii
Ode to those of importance............................................................................ v
Acknowledgments; shout outs; words of appreciation; the most fun part of
a thesis to read/write ................................................................................. v
List of publications ......................................................................................... ix
Introduction .................................................................................................. 13
Adolescent development.............................................................................. 15
The formation of identity .......................................................................... 16
Delinquency as part of adolescent development..................................... 18
Female delinquency ..................................................................................... 21
Gender-neutral vs. gender-specific risk and protective factors ............... 23
The need to study women on their own terms ........................................ 23
The social aspects of adolescent development and its connection to
delinquency .................................................................................................. 26
Family ...................................................................................................... 26
Peers ....................................................................................................... 28
School ..................................................................................................... 29
Applications of justice versus providing welfare for young offenders........... 32
Youth justice in Sweden .......................................................................... 33
General aim ................................................................................................. 35
Aims of the studies .................................................................................. 35
Method ......................................................................................................... 36
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods ..................................... 36
Participants.............................................................................................. 37
Material .................................................................................................... 37
Procedure ................................................................................................ 41
Statistical analyses .................................................................................. 43
Consensual Qualitative Research ........................................................... 44
The steps of CQR ............................................................................... 44
Ethical considerations ............................................................................. 46
Results ......................................................................................................... 48
 Study 1: “Adolescent females with limited delinquency – At risk of school
failure” ..................................................................................................... 48
Criminal involvement and alcohol/drug use ........................................ 48
School ................................................................................................. 48
Social relationships ............................................................................. 49
Family ................................................................................................. 49
Mental health ...................................................................................... 50
Study 2: “Adolescent females with limited delinquency – A follow-up on
educational attainment and recidivism” ................................................... 50
Study 3: “Adolescent female offenders’ subjective experiences of how
peers influence norm-breaking behavior” ................................................ 52
Considering peers as a fundamental part of life ................................. 53
Being both offender and victim in a delinquent context ...................... 53
Committing crimes as a way to socialize ............................................ 54
Collectively creating peer pressure and delinquent norms ................. 54
Being aware of the importance of pro-social peers and the absence of
delinquent peers in order to avoid future delinquency ........................ 55
Study 4: “Adolescent female offenders’ subjective experiences of their
families’ roles in relation to their delinquency”......................................... 55
General themes .................................................................................. 55
Delinquency-specific themes .............................................................. 56
Discussion.................................................................................................... 60
Characteristics of the females – limited delinquency, and low educational
attainment................................................................................................ 62
The females’ own perspectives – the importance of peers and family .... 64
Delinquency and its connection to identity development......................... 67
Implications ............................................................................................. 69
Future research ....................................................................................... 70
Strengths and limitations ......................................................................... 71
Conclusions ............................................................................................. 74
References................................................................................................... 76
Introduction

There is increasing interest in the lives of young women, in science, as well

as in media and society in general. Lately, young females have been portrayed
as both the hope and concern of the future (Harris, 2004). This dual focus has,
on the one hand, given attention to the resilience and achievement shown by
adolescent females. Research has found evidence suggesting that young
women of today are succeeding more than previous generations of women as
well as their contemporary male peers, in regard to several aspects of life,
education providing a well-documented example (Gill, Esson, & Yuen, 2016).
This story of empowerment has, however, both in media and research, been
matched by a narrative of youth at risk, highlighting concerns about young
females engaging in escalated levels of juvenile delinquency and violent
behavior (Pasko & Chesney-Lind, 2011; van Wormer, 2010).

Often when antisocial behaviors of young females have been studied, the
focus has been on the comparatively small group with the most extensive
problems, such as young females in gangs, or within secure care (Belknap &
Holsinger, 2006; Belknap, Holsinger, & Dunn, 1997; Daly, 1992; Vogel,
2017, 2018; Wångby-Lundh, Klingstedt, Bergman, & Ferrer-Wreder, 2018).
Less focus and attention have been directed toward the majority of adolescent
females who commit crimes, but whose delinquency is limited and therefore
leads to non-custodial sanctions. Although they represent the majority of
female teenagers who engage in criminal acts, the emerging knowledge base
on female delinquency is mostly limited to the small group with severe and/or
persistent antisocial behavior. Even fewer studies have used a developmental
approach, in which criminal behavior has been viewed as part of a relatively
common, although not optimal, developmental stage during adolescence. The
main focus of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge about this group by
studying young females sentenced to youth service, a penalty option reserved
for young offenders who are assumed to be at low risk for extensive
criminality or severe psychosocial problems. It is thus most likely that young
females with limited behavioral problems are to be found within this sanction.

With the starting point that delinquency can be viewed as part of adolescent
development, the four different studies aim to investigate, from various
perspectives, how we can understand adolescence and criminality for these
young offenders. In order to do so, the four studies explore different aspects
of a sample of young females’ development in connection to their
delinquency, mainly family, peers and school. These aspects of adolescence

13
have been chosen due to their general importance for healthy development
during adolescence, as well as their strong connection to delinquent behavior
that may occur during this particular period in life. The focus is thus on
interpersonal features of the young females’ lives. This is done in order to gain
a better understanding of the potential challenges these young women
experience in their social surroundings. The purpose is thus to part from their
criminality, gain knowledge about possible difficulties in other life areas,
which could hinder long-term positive development. The findings also
provide a basis for discussion on how to improve interventions for young
females convicted to youth service.

In keeping with its developmental approach, the current thesis starts out with
a short introduction to adolescence and typical identity development during
this period. This is followed by a theoretical perspective on how delinquency
can be viewed as part of development and different taxonomies for delinquent
trajectories. Following this, I will speak more to female delinquency in
particular and why it is important to study female offenders in their own right.
Next, three aspects of adolescent development pertaining to family, peers and
school, and their connection to delinquency, are elaborated on. Every section
begins with a general description of these different areas for youths in general,
followed by a description specifically pertaining to young females. Thereafter,
the Swedish youth justice system with focus on youth service, and a
theoretical framework regarding interventions for young offenders is
presented. After this presentation of the theoretical and empirical background
of the thesis, its aims are formulated, followed by summaries of the four
separate studies. A general discussion concludes the thesis.

14
Adolescent development

Adolescence is a developmental period that has been referred to in several

ways: youth, teenage years, the second decade of life, a period that bridges
childhood and young adulthood, to mention a few. Several theorists have
defined adolescence in different ways, accentuating a specific domain of
development, and efforts to create a uniformly accepted definition has proved
challenging (Arnett, 2000). Some have focused on the pronounced physical
and biological changes that occur during this period (Dahl, 2004; Simmons,
2017; Warren, 1983), while others have studied the advancements in cognitive
and perspective-taking capabilities (Steinberg, 2005). Other theories have
attended to the social development that occurs during adolescence, with focus
on interpersonal relationships (Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, 2006).
It should, however, be emphasized that aspects of development are interrelated
and that changes in one is affected by, and affect, others. Ecological
approaches to human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1994) focus on the
multiple interactions between the developing person and different contexts of
development where these processes occur, such as family, peers, school and
neighborhoods. One notion of adolescence, common in most Western
societies, is to regard it as a transformational time period preparing children
for their upcoming lives as adults (Crone & Dahl, 2012). Viewed as such,
adolescence is a critical period for the development and merging of behaviors,
values, aspirations and attitudes, which can impact current and future options
and outcomes.

Historically, adolescence was depicted as a period full of distinct emotions

and behaviors, where philosophers, as well as authors of fiction characterized
youths during this time as turbulent and trouble-ridden (Steinberg, 2010).
Earlier discourses also rendered adolescence as a time of storm and stress due
to inevitable biological factors (Hall, 1904). Contemporary research, however,
has suggested that the “storm and stress” issue should be reconsidered in
relation to adolescent normative development (Arnett, 1999). Present studies,
while supporting the idea of heightened levels of problems in different life
areas for many young people, emphasize that there are substantial cultural
differences as well as individual differences within cultures (Larson, Wilson,
& Rickman, 2009; Smetana et al., 2006). The extreme portrayal of adolescent
storm and stress as universal and biological has thus been challenged, and
modern-day empirical research has shown that this period can, in fact, be
characterized by growth and thriving, for example, progression toward
independence and discovering self-identity (Gutman, Peck, Malanchuk,

15
Sameroff, & Eccles, 2017; Rice & Dolgin, 2005). However, this
developmental period is still regarded as a time of life that is more likely than
others to involve difficulties, such as increased levels of risk behaviors
(Arnett, 1999). These can manifest themselves in norm-breaking behaviors
such as truancy, running away from home, using drugs, drinking alcohol and
engaging in delinquency (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg,
2011; Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, & Milne, 2002; Sweeten, Piquero, &
Steinberg, 2013). Because delinquent and risky behaviors of different kinds,
taken together, with measures of self-reports, are present in more than half of
the youth population it has been suggested that they can be regarded as
normative, although not optimal, behaviors during this period (Barbot &
Hunter, 2012; Born, Cattelino, Gavray, & Glowacz, 2015; Brå, 2018b).

Many of the earlier studies about adolescence were conducted on samples of

boys from Western societies. The understanding of adolescent development
was therefore not always sufficient for young females or youths from other
parts of the world (Larson et al., 2009; Smetana et al., 2006). This means that
in order to understand how adolescence is experienced by young females, it is
important to not only have knowledge about adolescence development in
general, but to understand these seismic changes in young females’
development specifically. Because female development is unique, due to
young women having gendered lives, gender/feminist theories are used, when
appropriate, to understand how adolescence is shaped and developed
specifically for young females. This is important, as these unique
developmental changes can in themselves affect the delinquent behavior
(Bottcher, 2001).

The formation of identity

In light of the many changes that take place when entering adolescence, youths
begin to explore and make sense of their place in their social surroundings.
Because young people are not passive recipients of their social environment,
but rather active participants in it; they engage in not only a process of self-
exploration and discovery, but also in creation of themselves. In the literature,
this process is called the formation of identity and has been recognized as one
of the major developmental tasks of adolescence (Barbot & Hunter, 2012;
Kroger, 2003). According to Erikson (1968, 1980), identity development is
the quest of understanding and finding one’s true self. According to his
definition, identity can be described as the subjective experience of continuity
and sameness, which is also recognized by significant people in a person’s
life. Erikson’s concept of identity was thus psychosocial, in that identity is not
only how we see or wish to see ourselves, but also how we are seen by others.
Most importantly, how others see us affects the way we view ourselves. Based
on Erikson’s theory, Marcia (1980) developed an identity model in order to
empirically examine identity development among adolescents and young

16
adults. Accordingly, Marcia’s model (Kroger & Marcia, 2011) proposes two
processes that underlie identity formation – exploration (e.g., has the person
explored meaningful alternatives regarding some identity concerns) and
commitment (e.g., has the person made a commitment). Each of these can be
divided into being present or absent, creating four positions in identity status;
Foreclosure, Diffusion, Moratorium and Achievement. Josselson (1996) later
continued with this work, sampling female participants, and changed the
names of these four groups to Guardians, Drifters, Searchers and Pathmakers
(see Figure 1). As described below, the different identity statuses have been
shown to be related to different levels of psychosocial maturity, which have
been used to explain delinquency during adolescence.

Figure 1. Illustration of the identity model proposed by Marcia (1980) and

Josselson (1996).

Contemporary research suggests that identity is a multidimensional construct

that changes in a variety of contexts over the lifespan (Kroger, Martinussen,
& Marcia, 2010). For example, the work of Josselson (1996), suggested that
the four identity groups are not fixed, but are instead categories on a
continuum. While some individuals remain in one category all the time, others
may enter and exit different categories over time and in different arenas, in the
face of, for example, new life events (Crocetti, Rubini, & Meeus, 2008;
Waterman, 1999). Belsky (2010) also pointed to the fact that one person may
identify belonging in one group in its interpersonal relationships, while at the
same time be categorized in a different group in regards to career or religion.
In sum, identity development seems to be an ongoing process, involving both
changing and staying the same, in response and in relation to external
expectations and possibilities.

17
It has been theorized that that female identity development may occur
primarily in interpersonal domains (Carlton-LaNey, & Andrews, 1998;
Gilligan, 1982, 1987), where connectedness, rather than achievement, have
been emphasized. For example, Gilligan, Lyons, and Hanmer (1990)
suggested that attachment to others is central to young women’s identity
development. Other feminist scholars have also pointed out that female
identity and close interpersonal relationships are intertwined, where young
women tend to define themselves through their relationships with others,
which would lead to their intimate relationships having great meaning for their
identity development (Sands, 1996). Identity is, however, not only influenced
by gender, but also a number of other factors (e.g., culture, social positions)
that all intersect. In that women as a group show great variations in all these
aspects, acknowledging these differences and experiences in the development
of identity is, although beyond the scope of this introduction, important (e.g.,
Josselson & Harway, 2012).

Delinquency as part of adolescent development

Most individuals who, at some point during their lifespan, commit crimes do
so during their teenage years, where criminal acts are 10 times more common
than in other periods of life (Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1983; Moffitt, 1993;
Shulman, Steinberg, & Piquero, 2013). Both self-reported data and arrest
statistics show that youths are the most criminally active age group. The
adolescent years thus represent the developmental period of greatest risk for
youth becoming involved in criminal activity (Piquero, Farrington, &
Blumstein, 2003). In fact, one of the most robust findings within the
delinquency research field is the age-crime curve (Elonheimo et al., 2014;
Loeber, Jennings, Ahonen, Piquero, & Farrington, 2017a; Shulman et al.,
2013; Wiecko, 2014). The curve illustrates the relationship between age and
crime, where criminal involvement increases in adolescence, peaks in the late
teens, and thereafter decreases in early adulthood. It has been argued that the
shape of the age-crime distribution is the same for males and females (Hirschi
& Gottfredson, 1983). Empirical evidence supports this notion at large (e.g.,
Landsheer & van Dijkum, 2005); however, there are some studies suggesting
that females may peak earlier and that female offending rates decline more
quickly and abruptly than male offending rates (see de Vogel & Nicholls, 2016
for a review). The early peak has been explained by the fact that young females
enter puberty earlier and that this early maturation may yield several risks,
including delinquency (Haynie, 2003).

Delinquent behavior during adolescence can, viewed from a developmental

perspective, be regarded as resulting from the interaction between the normal
developmental features of adolescents and the social influences (e.g., social
mimicry) that youths experience during this time (Bonnie, Johnson, Chemers,
& Schuck, 2013; Moffitt, 1993). This approach acknowledges that crimes

18
committed by adolescents occur in a distinct period of life, when heightened
risky behaviors as well inadequate decision-making skills and the pursuit of
thrills are common and can result in increases of illegal behavior (Bonnie et
al., 2013; Steinberg, 2011). For example, it has been suggested that delinquent
behaviors during adolescence evolve from a normative motivation to establish
independence as well as to develop a personal identity (Barbot & Hunter,
2012; Moffitt, 1993). As identity formation has been suggested to be one of
the key developmental tasks of adolescence, this process has been suggested
to be related to various expressions of “storm and stress” including
delinquency to the furthest degree (Barbot & Hunter, 2012). In line with this
assumption, different identity statutes have been proposed to indicate different
levels of psychosocial maturity, and been linked and related to delinquency
and other problem behaviors (Grier, 2000). In the same way, it has been
suggested that most young people who commit crimes desist from criminal
behavior simply as a result of maturation, although the timing and trajectories
of desistance may vary (Laub & Sampson, 2001). For example, the process of
desistance from delinquency has been shown to be tied to the normative
changes in peer relations, as the impact of delinquent peers on antisocial
behavior decreases in the later years of adolescence, when individuals mature
socially and emotionally (Monahan, Steinberg, & Cauffman, 2009). The
identity process can also be used to understand the process of recidivism and
desistance. For example, Massoglia and Uggen’s (2010) maturational theory
of desistance has been proposed to offer an explanation as to how identity
development is connected to the process of desistance. According to this
theory, desistance in delinquents is part of the transition to adulthood, where
identity development is one means by which this transition is achieved.
Supposedly, changes in criminal activity may follow as a result of a successful
adult transition, where the young person undertakes adult social roles and a
mature identity irreconcilable with continued delinquency.

The observed rise in delinquent behavior and other antisocial behaviors during
adolescence has led to a distinction between different groups of delinquent
individuals who are considered to be taxonomically different. Observations
regarding different pathways into and potentially out of delinquency have
provided an empirical base for a theoretical distinction between adolescent-
limited (AL) and life-course-persistent (LCP) trajectories of criminal behavior
(Moffitt, 1993, 2017). In the literature, there is also a distinction made between
early and late starters (Patterson & Yoerger, 1993), who most often coincide
with the trajectories suggested by Moffitt. The early starters are suggested to
have a different set of problems than those whose delinquency debut occurs
during adolescence. The latter pattern is characterized by a later age of onset
and a concentration of criminality in the adolescent years. For this group, the
delinquent behavior is assumed to stem from the so-called maturity gap, which
is defined as the difference between an adolescent’s level of biological
maturity and their level of social maturity (Moffitt, 2006). For AL delinquents,
delinquency is suggested to be a way to demonstrate autonomy from parents,
win affiliation with peers and hasten social maturation. By contrast,

19
individuals fitting the LCP pattern have an early onset of antisocial behavior
and a relatively stable level of criminal activity over their life course. Their
offending is assumed to reflect the interaction between neuropsychological
risk factors and growing up in a disadvantaged setting, such as inadequate and
poor home environments and poor relations with peers and teachers (Piquero
& Moffitt, 2005). This distinction suggests that the behaviors associated with
norm-breaking and delinquency that first occur during adolescence are
relatively normative and thus carry less risk as compared to problem behaviors
that present themselves earlier in childhood. Since Moffitt’s description,
accumulating evidence has shown that this dichotomy represents an
oversimplification of delinquency and that there are, in fact, several additional
trajectories, with four groups being the most prevalent finding (Jennings &
Reingle, 2012). For example, non-normative groups such as adult-onset
criminality, where offending begins in adulthood and continues, has been
identified fairy regularly (Broidy et al., 2015; Cauffman, Monahan, &
Thomas, 2015).

20
Female delinquency

Most studies on delinquency have been male-centered. This has often been
explained by the lower crime rates for females in comparison to males, which
is one of the most consistent and robust findings regarding delinquency
(Lauritsen, Heimer, & Lynch, 2009). Although this is true for more serious
and violent crimes, self-report studies have shown that adolescent males and
females commit some offenses (e.g., status offenses, stealing/shoplifting) at
equal rates (Loeber, Jennings, Ahonen, Piquero, & Farrington, 2017b).
Furthermore, longitudinal studies show that the gender difference in crime
rates is at its lowest point during adolescence (Moffitt, 2006; Moffitt, Caspi,
Rutter, & Silva, 2001).

Applying the taxonomy of different trajectories of offending to females,

Moffitt et al. (2001) suggested that most females who commit crimes would
most likely be adolescent-limited. However, other scholars have presented
alternative trajectory models applying specifically to women, which do not
match Moffitt’s original model. The vast majority of these studies show a
delayed-onset pathway for females, which, in terms of most background
factors and regarding negative outcomes, resembles the childhood-onset
pathway in males, but with an age of onset during adolescence (Andersson &
Levander, 2013; Oudekerk, Erbacher, & Reppucci, 2012; Tzoumakis, Lussier,
& Corrado, 2012). These studies suggest that some female trajectories of
juvenile delinquency, namely the most severe ones, tend to start in late
adolescence, or even at the beginning of adulthood, and continue throughout
adult life. The late initiation in delinquency for females, as compared to males,
has been explained by the social control applied to females (Haynie, 2003).

The vast majority of young people, including adolescent females, who are
convicted of a crime have not committed serious offenses and do not re-offend
to a high degree (Brå, 2018a). In fact, summaries of longitudinal studies
indicate that approximately one-third of adolescents who are arrested in their
teens display arrest-records as adults, whereas two-thirds do not (Kazemian,
Farrington, & Le Blanc, 2009; Piquero, Hawkins, & Kazemian, 2012). Despite
this, the literature has focused on the small proportion of young offenders who
commit more serious offenses and who continue their criminal behavior past
their adolescence. A few attempts have been made to study individuals with
limited criminal behavior, and results from these studies indicate that although
these individuals do not show persistent criminality in adulthood, they do have

21
other difficulties in life (Nilsson & Estrada, 2009; Odgers et al., 2008). For
example, longitudinal studies conducted on females with AL offending
indicate adjustment problems across multiple dimensions in adulthood,
including mental health, substance dependence and educational deficits
(Moffitt et al., 2001; Odgers, et al., 2008; Roisman, Monahan, Campbell,
Steinberg, & Cauffman, 2010). On the other hand, contradictory results do
exist. For example, a longitudinal study on a Swedish sample of female
offenders showed that the AL group was quite similar to the females in the
non-criminal group after entering adulthood. Compared to those with
persistent criminality, the females whose criminal activities had been limited
to adolescence were more successful in school and were more able to execute
what was needed to function well in their education and in interaction with
peers (Andersson, Levander, Svensson, & Torstensson Levander, 2012,
2013). Given these inconclusive findings, there is an obvious need for more
research regarding the risks and needs in other areas of life for this group of
female delinquents.

Research conducted on justice-involved females has also shown that although

females involved in the justice system are less likely than males to persist in
criminal activity beyond adolescence (Cauffman et al., 2015; Lanctôt, 2015),
they do exhibit other behavioral problems that can negatively affect their long-
term development (Lanctôt, Cernkovich, & Giordano, 2007; Leve,
Chamberlain, & Kim, 2015; Moretti, Odgers, Reppucci, & Catherine, 2011).
Research has, however, mainly been focused on the specific needs and
difficulties of female delinquents in secure care (i.e., Björk & J’son Knodt,
2003; Chesney-Lind, 2002; Simkins & Katz, 2002; Wångby-Lundh et al.,
2018; see van Wormer, 2010 for a review). Justice-involved females who are
considered low risk regarding recidivism and psychosocial problems have
been given less attention. Some available studies relate to this particular group
of young offenders and the results from these studies show that young
offenders in the community have high levels of needs in a number of different
life areas, such as education, social relationships and mental health, and that
these needs are often unmet (Brown, Riley, Walrath, Leaf, & Valdez, 2008;
Chitsabesan et al., 2006; McReynolds et al., 2008). One study, sampling only
female offenders, found that young females in non-residential settings seem
to experience the same type of needs as female delinquents in residential
establishments (Patino, Ravoira, & Wolf, 2006). However, more knowledge
is still needed about the level and types of problems justice-involved females
with limited delinquency may encounter, as most of existing studies have
combined male and female samples, or taken place in North American
settings, where there is a different juvenile justice system than in European
countries and Sweden in particular.

22
Gender-neutral vs. gender-specific risk and protective
factors
When working with young offenders in general and female delinquents in
particular, it is important to identify risk factors to prevent the occurrence of
problem behaviors. It is equally important to recognize positive factors that
promote healthy development or moderate problem behaviors (Fraser,
Galinsky, & Richman, 1999). How risk and protective factors should be
defined have been a matter of debate. One assumption would be to regard them
as the opposite ends of a continuum; however, scholars instead regard them as
being distinctly different from each other (Sameroff & Gutman, 2004).
Following this definition, it has also been suggested that it is important to
distinguish between protective and promotive factors. According to this
categorization, risk factors should be conceptualized as those factors that
increase the likelihood of problematic development. The term protective
should be used for those variables that counteract risks, while promotive
factors are those that lead to a positive but non-interactive direct effect on risk
variables (Sameroff, 1999).

It has been suggested that general theories of criminal behavior are sufficient
to explain crime, irrespective of gender (e.g., Andrews & Bonta, 2010; Loeber
& Farrington, 2000). In line with this, there is empirical support for general
risk factors, which have been argued to be gender-neutral and include criminal
history and criminal attitudes, antisocial peers, personality features (e.g.,
impulsivity), family dysfunction, substance abuse, educational difficulties and
the inappropriate use of leisure time (Bonta & Andrews, 2016). In contrast,
feminist scholars argue for specific and qualitatively different pathways and
risk factors unique for female delinquents, where they suggest that females
who commit more serious crimes have often experiences of childhood trauma
and victimization as well as substance abuse and mental health problems
(Belknap & Holsinger, 2006; Chesney-Lind & Pasko, 2013; Daly, 1992).
Notably, some overlap among risk factors identified by both views do exists.
Although gender-neutral scholars (Andrews & Bonta, 2010) do acknowledge
female-specific risk factors, they argue that these factors (e.g., mental health
problems) contribute to delinquency through gender-neutral risk factors (e.g.,
criminal involvement) and that treatment of gender-neutral risk factors would
decrease those that are specific for women as well. The counter-argument
from feminist scholars is that treating female needs should not be regarded as
a means to other ends, but rather a priority in itself (Van Voorhis, 2012).

The need to study women on their own terms

The recent interest in female offending has been triggered by the sharp rise in
female delinquency reported both in Sweden and internationally. Over the past
few decades, arrest rates for young females have increased, while the arrests

23
of males have remained more stable (Bäckman, Estrada, Nilsson, & Shannon,
2014; Schwartz & Steffensmeier, 2012). Several factors have likely
contributed to these changing statistics. An increase in arrest rates could be
due to a shift in policies and practice of juvenile justice, as well as to an actual
change in young females’ behavior – or perhaps both (Steffensmeier,
Schwartz, Zhong, & Ackerman, 2005; Schwartz & Steffensmeier, 2012).
Numerous efforts have been made to establish the nature of the increase in
female arrest rates (Brown, Chesney-Lind, & Stein, 2007; Goodkind, Wallace,
Shook, Bachman, & O’Malley, 2009; Tracy, Kempf-Leonard, & Abramoske-
James, 2009). Some researchers suggest that this change is the result of
changes in public response and enforcement policies, rather than an actual
change in the frequencies of crimes committed by young females
(Steffensmeier & Schwartz, 2009).

A separate incentive for this upswing in interest is also due to feminist scholars
and theories challenging researchers to examine young women in their own
right, rather than simply comparing them to males (Andershed, 2013b;
Crawford & Unger, 2000). Recent evidence for systematic societal gender
biases has been highlighted, a bias that is encountered by young females in
society in general, as well as within the juvenile justice system (Chesney-Lind,
2002, 2006). Often when female delinquency has been researched, it has been
in relation to male delinquency. These studies have been of importance, for
example, by showing similarities or differences in trajectories in and out of
crime, as well as frequency or type of criminal activity (Loeber et al., 2017b).
Other studies have focused on risk factors leading up to delinquency, and
suggested both gender-neutral as well as gender-specific pathways (Wong,
Slotboom, & Bijleveld, 2010; Zahn et al., 2010). As some studies show
differences in risk factors leading to crime and recidivism for males and
females (Wong et al., 2010), more scholars have identified the importance of
examining females separately from males, and to study female delinquents on
their own terms (Andershed, 2013a). Just as important as the investigation of
gender differences in delinquency is the unique study of the delinquent
behavior of females. As argued by Andershed (2013b), comparisons between
males and females on behavior patterns already known to be different may
cause under- or over-estimation of behaviors and potential consequences. The
more problematic results for one gender may minimize attentiveness to the
other gender, leading to inaccurate conclusions regarding need for and type of
interventions.

Although the work of feminist scholars (e.g., Chesney-Lind, 2002; Daly,

1992) is of great importance in understanding female delinquency, they have
most often sampled young female offenders, showing large behavioral,
psychological and social problems. The results from these studies may not
always be applicable to the larger group of adolescent females, who engage in
delinquency, but whose delinquency is limited and an expression of, although
not an optimal, part of growing up. What has been missing, and still is scarce,
is knowledge about the large group of female teenagers who commit crimes,

24
and where their criminality can be explained as part of their adolescent
development. Thus, in contrast to previous studies, the present thesis is aimed
at studying a group of delinquent females with limited criminality and
psychosocial problems, who have been sentenced to a non-custodial sanction.
This is a group that has remained understudied (Piquero, Diamond, Jennings,
& Reingle, 2013).

25
The social aspects of adolescent development
and its connection to delinquency

It has been suggested that interpersonal relationships (e.g., family and peers)
are particularly important for young females as compared to males, because
of the socialization of women into being relationally focused (Werner &
Silbereisen, 2003). Research supports the importance of interpersonal
relationships in females’ social development (Graves, 2007). In this
theoretical overview, I will focus on the following interpersonal aspects of
young females’ development in connection to their delinquency: family, peers
and school. According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory of child
and youth development (Bronfenbrenner, 1994), these areas are microsystems
in which the individual is a part, where family is regarded as the primary
microsystem for the majority of adolescents, closely followed by peer groups
and school. Empirical research has also identified the same three aspects –
family, peers and school – as important to healthy psychological development
in adolescence (Smith, Faulk, & Sizer, 2016). At the same time, these factors
are also strongly connected to the appearance of delinquency (Steinberg,
Chung, & Little, 2004). These areas have also been regarded as important
when considering risk and/or protective factors from an ecological or
psychosocial framework (Cummings, Davies, & Campbell, 2002). This part
of the introduction begins thus by exploring how young females’ relationship
to their family and peers stands and alters, followed by an exploration in
important developmental processes in the school. Every section will also
provide literature showing how these different aspects are related to criminal
behavior.

Family
Family, and especially parents, are the first socializing influence, as well as
security in a child’s life, and also continue to play an important role during
adolescence in the development of behavioral and emotional regulation
(Laursen & Bukowski, 1997; Steinberg & Morris, 2001). During this period
of time, the adolescent–parent relationships go through several significant
transformations. One such example has been described to include the
movement away from family and toward peers, with the changing need for
autonomy and independence. In favor of this developmental change, for
autonomy, parents gradually have to reduce their control over their children

26
(Keijsers & Poulin, 2013). This quest was traditionally viewed as separation
from parents (see, for example, McElhaney, Allen, Stephenson, & Hare, 2009
for a review). Contemporary work, however, regards this movement as an
expansion rather than estrangement. For example, although there is a decrease
in the amount of total time spent with parents, studies show that the amount
of time spent talking with parents about interpersonal issues remain stable,
especially for young females (Laursen & Collins, 2004; Larson, Richards,
Moneta, Holmbeck, & Duckett, 1996). Parents are, in many ways, still the
secure base to which young people return after exploration of the world
outside the familial context (Peterson, 2005). In support of this notion, studies
show that, in many ways, the relationship between young females and their
parents, although conflict filled, improves during adolescence (Smetana,
2011). Also, moderate levels of conflict during adolescence is viewed as
normative, and is shown to be associated with healthy development, compared
to no or recurrent disagreements (Adams & Laursen, 2001). Research on
different aspects of family emphasizes the role of parent–child interaction in
regards to adolescent development and adjustment (Steinberg, 2001). One of
the key aspects of healthy development has been shown to involve the quality
of the interaction between the adult and the young person. This includes a
combination of high responsiveness and sensitivity from parents to the
adolescent’s needs, while at the same time expecting and demanding (warmly)
ways that reinforce responsible behaviors (Steinberg, 2001). This type of
parenting style is coherent with what has been recognized as authoritative
parenting and is built on Baumrind’s (1991) parenting typology. Research on
different parenting styles has shown an association between an authoritative
approach and adolescent healthy development (Steinberg, 2001). A positive
relationship with a pro-social adult during this period not only promotes
healthy development, but also acts as protective factor against, for example,
delinquent behavior (Laird, Pettit, Bates, & Dodge, 2003). In contrast,
different types of antisocial and risky behaviors have been linked to lack of
parental supervision and or/emotional support, as well as harsh punishment
practices (Murray & Farrington, 2010; see also Hoeve et al., 2009 for a
review).

Family has been considered one of the most important explanatory models for
how and why delinquency appears for young people in general, and
specifically for young females (Kroneman, Loeber, Hipwell, & Koot, 2009;
Kruttschnitt & Giordano, 2009). Family factors are, for example, prominent
in several theoretical models that have been developed to explain why youth
in general engage in delinquent acts, notably in life-course developmental
theories (Moffitt, 1993; Patterson, DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 2017) and social
control theories (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Social control theory
emphasizes that close relationships between parents and their kin can keep
adolescents from committing crimes (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Because
adolescents do not want to jeopardize the strong bond they have with their
parents and risk losing their approval and affection, they refrain from engaging
in delinquent behavior. Social learning theorists also acknowledge the

27
importance of parents in conditioning, positive and negative reinforcement,
modeling and imitation (Akers, 1992; Bandura, 1973; Burgess & Akers,
1966). Theories involving the family’s role in adolescence delinquency also
stress that parental monitoring is important for restricting youths’ involvement
in crime (e.g., Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). It has been argued that the
likelihood of youth offending is reduced if parents actively monitor the actions
and whereabouts of their children, communicate that delinquency is not
acceptable and reward good behaviors as well as reprimand misbehaviors.
However, whether parental monitoring effectively prevents problem
behaviors has been a core issue in the scientific debate (Keijsers, 2016; Kerr,
Stattin, & Burk, 2010; Stattin & Kerr, 2000). The research within the area of
parental monitoring has developed toward a direction where not only parents
affect their child, but also vice versa, emphasizing the reciprocal nature of
interactions between the two (Kerr & Stattin, 2003). This also highlights
adolescents’ agency in their own development (Kerr, Stattin, Biesecker, &
Ferrer-Wreder, 2003).

Some researchers have argued that young females’ socializing to be more

interpersonally oriented would hinder their involvement in crime (see
Kruttschnitt & Giordano, 2009 for a discussion). According to this argument,
because females spend more time on family relationships and are more
monitored and restricted by their parents, they have fewer opportunities to
offend. However, young females’ potential closeness to their family could also
mean that potential deficits, disruptions or conflicts could have great negative
impact on their behavior. Reports from longitudinal and cross-sectional
studies suggest that different aspects of family are related and predictive of
female delinquency. For example, familial criminality and drug use,
experiencing parental abuse and inconsistent and harsh discipline have been
shown to be risk factors for offending, while parental attachment and bonding
serve as protective factors (for reviews see Hoeve, et al., 2009; Hubbard &
Pratt, 2002; Pardini, Waller, & Hawes, 2015). This has been shown to be true
for female, as well as male, delinquents.

Peers
The movement away from family is, in many ways, linked to an increase in
the importance of peers during the same period. Although the importance of
peers begins to rise in late childhood, it peaks during adolescence as more time
is spent with peers and less with parents (Basow, 2006; Brown & Larson,
2009). Several developmental theories, including Erikson’s (1968) theory of
identity development (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001), have underlined the
importance of peers during adolescence. It has been shown that peer
relationships are important sources of support, connection and intimacy for
young people (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). These relationships also
help adolescents in developing social skills and abilities, such as perspective

28
taking, interpersonal competence, and collaboration (Newcomb & Bagwell,
1996). One of the main developmental goals during this period could be
regarded as winning the acceptance of peers, which means that friends are
vital for directing and constraining the adolescent’s behavior, which elevates
the influence of peers (Steinberg, 2010).

Due to females being more interpersonally oriented, scholars have stressed the
importance of friendship for young females specifically (McGloin & Dipietro,
2013). Social relationships have been suggested to have great influence on
several aspects of young females’ lives. For example, studies have found that
peers are important sources of loyalty, intimacy and trust (Reynolds & Repetti,
2006), as well as interpersonal capability (Rose & Rudolph, 2006) for young
females.

Deviant peers have been recognized as a crucial risk factor for delinquency.
The impact of peers seems to play a particular role in criminal behavior that
first appears during adolescence (Piquero et al., 2013; Steinberg, 2009). Due
to the strong incentive for peer acceptance among adolescents, delinquency is
most likely to occur in the presence of peers (Launay & Dunbar, 2015).
Different socialization theories, such as social learning and differential
association theory, suggest that delinquent behavior is learned in three distinct
ways: through exposure to criminal models whose behavior is mimicked,
through positive reinforcement of delinquency and through teaching of
delinquency promoting beliefs (Akers, 1998; Matsueda, 2001). There is ample
empirical support that having delinquent peers is a clear risk factor for being
drawn into juvenile delinquency (McGloin & Dipietro, 2013; Warr, 2002)
where deviant peers both expose youths to criminal activities, as well as
encourage such behavior (Brauer & De Coster, 2015; Haynie, 2002; Warr,
2002; Wike, Miller, Winn, & Taylor, 2013; Worthen, 2012). However, the
impact of peers has been shown to be less strong and to gradually disappear
in the later years of adolescence as individuals become increasingly more
resistant to peer influence due to maturation (Monahan et al., 2009). Meta
analyses of the predictors of juvenile delinquency have found that delinquent
peers are a major risk factor for young people (Wong et al., 2010), and having
a deviant peer group has been shown to be one of the strongest predictors of
female delinquency (Hubbard & Pratt, 2002), even when parents, school and
other interpersonal factors are controlled for (Pleydon & Schner, 2001).

School
School is considered a context that influences adolescents’ socioemotional
and behavioral development in different ways (Eccles & Roeser, 2011). Given
that young people spend a great proportion of their free time in school and
extracurricular activities, school has been regarded to have several
development-promoting features. Empirical studies within different fields

29
have established a connection between educational attainment and overall life
chances for individuals (Buchmann & Hannum, 2001; Oreopoulos &
Salvanes, 2011). These studies have pointed to how school achievement
contributes to further competences as well as behaviors, expectations and
ambitions (e.g., Little, Akin-Little, & Lloyd, 2013; Payne, Welch, & Payne,
2015). For example, studies have found that school contributes to autonomous
decision making and critical thinking, which have been shown to contribute
to healthy development (Stefanou, Perencevich, DiCintio, & Turner, 2004).
School is also of great importance, as it is where adolescents acquire basic
educational and occupational skills, allowing them to function in the
workplace (Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Gambone & Connell, 2004). The
context of school is also an important arena for socialization, influencing
many aspects of adolescent development (Wigfield, Byrnes, & Eccles, 2006).
Schools are where most adolescents interact with other adults outside of their
family, as well as with their peers, participate in extracurricular activities, and
learn how to accommodate institutional culture (Eccles & Roeser, 2011).
During adolescence, a number of different decisions regarding one’s
education and future ought to be considered and taken, which can potentially
influence the outcome of the future life to a significant degree. For youths in
general, but young women in particular, academic success has become the key
to future wellbeing (Gill et al., 2016).

The associations between academic achievement and later life outcomes are
well documented, internationally, as well as in Sweden (Buchmann &
Hannum, 2001; Forsman, Brännström, Vinnerljung, & Hjern, 2016). While
stressing the importance of education for positive development, there is also
consistent evidence supporting an association between poor school
performance and different problem behaviors (Gottfredson, 2001). This body
of work has established a strong relationship between educational failure and
antisocial behavior, with an emphasis on criminal involvement (Ford &
Schroeder, 2011). There are several theoretical reasons as to why and how
poor academic performance is connected to delinquent behavior (Felson,
Staff, Farkas, Ulmer, & Osgood, 2006; Hirschfield, 2017). For example,
schools have been proposed to serve as a protective factor, as, on the most
basic level, they help keep young people occupied and limit their access to
opportunities of crime (Hayden, 2011). They also promote pro-social values
and provide adolescents with social context and inclusion (Hayden & Martin,
2011; Li, 2011). Education and connectedness to school also brings a sense of
belonging, as well as achievement, which in themselves are protective factors
(McNeely, Nonnemaker, & Blum, 2002). School engagement can also
discourage criminal behavior, which would otherwise jeopardize young
people’s educational goals and potential. Although different theories offer
different viewpoints of the connection between school and delinquency, the
question of cause and effect still remains a matter of debate (Felson et al.,
2006; Hirschfield, 2017; Hoffmann, Erickson, & Spence, 2013).

30
The majority of studies investigating the connection and relation between
education and delinquency have sampled more serious young offenders,
mostly including men. The scarce research available regarding female
offenders, have sampled detained or incarcerated females. These studies show
that large numbers of female detainees have a history of academic failure,
where they, for example, have been suspended or expelled at least once,
completed fewer grades compared to non-delinquent peers and, to a higher
degree, are in need of special education (Acoca, 2000; Blomberg, Bales,
Mann, Piquero, & Berk, 2011; Lederman, Dakof, Larrea, & Li, 2004).
Research conducted on AL samples of female offenders show somewhat
inconsistent results. Some studies have suggested lower academic
performance, higher dropout rates and overall worse educational outcomes for
these females compared to non-delinquent females (Moffitt, 2006). Yet others
show a different pattern, mainly that AL females perform as well in school as
non-delinquent females (Andersson, Levander, & Torstensson Levander,
2013). Cross-sectional studies, conducted on justice-involved females who are
not incarcerated, have found that young female offenders in the community
display high levels of needs in a number of different life areas, including
education, and that these needs are often unmet (Brown et al., 2008;
McReynolds et al., 2008).

31
Applications of justice versus providing
welfare for young offenders

Retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation are three key considerations in

regards to the sentencing of an individual who has been convicted for
committing a crime (Young, Greer, & Church, 2017). A common, although
not uncomplicated, question concerning how to view and treat young
offenders has been whether focus should be the application of justice, that is,
choosing a penalty option corresponding to the seriousness of the crime
committed, or providing for their welfare, i.e. offering support corresponding
to the needs of the young offender (Goldson, 2002). Young offenders have
typically been treated differently from adult offenders, with the principle of
rehabilitation given the greatest weight, although this has differed between
countries and over time. This is based on the notion that young offenders are
not merely guilty of a crime, but also have unmet needs that often are strongly
associated with their criminal behavior. During the last couple of decades,
there has been a trend in Western countries to move away from a welfare-
oriented approach, toward a more punitive treatment (Young et al., 2017). In
parallel and in contrast to this trend, research has focused on developmental
theories as a base for improving interventions that best can reduce recidivism
(Andrews & Bonta, 2010). It has been argued that emphasis on the justice
approach has in many ways been promoted at the expanse of welfare
considerations (Steinberg, 2009).

Viewing the appearance of criminal behavior as the outcome of interaction

between the individual, interpersonal (e.g., family and peers) and community-
based (e.g., neighborhood and schools) factors is becoming more and more
common, not the least in choices relating to the treatment and rehabilitation of
offenders. Although this view has influenced available rehabilitation models
(e.g., the Risk–Need–Responsivity model) which provide a coherent
theoretical framework for effective rehabilitation (Andrews & Bonta, 2010),
some concerns for their limitations regarding female offending have been
raised (Van Damme, Fortune, Vandevelde, & Vanderplasschen, 2017).
Despite the benefits of the risk–need model, it may not be effective in treating
female offenders, as these most often focus on criminogenic risk factors that
have a direct impact on recidivism rates. Because research regarding offender
risk for recidivism for females is rarer compared to studies of male offenders,
we may not know enough about the specific risk of female offending. Also, as
noncriminogenic risks (e.g., victimization) have been shown to be at the core

32
of female serious offending, and scholars highlight the additional importance
of these in order to prevent female delinquency, only addressing criminogenic
needs is questionable. In addition, as most young females convicted of a crime
do not re-offend, the high focus on reducing recidivism may not be well suited
for this group of offenders. Thus, the suggestions have been that interventions
should not only focus on reducing the risk of recidivism, but also focus on
increasing wellbeing in general. In line with this, Ward and Brown (2004)
have proposed another model, the Good Lives Model, which they suggest
offers a more comprehensive framework to guide the assessment and
rehabilitation of female offenders than those most often used (i.e., the Risk–
Need–Responsivity model). It essentially focuses on enhancing wellbeing and
life quality as determined by an individual’s basic needs. Instead of solely
focusing on criminogenic needs, the authors suggested that rehabilitation
should identify challenges that prevent all offenders from living well-adjusted
and fulfilling lives and equip them with the tools needed to do so. In their
view, the Good Lives Model offers an alternative, yet complementary,
approach to the rehabilitation of delinquent female adolescents, by adopting a
dual focus: striving for the fulfillment of individuals’ basic human needs in
addition to reducing their risk of re-offending (Van Damme et al., 2017).

Youth justice in Sweden

While the trend in Swedish policy and practice regarding young offenders
shows a shift toward an increase in punitive strategies, the Swedish youth
justice system is still considered to rest on an overall rehabilitative service
approach (Hollander & Tärnfalk, 2007; Shannon, Bäckman, Estrada, &
Nilsson, 2014). This is based on the notion that youths who commit crimes,
are not solely criminals who need to be punished, but also young people in
need of support. It is, for example, the social welfare agencies that have the
primary responsibility for young people involved in criminality. Also, there
are special penalties, reserved for young offenders aged 15–17, which apply
in some cases up to 21 years of age. These are, to a large extent, based on the
principle of rehabilitation (Jansson, 2004). However, there is lack of
knowledge of the needs and risks of convicted offenders, in particular young
females (Ginner Hau, 2010). Also, the knowledge of different rehabilitative
measures taken with young offenders on a national level is scarce (Ginner
Hau, 2010; Ginner Hau & Smedler, 2011). The focus of the present thesis is
to improve the knowledge about a group of adolescent females with limited
delinquency by studying a sample of young female offenders sentenced to
youth service (“ungdomstjänst”).

After changes within the Swedish youth justice system in 2007, several new
sanctions for young offenders were introduced. One of these was youth
service, which became an independent sentence, that could be assigned alone
or in combination with youth care (ungdomsvård). While youth care is

33
reserved for those assessed to have “special care needs,” and thus be in need
of more intense interventions, youths sentenced solely to youth service are
deemed to be without any apparent history of severe antisocial behavior and
who have limited “special care needs,” (Brå, 2011). What exactly constitutes
a “special care need” is not clearly defined (Holmberg, 2013), but factors such
as substance abuse problems, extensive criminal history, high risk for
continued offending and mental health problems are examples given (Swedish
Government, 2006). Risk or need is here referred to both the type and level of
delinquency (e.g., minor offenses, the likelihood of re-offending, as well as
criminal history), as well as the young person’s psychosocial situation. It is
thus most likely that young females with limited delinquency are to be found
within youth service. Since the reform in 2007, youth service is one of the
most common sanctions for young people between ages 15 and 17 (Brå, 2011;
Brå, 2018a). During 2017, youth service was the main sanction given in 1,440
verdicts (Brå, 2018a). Approximately 300 females are sentenced to youth
service each year. Similar to community service for adults, the youth service
sanction requires the offender to be engaged in unpaid work. The number of
hours one is sentenced to may vary between 20 and 150. Although youth
service is preferred for those regarded as having no or little need for
interventions, it is also intended to have a rehabilitative function, consisting
of a so-called advocacy program (Swedish Government, 2006). While the
unpaid work part is intended to give the youth an opportunity to work off their
sentences while getting familiar with a work place, the advocacy program is
intended to help the youth reflect upon her or his situation and find strategies
to avoid future recidivism. Although the advocacy programs are employed
under a collective name, there is little consensus regarding the content of the
advocacy programs or how they should be carried out. They also differ
between different municipalities. In the city where the present group of female
offenders have completed their youth service, the intent is mainly focused on
addressing criminal behavior and criminality as a life style, enhancing impulse
control and reducing recidivism (Zamora, 2011).

There is no systematic documentation available on young offenders sentenced

to youth service in Sweden or internationally, and in particular, there are no
available studies regarding the female population of this group (Söderholm
Carpelan et al., 2008). The focus of this thesis is, however, not the measure
itself, but rather young females and potential developmental challenges in
different life areas connected to their delinquency. This seems a reasonable
starting point for further discussions on the measures taken with this group.

34
General aim

Female offenders who do not exhibit pronounced behavioral problems are

understudied, yet the scarce research available indicates that they may be at
risk of sub-optimal development. The overall aim of the present thesis was to
explore the characteristics of adolescent female offenders without pronounced
psychosocial problems, and to relate these to developmental aspects of
adolescence. Further, the objective was to study potential unmet risks and
needs they might experience in relation to their delinquent behavior that could
hinder positive development. The purpose was therefore to investigate
different interpersonal aspects of their life, e.g., family, peers and school, in
connection to their delinquency.

Aims of the studies

Study 1 aimed to provide a basic description of all young females sentenced
to youth service in Stockholm, Sweden during 2007–2012 by studying their
level of problems using self-reports on delinquency, drug and alcohol use,
school, social relations, family and psychological problems. Further, the aim
was to compare how the accumulation of problems in different life areas
related to females in residential care and to a reference group of females
without known adjustment problems, respectively. Study 2 was a 24-month
registry-based follow-up to Study 1, which focused on the females’
educational attainment and recidivism and how these factors may be related.
Furthermore, the aim was to study how self-reports from Study 1 regarding
delinquency, school problems and school satisfaction related to educational
attainment and recidivism. The aim of Studies 3 and 4 was to explore young
female offenders’ own perspectives through in-depth interviews. The overall
objective was to study their way of thinking about the crimes they had
committed and what they, from their own viewpoint, might need in order to
avoid future criminality. This was done by interviewing nine Swedish female
adolescents who started their referral to youth service in Stockholm and
Gothenburg during October 2012 and February 2013. Study 3 investigated the
young females’ views of how their delinquency is connected to their social
relationships (i.e., peers and romantic partners). And finally, Study 4
concerned the females’ own understanding of the role of their family in
connection to their delinquent behavior.

35
Method

Combining qualitative and quantitative methods

The present thesis includes a combination of both qualitative and quantitative
methods. Using a combination of both types of methods has become more
common in research in general, and in psychological research specifically
(e.g., Carlsson, 2015; Carlsson, Wängqvist, & Frisén, 2016; Larsson,
Pettersson, Skoog, & Eriksson, 2016). The challenge, and the reward, of
combining a qualitative and a quantitative approach is the potential to reach a
greater understanding of the subject investigated. When one combines
qualitative and quantitative approaches, different methods can be used in
different stages of the research procedure. For more details of how best to mix
and combine both approaches, and common strategies used, see Tashakkori
and Teddlie (2010). In the present thesis, qualitative and quantitative data and
methods for analysis are used in parallel to each other. The combination of
qualitative and quantitative approaches allows for exploration of the overall
aim from different perspectives, with different measures and at different time
points. The quantitative part, consisting of structured self-reports and registry
data, contributes by describing the allocation of problems in different life areas
for the group at large. These data also allow for comparisons, both with other
groups of young females and within the group, as well as over time. The
combination of register data with self-reports has many advantages. These
sources complement and support each other and offer opportunities to evaluate
the research questions with different measures and at different time points.
The qualitative part of the thesis gives voice to the young females themselves,
conveying their own perspective on their delinquency and total life situation.
In contrast to the problem-oriented approach of the quantitative methods, the
qualitative approach can be viewed as more process-oriented. This perspective
is important, as it not only provides knowledge about the different
developmental problems and opportunities in connection to their delinquency,
but also offers the young females’ own views on these topics. This is of great
importance in practical work with the young females, as understanding and
having insight of one’s own behavior is of great importance in preventive
work with juvenile delinquency.

36
Participants
All four studies were based on data (e.g., self-reports, registry data and
interviews) from young females sentenced to youth service. Studies 1 and 2
included all adolescent females (N=144) who were convicted of a crime and
sentenced to youth service in 2007–2012 in Stockholm, Sweden (15.4 % of
all youths sentenced to youth service during this period in Stockholm, of
whom the rest were male). Of these, six females were excluded, since they
were assigned to youth care in combination with youth service. The final
sample consisted of 138 young females aged 15 to 20 years (M = 16.8; SD =
1.0) at the time of assignment to youth service.

The sample in Studies 3 and 4 included nine adolescent females who were
convicted of a crime and sentenced to youth service and started their sentence
between October 2012 and February 2013 in Stockholm and Gothenburg,
Sweden. In 2012, around 300 female adolescents were assigned to youth
service in Sweden, of which an estimation is made that 15–30 girls were
sentenced in the three major cities (Brå, 2013). Of these, all females enrolled
in youth service programs during October 2012 and February 2013 in
Stockholm and Gothenburg were given written information about the study
through social workers, who were responsible for the implementation of
sentence. One person was considered by the social worker unfit to take part
due to mental health issues and was therefore not asked to participate. Three
females initially showed interest in participating by leaving their contact-
information to the social workers, but declined to participate when contacted
by the researcher. The nine participants ranged in age from 15 to 21 years old
when interviewed, but were 15–17 when they committed the crime.

Material
The material in Study 1 was collected with the Swedish version of the
Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD) instrument (Hermodsson, &
Carpelan, 2004). In accordance with social service practices in Stockholm, all
youths sentenced to youth service were asked to participate in this structured
interview at the start of the referral, with the aim of improving the accuracy of
the chosen interventions during 2007–2012. The ADAD interview is a
multidimensional evaluation instrument that provides information on the
youth’s current situation and various problems that she or he may encounter.
It is designed as a structured interview containing 150 items and sub-items
and provides information regarding different problem areas: medical, school,
employment, social, family, psychological, legal, alcohol and drugs (see Table
1). It contains mainly fixed-response alternatives, which are dichotomous
(yes/no) or on a categorical or ordinal scale. Both the interviewer and the
adolescent are asked to specify an estimate of the amount of help needed in
each problem area. The youths are also asked to express their level of concern

37
over their problems in each area (Friedman & Utada, 1989). For the problem
areas medical, school, family and psychological problems, a problem
checklist is provided, asking yes/no questions in order to estimate the problem
level in each of these four areas. Items regarding school, social relations,
family, psychological problems, delinquent behavior and alcohol and drug use
were used in Study 1. All items used included only youth-reported scores,
compromised in some areas of several single items (e.g., peers), whereas other
areas also included a checklist constructed from several items (i.e., school,
family and psychological problems). The school checklist consisted of 16
dichotomous questions measuring school problems (e.g., having difficulties
with math/reading, truancy) (α = .81), the family checklist consisted of 18
dichotomous questions for each parent respectively (e.g., hard time
understanding you, too strict) (α = .88, for mother; α = .87, for father), and
the psychological problems checklist consisted of 41 dichotomous questions
(e.g., anxious, thoughts of suicide, feelings of worthlessness) (α = .93).

The interview was originally developed in the United States (Friedman &
Utada, 1989) for use with adolescent drug abuse clients, and has multiple
functions: assignment of clients to the most appropriate treatment setting,
individualized treatment planning, treatment evaluation and research. The
Swedish translation of ADAD was done by Söderholm Carpelan,
Hermodsson, and Öberg (1997). The changes that were made when adjusting
the interview to Swedish conditions were created in consultation with the
instrument developers. The Swedish edition of the interview was pilot tested
during the translation process. The original scales have been validated
(Friedman & Utada, 1989) and the Swedish and the international versions are
considered to have satisfactory psychometric qualities (Börjesson, 2011;
Börjesson & Ybrandt, 2012; Chinet, Plancherel, Bolognini, Holzer, & Halfon,
2005; Innala & Shannon, 2007; Ybrandt, Börjesson, & Armelius, 2008). The
ADAD is currently in widespread practical use in the US, Australia and
various European countries.

38
Table 1. The nine problem areas examined in the ADAD interview

Life area Example of content covering each life area

Medical Relates to the possible need for medical treatment and

provides information on potential chronic problems and
medication.

School Features items that provide information about education,

current school state and possible school problems.

Employment Includes questions about work experience and current work

situation.

Social The items concern relationships with peers and friends, as

well romantic relationships and how leisure time is spent.

Family Items relating to the quality of the adolescent’s family

relations and problems. Responses provide information on
family conflicts, as well as the quality of relationship with
each parent, respectively.

Psychological Includes questions relating to psychological and emotional

reactions and symptoms, and information about times in
treatment or counseling in outpatient or inpatient care for
emotional and/or psychological problems.

Legal Involvement in 18 various crime types during the past 12

months, as well as in the last three months, in addition to the
age of onset for each separate offense category.

Alcohol Includes questions on alcohol debut, consumption habits and

potential alcohol-related problems.

Drugs Items relating to current frequency of drug use, extent of

current multiple substance use and several items on the
social context of their use.

Study 2 is a follow-up study and includes registry data. Data were extracted
from Swedish administrative registries collected and maintained by Statistics
Sweden (see Table 2). Information on registered criminality was collected
from the conviction and suspicion records kept by the Swedish National
Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet). The data include
information on number of suspicions, crime type and date of the crime. For
the convictions, information regarding numbers of convictions, number of
crimes within a single conviction, as well as the sentence ruled by the court
was gathered. Information about whether the female adolescents had been

39
placed outside the home was obtained from National Board of Health and
Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) and National Board of Institutional Care (Statens
instititionsstyrelse). These variables held information about reason for
placement, type of placement and time in placement. School-related variables
were collected from the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket).
Information about final school grade at the end of compulsory school were
obtained, as well as final school grade at the end of upper secondary school.
Information about eligibility to apply for upper secondary education and
higher education was also collected. The Swedish 10-digit personal code
number (personnummer) assigned to all Swedish residents enabled data to be
linked from the registers with the help of the Statistics Sweden. Study 2 also
included the females’ self-reported data at the start of youth service measured
by the ADAD. These consisted of self-reported school problems based on a
check list of 16 dichotomous questions measuring school-related problems (α
= .81), a scale compromised of school satisfaction measuring to what degree
(not at all, a little, somewhat, to a great extent), whether the females self-
reported to enjoy school in compulsory school (α = .73) and a scale measuring
delinquency (α = .33) composed of information showing whether during the
previous 12 months the females had engaged in any of the 23 separate offense
categories listed, and if so, how many times per crime.

Table 2. Official data included in Study 2 and the registry from which the
information was collected

Registry Type of information

Education Final school grade at the end of compulsory

Swedish National education
Agency for Education Eligibility to apply for upper secondary education
Final school grade at the end of upper secondary
school
Eligibility to apply for higher education

Criminality Suspicion record, including number of suspicions,

Swedish National crime type and date of the crime reported
Council for Crime Conviction records, including numbers of
Prevention convictions, number of crimes within a single
conviction, the sentence ruled by the court

Placement Placement outside the home, including reason for

National Board of Health placement, type of placement and time in placement
and Welfare and
National Board of
Institutional Care

40
The data used in Study 3 and 4 were based on interview data. A semi-
structured interview guide was developed based on a literature review relating
to female delinquency, and consisted of open-ended questions, discussed and
generated by myself and my supervisor and cowriter of the studies. The
questions essentially addressed four central topics: (1) the young females’ own
views of their delinquency; (2) their views of their sentence; (3) their views of
the pathway leading to their delinquent behavior; and (4) their views of the
future. Each interview began by asking for background details about the
participants (such as age, where they are from, their living situation), and
ended by asking the participants if they had any questions or if they wanted to
add something. Although these topics were to be covered, interviews were
conducted in a manner that was sensitive to the interviewee and her narrative,
allowing for prompts and exploration of topics that rose spontaneously. No
specific questions regarding peers or family were part of the interview guide.
However, as these topics spontaneously rose in all interviews, follow-up
questions regarding both these areas were asked, although they differed
slightly between participants. One pilot interview was conducted with the first
participant recruited, and the pilot interview allowed the interviewer to
become comfortable with the interview protocol and address any concerns
regarding content, themes and questions asked. No major revisions were
made, and the pilot interview was therefore included in the analysis.
Interviews took place in private rooms provided by the social workers or
private rooms in local libraries. I conducted, audio recorded and transcribed
verbatim all interviews, which lasted about 40–70 minutes each. Contextual
information, such as silence and pauses in conversation, as well as nonverbal
sounds (e.g., laughs, sighs) were included in the transcriptions, but
nonlinguistic observations (e.g., facial expressions, body language and
emotions) were not recorded. All of the participants’ names and personal
information were changed or taken out of the transcriptions, as well as of the
write-up of the studies. For their participation, the females were offered a gift
voucher of 200 Swedish kronor.

Procedure
The self-reports used in Study 1 were gathered from the social services in
Stockholm, Sweden, that were in charge of implementing youth service. The
ADAD interviews were held by social workers at the start of the referral.
Correct implementation of the ADAD interview requires the interviewer to be
well-acquainted with the interview and its manual and to have undergone
special training. The duration of the interview may vary from 45 to 90
minutes.

Data regarding educational attainment and recidivism in Study 2 was collected

from different Swedish registries. Information about the young females’
registered criminality was collected from the conviction and suspicion records

41
provided by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. The time-
frame for the follow-up was set to 24 months after the time of the ADAD
interview at the start of the referral to youth service. All registered criminality
data until the year of 2013 were obtainable and collected. That means that for
those who were sentenced to youth service and conducted their ADAD
interview during 2012, only a 12-month follow-up on recidivism was
available. Information about whether the females had been placed in or out of
home care was obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare and
the National Board of Institutional Care. This included life-long information
from the year the females were born up to 2012. School-related variables were
collected from the Statistics Sweden and the Swedish National Agency for
Education. Information about final grade in upper secondary school were
available for those who were expected to have graduated from upper
secondary school 2014 and earlier.

The data collection procedure for Studies 3 and 4 was as follows: meetings
with representatives from the social workers responsible for the
implementation of youth service in each city were held in connection with the
starting point of the inclusion period. They were informed about the purpose
of the study, ethical aspects and routines for data collection. Written
information containing a brief background of the study and noting that the
participant could be asked if she was interested in participating during the
performance of her youth service, was sent out to all females who started
youth service between October 2012 and February 2013. At the same time,
their guardians were also informed about the study and invited to raise any
questions or concerns they may have had.

At the first opportunity, after the sending of information, when the responsible
social worker met each female, the written information was provided one more
time and the social worker ensured that each one had understood the content.
At the same time, the young females were asked if they were interested in
participating in the study and if so, to indicate the address/phone number, they
wished to be contacted on. Those interested in participating were then
contacted by me to schedule a time and place for an interview. At the interview
occasion, the participants were given written information and full informed
consent was obtained from each participant prior to the interview. In
accordance with the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans
(2003:460), parental consent is not always required for youths who have
attained the age of 15 in Sweden, provided that they can be considered mature
enough to understand the implications of research participation and to decide
for themselves. With approval from the Regional Ethics Board in Stockholm,
the participants’ guardians were therefore not asked for consent. They were,
however, informed about the study and invited to come to the researchers with
any questions and/or concerns they might have had. None of the guardians,
however, contacted the researchers.

42
Statistical analyses
The analytical strategy for Study 1 was to compare the youth service females’
self-reported problems in different life areas with two other groups: females
in residential care (N = 218) and a reference group of female adolescents
without known behavioral problems (N = 603). The data we used for
comparison was collected and published by the National Board of Institutional
Care (SiS) (Ybrandt & Nordqvist, 2015) in collaboration with the Department
of Psychology, University of Umeå and the National Board of Health and
Welfare. Because the comparison material from the residential and reference
group was collected by Ybrandt and colleagues (2015), and reported on a
group level, we did not have access to individual data. This limited our ability
to conduct statistical analyses, as most of the data from the comparison groups
was presented for each question separately. Therefore, statistical comparisons
were used for the checklists available (regarding school, family and mental
health), and other data was presented descriptively. As we were more
interested in the distribution of individuals with regard to level of problems,
rather than the mean average of problems of the entire group, frequency
analyses seemed useful. Also, as the data are not normally distributed, non-
parametric tests were considered to be more appropriate. The EXACON
module from the statistical program SLEIPNER (Bergman & El-Khouri,
1998) was used and is a method for calculating the probability of an observed
cell frequency that occurs beyond that which is expected by chance. This
analysis produces an exact test of single cells in a contingency table. Scores
observed significantly more often than expected are referred to as types
(observed > expected) and those observed less frequently than expected are
referred to as antitypes (observed < expected).

In Study 2, we followed up on the results from Study 1 with registry measures.

Our strategy of analysis was as follows. First, we wanted to describe the rate
of recidivism, operationalized as registered suspicions and convictions,
respectively, within two years after the youth was sentenced to youth service.
Next, we wanted to describe the educational attainment by reporting point
grade average, as well as distribution of grades within the group, and to report
the proportion who were eligible to apply to further education at two points in
adolescence: end of compulsory school and end of upper secondary school.
Furthermore, we compared these results with young females in general. We
were also interested in the relationship between academic performance and
recidivism, and so we compared grade average between the recidivist and
those who did not re-offend. Finally, we sought to examine the relationship
between self-reported school problems, self-reported school enjoyment and
self-reported delinquency, collected in Study 1, with educational attainment
and recidivism. Non-parametric analyses of variance including Mann-
Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test, as well as Spearman’s correlations,
were used.

43
Consensual Qualitative Research
The method for analyzing the interviews was Consensual Qualitative
Research (CQR), (Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). This
method has previously been used in studying adolescents’ subjective view of
their wellbeing (Diamond et al., 2011), in studies of different aspects of
student experiences (Constantine, Anderson, Berkel, Caldwell, & Utsey,
2005), and in studies of juvenile delinquency (Sander, Sharkey, Olivarri,
Tanigawa, & Mauseth, 2010; Sander et al., 2011; Wester, MacDonald, &
Lewis, 2008). CQR adheres to both constructivist and postpositivist
approaches. Although the method is primarily constructivist, paralleling
Grounded theory (Glasser, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1997), in many ways, it
also contains postpositivist features. The analysis process is inductive and
involves three central steps: (a) sorting data into domains; (b) creating core
ideas used to capture the essence of what is said; (c) and cross-analysis in
order to construct common themes across participants (Hill, 2012). Other
fundamental features include (a) using several judges throughout the analysis
processes to promote multiple viewpoints, (b) gaining consensus regarding the
meaning and categorization of the data, through discussions between the team
members until a final understanding and agreement is reached, and (c) using
a minimum of one auditor to review the work of the judges to lessen the effects
of groupthink. The research team was composed of five people, three judges
and two auditors, all of whom had prior experience of working with similar
research topics or had experience of working with young people with different
types of psychological and/or behavioral problems.

The steps of CQR

Coding of Domains
The first step of the coding process included categorizing all the material from
each participant relating to the same area, be that anything from a phrase to
several sentences, into an appropriate domain. Each judge read three
interviews independently and the then collectively came together and reached
consensus about the placement of text into different domains and the naming
of each domain. A domain list was created and the team members coded the
remaining interviews according to this independently, and then met to reach
consensus about the placement of text into different domains. No new
domains emerged when coding the rest of the interviews.

Abstracting Core Ideas

The next step was to develop core ideas for every domain in each case. The
process of creating core ideas meant reducing the text and capturing the main
focus of what was being said, while remaining as close to the data as possible.
This included changing pronouns to be consistent, and eliminating repetitions
and other nonrelevant aspects of the interview. Each judge read the transcripts
re-ordered by domains, and independently generated core ideas for each

44
domain, for each interview, before meeting as a team to determine
consensus. This process was done for one interview and once a common
understanding of the core idea process had been achieved, one of the judges
wrote the core ideas for the remaining cases and the rest of the team reviewed
them and came together to reach consensus.

Cross-Analysis
The two first steps of the coding process involved all of the material, while
the last step of the coding process, the cross-analysis, was done solely on the
domain that was the main focus of the present thesis, namely family and peers.
Cross-analysis entailed defining patterns across cases in the domains
mentioned above. The team began by individually looking for common
themes in the core ideas of the interviewees. This was followed by the group
coming together and going through all themes that had been created. After this
step, a joint review of the material was done, and the core ideas were divided
into meaningful units that only featured one separate idea. Then each member
examined the core ideas from all cases for the domain and developed themes
that best captured these core ideas. The research group then arrived at a
consensus on the conceptual labels of the categories and the core ideas that
belonged in each category.

Auditing
The material was sent to the two auditors at three points during the analysis
process; (1) after interviews had been coded into domains; (2) after creating
core ideas for each interview; (3) after the cross-analysis for the domains of
peers and family. The judges met each time in person to discuss and go
through the individually written feedback from the auditors, and reached
consensus about how to incorporate the auditors’ suggestions. The feedback
from the auditors included comments on whether the raw material was in the
correct domain, whether important domains were overlooked, remarks on
parts of statements that were not reflected in the core ideas or regarding
material that was unintentionally omitted and the level of abstraction in the
themes created.

45
Figure 2. Overview of the qualitative analysis process.

Ethical considerations
The different studies and the projects in which they are a part have been
approved by The Stockholm Regional Ethics Board in its entirety (2012/1259-
31 and 2012/1294-31). Due to the sensitive nature of the material used in the
thesis, a brief review of the ethical considerations made will be given.
Delinquent females are, in many regards, an exposed group. Collecting data
on them could, for that reason, be a major infringement. However, because
that they are a vulnerable group, it is important to conduct further studies in
order to gain knowledge how best to support them. The material used in
Studies 1 and 2 is based on a group of offenders who had already completed
their sentencing some years before the data collection started. For that reason,
it would have been practically difficult, not to say impossible, to collect
informed consent from all of them. Based on the scarce information available
about this group of offenders, however, the potential knowledge of the studies
was considered to overweigh the lack of informed consent. With that being
said, measures have been taken to protect participants’ confidentiality by
omitting all personal information in all the datafiles used for analyses. Codes
have been used instead of personal security numbers when collecting the
registry data so that there would have been no risk of identifying individuals.
The code key was stored in a security cabinet to which only the responsible
researchers have access. All participants in Studies 3 and 4 were given oral
and written information on the general aim of the study, and written consent
was gathered from all of them prior to the interviews. No personal information
relating to the females, besides information they willingly shared themselves,
was gathered. All identifying information was changed and/or omitted in the
transcription, as well as in the writing up of the results. Information about
being able to withdraw their consent at any time, and assurance that they were

46
free to not answer questions they felt uncomfortable answering without
consequences for their sentencing and contact with the social services were
provided to the females and the social workers. This was important, as we
wanted to make sure that females did not feel pressured or obligated to
partake, since it was the social services workers who were responsible for
carrying out of the females’ sentencing who first informed them about the
participation. In addition, the interviewer informed the females that anything
they communicated in the interviews would be treated strictly confidentially
and not passed on to the police or social services.

47
Results

Study 1: “Adolescent females with limited delinquency –

At risk of school failure”

Criminal involvement and alcohol/drug use

The participants reported low and/or moderate involvement in criminal acts
during the last 12 months prior to admittance to the youth service program.
The crimes that they reported having been involved in, included, for the
majority, the crime for which they had been convicted of. They also reported
low levels of alcohol and drug use during the same time period. This pattern
of low involvement in norm-breaking behavior was more similar, although
somewhat higher, to that of a reference group of young females without any
known adjustment problems than to a group of young females in residential
care, who reported higher levels and more variations regarding criminal
activities and drug and alcohol use.

School
The females reported a high accumulation of problems related to school,
including failing in different ways, receiving different types of support and
showing several school problems. For example, 30% of the females reported
either having dropped out or never beginning upper secondary school, 20%
reported being suspended at some point during their schooling and 28%
reported being held back a class. In addition, 32% reported receiving special
education and 14% stated that they had been given an adjusted study program.
Their school situation and school problems differed distinctly from the
reference group and was more aligned with the residential group. The youth
service females, however, reported the same amount of school satisfaction as
the reference group, that is they reported having liked school somewhat or to
a great extent at all three stages: primary, middle and secondary school.

Based on a checklist composed of 16 different questions measuring school

problems, more than half, (59%) of the females reported having six or more
school-related problems compared to 82% for the residential and 32% for the
reference group. Analyses of single cells in the cross-tabulations showed that
a lower proportion of the youth service group reported having no or few school
problems than statistically expected, while a higher proportion of the youth

48
service group reported having six or more problems in school than statistically
expected. This trend was the same for the females in the residential group and
reversed for the reference group of females.

Social relationships
Regarding social relationships such as peers and romantic partners, the
majority of the young females reported that they never or seldom spend time
with peers who commit crimes (94%) or take drugs (95%), while at the same
time stated spending some or a lot of time with non-delinquent friends (81%).
These numbers were in line with those of the reference group, who followed
the same pattern, while differing from the residential group, who reported
spending more time with peers who commit crimes and do drugs.

The youth service females reported some degree of exposure to different

forms of abuse in their romantic relationships, where emotional abuse (18%)
was the most common followed by physical (9%) and sexual abuse (2%). This
pattern of abuse experience reflected that of the reporting of the reference
group who showed similar numbers, but are lower than the residential group,
who reported higher rates of physical and emotional abuse in their romantic
relationships.

Family
In general, the youth service group’s accumulation of problems regarding
mental health, alcohol and drug use and criminality in the family, was more
similar to the reference group, although a higher proportion of the investigated
group reported problems regarding their mother’s (15%) and father’s (10%)
mental health, as well as having siblings who are involved in criminal
activities (11%). The residential group showed greater accumulations of
problems in all areas and for all family members.

As for abuse by a parental figure, the youth service group reported having
experienced emotional violence (33%), physical violence (22%) and sexual
abuse (3%) to varying degrees. These numbers were the same as the refence
group, except for physical violence, which was more common in the youth
service group. The overall pattern showed the youth service group’s
accumulation of abuse-related problems to be in between the two comparison
groups, where close to half of the residential group report having experienced
both emotional and physical abuse by a parental figure.

When asked how they themselves view different aspects of their relationship
to their mother and father, respectively, the youth service group reported
having fewer problems with their family compared to both the residential and
the reference group. Based on two different checklists composed of 18
different questions each that measured the number of problems in the

49
relationship with mother as well as father, 29% and 22% in the youth service
group report having no problems with their mother or their father,
respectively. These numbers differ from both comparison groups, where only
a few percent report having no problems at all in the two latter groups.
Analyses of single cells in the cross-tabulations showed that a higher
proportion of the youth service group reported having no problems with their
mother or father respectively than statistically expected, which is the opposite
of both comparison groups. The results in the other cells are not entirely
conclusive and no clear pattern for the youth service group was detected. The
self-reports of different type of problems within the family showed, in other
words, somewhat inconsistent results.

Mental health
Based on a checklist of 41 different psychological and emotional reactions,
8% in the youth service group report having none, compared to 2% of the
residential group, and 12% of the reference group. Analyses of single cells in
the cross-tabulations showed that the proportion of the females in the youth
service group in each cell were as expected. The pattern for the residential
group and the reference group was the opposite of each other, that is a lower
proportion of the residential group reported having no or few psychological
problems than statistically expected, while a higher proportion reported
having eight or more problems than statistically expected. This trend was
reversed for the reference group of females, and more similar to the reporting
of the youth service group.

Study 2: “Adolescent females with limited delinquency –

A follow-up on educational attainment and recidivism”

The results from Study 2 confirmed that the females, as expected, displayed
limited delinquency, in that the majority did not re-offend within two years
after being sentenced to youth service (70% had no registered suspicions,
varying between 0-23, M=1.23, SD=3.45, and 86% had no registered
convictions, varying between 0-5, M=0.22, SD=0.63). Those who did re-
offend showed low frequency in their criminality in the sense that most were
only suspected and/or convicted of 1–2 crimes, of which most were minor
offense (e.g., non-violent crimes). The females did, however, have
significantly lower educational attainment than adolescent females in general,
both at the end of compulsory and upper secondary school. The mean average
grade at the end of compulsory school was 144 (SD=80.4, median=163) for
the investigated group, compared to young females in Stockholm who scored
237 (SD=66.5) during 2007–2015, as well as all females in Sweden in total
who scored 223 (SD=62.4) during the same time period. The same pattern was

50
shown for final grade at the end of upper secondary school, where the
investigated females had a mean average grade of 7.7 (SD=6.5, median=10.0),
compared to females in Stockholm who scored 14.5 (SD=3.3) and females in
Sweden in total 14.9 (SD=3.6). The results also showed that a low proportion
of the youth service group was eligible to apply to upper secondary school and
higher education. Of the investigated group, only 56% were eligible to apply
to upper secondary education, compared to around 90% of females in
Stockholm and Sweden. Twenty-three percent of the youth service females
were eligible to apply to higher education after upper secondary school,
compared to around 90% of females in Stockholm and Sweden. The collective
results regarding the females’ educational attainment at these two points
during adolescence implies that the majority are performing poorly (see Figure
3).

Figure 3. Illustration of the educational attainment of the females at two points

during adolescence.

The results also showed that those who reoffended did not differ significantly
in grade point average at the end of compulsory or upper secondary school
from those who did not re-offend. Both groups did, however, display
significantly lower educational attainment than adolescent females in general.

Finally, using their self-reports from Study 1 to see whether their self-reports
on delinquency, school problems and school satisfaction were related to their
educational attainment and recidivism, we found only a significant
relationship between self-reported school problems and final grade in upper

51
secondary school (rs=-.293, n=69, p =.015, two tailed). No significant
differences were found between those who reoffended and those who did not
regarding self-reports on delinquency, school problems and school
satisfaction.

Study 3: “Adolescent female offenders’ subjective

experiences of how peers influence norm-breaking
behavior”

The results in Study 3 were based on the domain of Peers, as derived from
nine interviews analyzed through the consensual coding process. This domain
included statements concerning friends, romantic partners and same-age
acquaintances, which resulted in five different themes from the cross-analysis
(see Figure 4).

Figure 4. The figure illustrates all five themes within the domain of Peers. The first
theme, “Considering peers as fundamental part of life,” has two arrows pointing at the
direction of delinquent as well as pro-social peers. This illustrates that the participants
described having peers who both engage in delinquent behavior and who do not, and
the importance of peers, whether delinquent or not. The three different themes,
“Committing crime as a way to socialize,” “Collectively creating peer pressure and
delinquent norms” and “Being both offender and victim in a delinquent context”
illustrates that the participants describe being in a delinquent context where the norm-
breaking behavior is described as a way to socialize and that this behavior often
occurred in the unstructured hanging out with delinquent peers, where they

52
collectively create peer pressures and delinquent norms of how to behave. The arrow,
which includes the theme “Being aware of the importance of pro-social peers and
absence of delinquent peers in order to avoid future delinquency,” illustrates the
relationship between delinquent peers and pro-social peers and how the absence of
hanging out with delinquent peers is considered necessary to avoid delinquent
behavior and that pro-social peers can help in that process.

Considering peers as a fundamental part of life

One theme involved descriptions of their peers both in relations to committing
crimes, but also in general terms. These included both negative and positive
aspects of their peer relationships where their friends and romantic partners
were described as a fundamental part of their lives. For example, they all
described having close, meaningful relationships with friends, where these
relationships were regarded as being as important as their families. Peers were
also described as being vital for the participant’s wellbeing. As such, they
were described as being important people in their lives who they could confide
in, talk to in times of need and those who they spent all their free time with.
The importance of the peer group was also shown in descriptions of how they
put their peers’ needs before their own in order to protect these friendships,
even if it involved engaging in delinquent acts.

The negative aspects of their peer relationships included having conflicts,

fighting, bickering and having verbal arguments, as well as being mad at each
other for keeping secrets, or engaging in physical fights. For some, conflicts
with peers went as far as resulting in the ending of the friendship. They also
expressed feelings of distrust and/or loneliness relative to peers. In some cases,
these two feelings were connected, while in other cases, the participants felt
one or the other. Feelings of loneliness could also include not talking to friends
about private matters, or feeling betrayed by one’s friends.

Being both offender and victim in a delinquent context

Another theme included descriptions of how the participants were part of a
delinquent context. Being part of a delinquent context entailed having peers,
partners, classmates or same-aged companions who engaged in different
forms of norm-breaking behavior. Within these settings, they both observed
peers engaging in norm-breaking behavior and participated themselves, thus
being both witnesses, victims and offenders themselves in delinquent acts
targeting other young people. Some participants had close friends or
acquaintances who had committed and/or had been convicted of a crime.
Others had friends who used drugs, ran away from home or displayed violent
behavior. Some of the participants lived in areas where many youths of the
same age engaged in delinquent behavior. This also included having current
or former boyfriends with more comprehensive and more serious antisocial
behavior. These behaviors were usually drug-related, where some of the
participants’ boyfriends either sold or used drugs, but also included delinquent

53
behavior such as driving a car while under the influence of drugs and running
away from the police. Descriptions of committing delinquent acts against
other peers included stealing from friends, as well as hitting and fighting with
peers. In addition to being part of a social context in which delinquency
occurred and they themselves committed crimes against other friends, the
participants also described being victims of some sort of serious abuse, by
another person the same age, a friend or an acquaintance.

Committing crimes as a way to socialize

Yet another theme was how committing crimes was portrayed as a way to
socialize, similar to other type of activities that they participated in with their
peers. For example, engaging in norm-breaking behavior such as drinking
alcohol, smoking cigarettes, taking drugs and committing crimes, was
described to have a lot in common with other unstructured and pro-social
activities that are typical of adolescents in general. The participants gave
different reasons as to why their delinquency took place in the company of
others. For example, committing crimes in the company of friends was
described as contributing to a positive sense of belonging and comradery, and
led to sharing experiences. Committing crimes, just as other pro-social
activities, was seen as a fun, thrill-seeking escapade to do together. Other
reinforcing qualities of committing crimes together with peers was feeling
more secure in the company of others, and getting more confidence and
courage to do things that they might have never done alone.

Collectively creating peer pressure and delinquent norms

The participants described both influencing and being influenced by friends
and boyfriends when it came to their delinquency. Committing delinquent acts
was the result of group dynamics, where the group members collectively
created peer pressures and delinquent norms that serve as a frame of reference
for how to behave in that particular group. Most of the female offenders
described the individuals in the peer groups as equals and said that everyone
together helped to create peer pressure against everyone in the group. Even if
some of the participants felt afterwards that they had let others decide for them
or had done things they did not really want to do, no one explicitly described
being forced to behave or act in a certain way. The females described how
sometimes it was not always clear who was pressuring whom and that they
could influence each other to do things that perhaps no one really wanted to
do in the first place. The delinquent behavior was also described as being
directly influenced by seeing their friends engage in a certain behavior. Some
of the participants emphasized that they had let friends or romantic partners
decide for them, while others talked about the great influence their friends had
over their own behavior.

54
Being aware of the importance of pro-social peers and the absence
of delinquent peers in order to avoid future delinquency
In order to avoid future delinquent behavior, the participants described the
importance of pro-social peers as well as the need to stop socializing with
delinquent friends. They thus expressed and conveyed an awareness of the
influence peers had on their own delinquent behavior, both delinquent and
non-delinquent. For example, the participants said that avoiding delinquent
peers and not letting them influence their own behavior, was one of the main
factors that would help them avoid future delinquency. In order to do so,
having access to meaningful and important relationships with peers outside
the context of their delinquent activities was described to be crucial. For
example, having non-delinquent peers who rejected their delinquent behavior,
or making them choose between the two types of friends, was described to
have a pro-social influence.

Study 4: “Adolescent female offenders’ subjective

experiences of their families’ roles in relation to their
delinquency”

The results in Study 4 were based on the domain of Family, as derived from
nine interviews analyzed through the consensual coding process. This domain
included statements concerning persons whom the participants described as
parents, step parents, siblings or relatives. Based on content, the themes were
divided into two groups: General themes, including four themes consisting of
mere descriptive information of the females’ family and familial relationships
independently of the participants’ delinquency and Delinquency-specific
themes, including five themes that consisted of statements that specifically
concerned the family’s role in the participant’s delinquency and vice versa.
The latter were, in comparison to the general themes, higher in complexity of
the narratives and therefore the focus when reviewing the results (see Table
3).

General themes
Positive and negative aspects of family relationships, independent of
delinquency
One theme included description of the participants’ relation to their family,
which showed great variation both between and within the participants,
portraying both negative and positive aspects of these relationships. It
included expressions of feeling well in the family and having a good
relationship to parents and siblings. For example, participants talked about
spending family time together at home, and sharing common interest with

55
their siblings. The negative aspects included descriptions of turbulent and
conflict-laden relations, including bickering, arguing and fighting with family
members, mostly parents. A common thread in all descriptions was that the
relationships were described as being dynamic rather than static, often
referring to how the relationship had been in contrast to how it was now.

Physical and/or psychological absence of the parents

This theme included descriptions of parents’ absence, ranging from an
experienced lack of emotional and practical engagement to a total lack of
contact. The latter was described as something that pertained to the past, or
that there had never been any contact with a parent. When a specific parent
was described as absent, it was almost exclusively the father.

Violence and abuse within the family

Although not constituting a prominent part of the data, mentions of violence
and abuse within the family did occur. These included violent conflicts
between siblings, as well as physical and emotional abuse from parents.
Narratives also included verbal insults from family members.

Criminality and addiction within the family

Another general theme included narratives of minor criminality and
alcohol/substance abuse in the immediate or extended family. As with
violence, these statements were not prominent in the narratives, but
mentioned. This was described both as ongoing and as part of the family
history. These statements were not described in relation to the females’ own
delinquency.

Delinquency-specific themes
Delinquency as a consequence of dissatisfaction in family relations
One delinquency-specific theme included descriptions of engaging in
delinquent behavior as a consequence of qualities in the family relationship,
mainly referring to the relationship with parents. Some of the statements
expressed the explicit idea of using delinquency as a way to alter the relation
to the parents. For example, committing crimes was described as a way to get
attention from parents who were perceived as absent, or as consolation and as
a way of compensating for a deficit in the parental relationship. Delinquency
was also used as an expression or a desire for a higher degree of independence.
For example, shoplifting or stealing was expressed as a way to state financial
freedom from parents. Even when the females did attribute the crime to
dissatisfaction in the family, no one directly blamed the families or held other
family members responsible for their own criminal behavior.

56
Family reactions to delinquency
Another theme contained several aspects of how the participants had
experienced their family’s reactions when they found out about the crime. This
included reactions from both parents and siblings. When describing their
family’s reaction, they talked about parents displaying different emotional
reactions. For example, parents were described to react with anger and
disapproval when finding out about the crime. Reactions also included sadness
and disappointment, rather than anger. Parents were also described to react by
being supportive, by condemning the crime, but showing understanding of the
act. In some cases, parents reacted in both ways, while some reacted with
either/or. The theme also included descriptions of a lack of reaction from the
parent, including not talking about or mentioning the crime whatsoever, which
made the females to question whether the parents were bothered or cared about
the crime at all. Lack of reaction was also described as withdrawal,
demonstrating how parents wanted to have nothing to do with the criminal
behavior and the events following the crime.

Actions undertaken by the family in connection to delinquency

The experiences of how the family reacted in connection to the crime also
included different sort of actions taken by the parents. One such was, for
example, actively monitoring the females’ behavior more closely through
restrictions and control. The participants also described actions in forms of
parents forcing them to take drug tests and reporting to the police when the
adolescent had run away from home, as well as demanding contact with a
psychologist. There were also statements of being heavily questioned by the
family, and that the family demanded answers about the adolescent’s behavior
and promptly held the participant responsible for the delinquency. Another
experience described was parents being actively involved through the legal
process, and showing emotional and practical support.

Participants’ feelings about family actions and reactions

One theme in connection with the two themes mentioned above included
statements of the adolescents’ own feelings toward their parents’ actions and
reactions when finding out about the delinquency. This entailed feeling guilty
and ashamed over their misconduct, as well as being embarrassed due to
knowing they had done something wrong. Furthermore, feelings of being
worried about letting the parents down were expressed. There are also
expressions of feeling remorseful toward parents due to feeling that the
misconduct had been a burden to them. It was also described as being difficult
and distressing to see the parents angry, sad or disappointed, for example,
during the trial, even if they expressed that they were appreciative to the
practical and emotional support. The negative feelings described in connection
with the parent’s actions and reactions to the crime, however, were not
described as a hindering factor for committing new crimes.

57
Changes in the family relations after delinquency
This theme included statements attributing both positive and negative changes
in the family relations in connection to the crime. A positive change described
was that the occurrence of the crime had led to a closer relationship to the
parent, by, for example, leading to them spending more time together.
However, negative changes as a consequence of the crime were also
described; mainly a decrease in trust, which the females experienced as
leading to a higher degree of parental monitoring and increased boundaries.
This entailed, for example, restrictions regarding choice of friends and time
spent away from home.

The delinquency-specific themes were further evaluated and are illustrated in

Table 3. Although not chronologically described in the interviews, these
themes could be regarded sequentially in relation to the crime. As such, the
theme Delinquency as a consequence of dissatisfaction in the family relations
can be seen as a prologue to the crime, where family relations contributed to
the occurrence of the crimes. The following themes: Family reactions to
delinquency; Actions undertaken by the family in connection to delinquency;
Participants’ feelings about family actions and reactions, all consisted of
statements concerning what the participants described happened when their
delinquency “entered the family.” And finally, the last theme, Changes in the
family relations after delinquency, could be regarded as the epilogue of the
delinquent behavior, where the delinquency had led to changes in family
relations. These themes were all based on crucial points of what happened
between the adolescent and her family, also divided into terms of proximity,
transaction and distance. Proximity included aspects in the theme that
conveyed closeness, or wish for closeness, in the relationships. In contrast,
distance conveyed aspects in the themes where the adolescents and the family
distanced themselves from one another. Finally, aspects in the themes that
appeared as emotional turbulence, where females and their family affected one
another were considered as transactions. These could be interpreted as going
back and forth between the participants, as well as having a position between
proximity and distance as this transactional process could potentially lead the
relation in the direction of proximity, as well as in the direction of distance.

58
 Table 3. Temporal positions of the themes and relational positions of the core
aspects of the themes

Relational Proximity Transactions Distance

positions ¬ ®¬ ®

Temporal
positions Themes

Prior to the Delinquency as Attention Conflicts Independence

delinquency a consequence
of
¯ dissatisfaction
in the family
relations

Family Understanding Anger Withdrawal

reactions to Support Disappointment Indifference
delinquency Sadness

Delinquency Actions Restriction Questioning

enters the undertaken by Control Demanding
family the family in Seeking answers
connection to professional help Holding the
¯ delinquency Reporting to adolescent
police responsible
Accompaniment

Participants’ Guilt
feelings about Shame
family actions Remorse
reactions Embarrassment

After Changes in the Closer Loss of trust

delinquency family relations relationships
after Fewer conflicts
¯ delinquency More
appreciation

59
Discussion

The objective of the present thesis was to explore the characteristics of the
under-researched group of adolescent female offenders without pronounced
behavioral problems. Further, the aim was to study the potential risks and
needs these young females’ experience in their interpersonal relations, mainly
school, peers and family, in connection to their delinquency. The following
discussion starts by offering a summary of the general findings from the four
studies and conclusions that can be drawn from these. Next, a basic description
of the characteristics of the females is discussed, as well as the challenges they
display, with focus on educational attainment. Thereafter, the results from the
qualitative part of the thesis exploring the females’ own perspectives on their
delinquency in connection to peers and family are elaborated on. The
collective findings are then discussed in relation to developmental aspects of
adolescence with emphasis on developmental theories about delinquency and
identity. Finally, some implications of the findings for social workers within
the youth service are discussed, and suggestions for future research are
presented.

The general premise for the overall aim of the thesis was that the investigated
females are a group of offenders with limited delinquency. The results from
Studies 1 and 2 confirmed this assumption, both in regard to the amount and
frequency of criminal behavior, as well as the type of crimes they have taken
part in. Their self-reports in Study 1 showed that their reporting of
involvement in delinquent behavior, as well as drug and alcohol use, 12
months prior to starting youth service was more in line with a reference group
of females (i.e., moderate/low) than with a group of females in residential care
(i.e., high). Their limited delinquency was also supported by the follow-up
results in Study 2, which showed that the majority of the females did not re-
offend within two years after being sentenced to youth service (70% had no
new suspicions and 86% had no new convictions). The majority of the crimes
they self-reported and were suspected and/or convicted of included minor
offenses, e.g., non-violent crimes.

The area where the young females showed the most pronounced problems was
in connection to school. According to their self-reports in Study 1, the young
females had achieved poorly in school. For example, 30% of the females
reported either having dropped out or never beginning upper secondary
school. In addition, 20% reported being suspended at some point during their
schooling and 28% reported being held back a class. Further, 32% reported

60
receiving special education and 14% stated that they had been given adjusted
study programs. More than half of the females, a higher proportion compared
to the reference group, also reported having six or more school-related
problems (e.g., trouble with reading/math, truancy, problems with teacher).
However, they reported that they enjoyed school at all stages in compulsory
school, to some or a high degree. The low level of educational attainment was
confirmed by the official data in Study 2, based on the females’ grades at two
time points during adolescence, i.e., at the end of compulsory school and at
the end of upper secondary school, respectively. Their educational attainment
was lower than adolescent females in general, both at the end of compulsory
and upper secondary school. This was true for the group at large, irrespective
of whether they reoffended or not. Based on their self-reports from Study 1
regarding delinquency, school problems and school satisfaction, we only
found a significant relationship between self-reported school problems and
educational attainment in upper secondary school, showing that higher levels
of self-reported school problems were negatively correlated with grade points.
This indicates that the females who reported the highest level of problems in
compulsory school were also those with the lower grade point average in
upper secondary school. This suggests that the females have a conception of
their school functioning that is in line with their actual performance.

The qualitative part of the thesis, Studies 3 and 4, showed that when describing
their delinquency, the females regarded their peers and family as being
important in several ways. Peers were considered to be important in all aspects
of the crime: the reasons leading up to it, the delinquent act in itself, as well
as in desisting. As such, delinquency was described as a way to socialize with
friends and delinquent peers and group dynamics were described as important
factors contributing to their delinquent behavior. In the same way, having non-
delinquent and pro-social peers were described to be important for desisting.
The influence of peers was, however, not described as a unidirectional
process; rather these dynamics were expressed as being a process that was
created by all the members of the peer groups, including themselves.
Likewise, familial relationships, almost exclusively synonymous with parents,
were given a prominent role in the entire delinquency process. In the prologue
of the crime, delinquency was described as a consequence of the relation to
the family. However, no direct blame was put on the parents for their actions.
When the delinquency entered the family, weight was given to the family’s
actions and reactions to the crimes, where parents got angry, upset, sad,
showed support, or a combination of these, or displayed a lack of reaction. In
return, the females also described feelings of guilt, shame and remorse in
response to their family’s actions and reactions. Yet, these feelings were not
described as reasons for desisting from future delinquency. In the aftermath
of the crime, the females described changes in the family relations as
something that the crimes had caused, both in an immediate and in a longer-
term perspective. For some, this was described as having a negative effect on
the relationships, where for others it had brought them closer to their family.
Although the females regarded that familial relationships had both contributed

61
to their offending as well as having been affected by it, no one contributed any
blame to their parents or spoke of their family as a factor that could help
prevent future delinquency.

Characteristics of the females – limited delinquency, and

low educational attainment
Although they had been convicted of a crime, the moderate levels of
delinquency and low levels of drug and alcohol use reported, together with the
low rates of recidivism, suggest that the females’ involvement in delinquent
acts is likely not to be a manifestation of a criminal lifestyle. Rather, as self-
reports of low-frequency delinquency and risky behaviors of different kinds,
taken together, are shown to be common among adolescent females in general,
these behaviors may be regarded as normative, although not optimal, during
this period of life (Born et al., 2015; Gutman et al., 2017; Laub & Sampson,
2001; Moffitt, 2006).

The results regarding social relations in Study 1 showed that the females
reported spending the same amount of time with delinquent peers, as well as
non-delinquent peers, as did the reference group. In addition, they reported
having experienced abuse (emotional, physical and sexual) in their romantic
relationships to the same degree as the reference females. Regarding mental
health, based on a checklist of 41 different psychological and emotional
reactions, the females’ self-reports were in line with the reporting of the
reference group, i.e., low. These findings enhance the picture of this being a
group of offenders whose convictions might be explained by a non-deviant
increase in problematic behaviors during adolescence. Regarding their family
situation, the results from Study 1 were not entirely conclusive. The results
suggest a seeming contradiction in the description of their parents. On the one
hand – compared to the reference group – they reported elevated problems
regarding abuse from a parental figure, as well as parents having mental health
problems. In contrast to these results, a higher proportion of the investigated
females than the reference group reported having no problems in their
relationships with their mother and father respectively. This discrepancy could
be due to the females wanting, in some ways, to protect their parents, or
idealizing them, hence under-reporting some negative aspects of their
relationship to their parents. Or perhaps they do not view these as affecting
their relationships negatively. Although these results should be interpreted
with caution, they do indicate elevated, although perhaps not prominent,
problems concerning family. This is particularly important because family
problems such as physical abuse and mental health problems have been
stressed in previous studies highlighting the importance of family dysfunction
in connection to female delinquents who display more serious criminal
behavior (Kroneman et al., 2009). Perhaps the quality of family relationships

62
is an area that should also receive further attention among females with limited
delinquency, such as in this sample.

Of the investigated life areas, the females showed most prominent problems
regarding school. In Study 1, they reported different types of school problems
and school failure, not only to a higher degree than the reference group, but in
some cases also more in line with the reports of the residential group. In Study
2, the females showed lower educational attainment both in compulsory as
well as upper secondary school, compared to females their age in general. This
is in line with previous studies, indicating that delinquent females receiving
non-residential measures have school-related problems (Patino et al., 2006).
Delinquent females in general have also been shown to perform academically
lower than their conventional peers (Siennick & Staff, 2008). What is
noteworthy about our findings is that the low level of education found in our
group of female delinquents is in line with findings from samples of female
delinquents with more extensive behavioral problems (Giordano, Cernkovich,
& Lowery, 2004; Henneberger, Oudekerk, Reppucci, & Odgers, 2014). For
example, Henneberger et al. (2014) found that 62% of their sample of
incarcerated females had an education level lower than upper secondary
school. Although the youth service females differ from these samples of young
offenders, in regard to level of delinquency, they seem to be similar in regards
to their low levels of education. This finding is important, as previous research
has mostly focused on the educational attainment of female offenders who
display more persistent and/or extensive criminal behavior. We found no
difference in educational attainment between those who reoffended and the
non-recidivists. This could be due to matter of statistical power, and/or lack
of incomplete follow-up data on the entire group. Nevertheless, it is striking
that both groups displayed lower educational attainment compared to the
average female adolescent regarding grade points both in compulsory school
as well as upper secondary school.

Longitudinal studies of female cohorts who desist from delinquency post-

adolescence have shown that they continue to display difficulties in other life
areas, education being one of them (Moretti, et al., 2011; Odgers et al., 2008).
The risks of exclusion and sub-optimal development following low or
incomplete education during adolescence are well established (e.g., Tyler,
Johnson, & Brownridge, 2008), where education in the later years of
adolescence has been shown to be predictive of important transitions into adult
life (Nilsson & Estrada, 2009). For example, academic success in upper
secondary school leads to access to further studies as well as employment, not
only in Sweden, but internationally as well (Ford & Schroeder, 2011; Xia,
Fosco, & Feinberg, 2016). These studies have shown that it has become
increasingly more difficult to establish oneself in the labor market if lacking a
high school education. The high incidence of school failure in the present
group is therefore troublesome. Not paying attention to these young females’
school situation is likely to affect their future quality of life. Although the
majority of the females did not re-offend, their relatively low educational

63
attainment could still lead to other forms of exclusions and sub-optimal
development as desistance from criminal behavior may not necessarily imply
an escape from maladjustment in other areas of life (Lanctôt, 2015).

The females’ own perspectives – the importance of peers

and family
The results from the qualitative part of the thesis showed that the females
viewed their peers and family as being vital in connection to their delinquency.
Although described as separate, both of these relationships were regarded as
important in several ways for the processes leading up to their delinquent
behavior, as well as for the aftermath of the crimes committed. The females
made few connections between the role of their family and the role of their
peers in their descriptions of their delinquency. These two types of
relationships were portrayed as two distinct, yet parallel, worlds. It is possible
that this, in fact, is not the case and that there are more connections and links
between these two parts of the young participants’ lives. However, as
described and interpreted by the females themselves, peers and family
represented two different, although maybe equally important, parts of their
lives, which, in different ways, are connected, influenced and affected by their
delinquent behavior. This is a finding in itself and could perhaps be an
illustration of the typical process of separation from parents and movement
toward peers, due to the striving for independence common during this period
of life.

The main findings from Study 3 showed that the females described friends
and boyfriends to be of significance, both in their life in general, as well as in
connection to their delinquency. In the interviews, peers were described as
being important sources of intimacy and support, thus serving a positive
function for the females. The closeness and significance ascribed to their
peers, together with the more time spent with them, can be interpreted as part
of typical development (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). The negative aspects of
their peer relations that they described, for example, fighting, feeling betrayed
and ending friendships, can in the same way be viewed as typical adolescent
relationships, where conflicts and experiencing failure in connection to friends
are common during this age (Brown, 2004).

The females regarded peers as an important factor in their delinquent behavior,

both in connection to committing crimes, as well as in desisting. Accordingly,
they described the importance of non-delinquent peers for avoiding future
delinquency. Committing crime was described as a way to socialize, and
something they did in the company of peers, much like any other pro-social
activity. Engaging in delinquency in the company of friends was described as
having many redeeming qualities, such as contributing to a positive sense of
belonging and sharing experiences together. This is line with previous studies

64
(Bottrell, Armstrong, & France, 2010; Miller, Winn, Taylor, & Wiki, 2012)
where delinquent activities have been described to fulfill the same meaningful
qualities of social bonding and connection as other social recreations typical
of teenagers. The different types of activities they mentioned engaging in with
their friends, which most often involved unstructured ones, including
delinquency, can be interpreted as trying to find themselves, what they like
and discover what they want to do. The peer group can, in this regard, be
considered as an arena to explore possible identity concerns and new social
roles (Brown & Larson, 2009).

The females also described their delinquent behavior as a consequence of

group dynamics, where friends and partners’ behaviors and attitudes
influenced the females regarding their own delinquent behavior. This is in line
with previous findings showing that peers both direct and influence youths’
behavior in different ways, and are thus an important contributing factor in
young people’s delinquent behavior (Brauer & De Coster, 2015; McGloin &
Dipietro, 2013; Warr, 2002; Wike et al., 2013). When describing the influence
of peers and boyfriends, the females portrayed this process as the result of
individuals, including themselves, collectively creating peer pressure and
delinquent norms that served as a frame of reference for how to behave in that
particular group. Although some females in hindsight expressed that they had
behaved in ways they did not really want to or had let others decide for them,
no explicit expressions of coercion were implied. This suggests that peer
pressure is not always a one-directional process, but rather a reciprocal group
procedure in which young people can be both recipients and producers of
influence in the group at the same time. This is in accordance with Brown’s
(2004) definition of peer pressure evident in most groups of adolescents. It is
thus important not to mistake influence with coercion in regard to how
delinquent peers influence a young person’s behavior.

The females’ description of their family showed that parents and siblings were
also of importance, both in connection to their delinquency, as well as in their
life in general. It was apparent that the participants valued their family and
ascribed great significance to them. They, for example, expressed emotional
needs for being close to, seen and liked by their parents, and that their parents’
response to these needs affected their wellbeing. They also described being
close to siblings, where these sometimes were considered as close friends.
While demonstrating that they, on the one hand, want to be close to their
parents and strive to win their acceptance, they also described wanting to
achieve autonomy and make decisions on their own. This ambivalence is part
of one of the developmental goals during adolescents, which includes
developing increasing autonomy while, at the same time, maintaining a strong
sense of connection and a meaningful emotional bond with parents (Peterson,
2005; Steinberg, 2001). The aspects of the themes that were regarded to reflect
expressions of either proximity or distance can be viewed as capturing the
ambivalent qualities of this process. In the same way, the participants’ view
of the role of their family in connection to their delinquency, can be interpreted

65
as an expression of the same process. For example, shoplifting or stealing the
things they felt that they need or want, was for some described as an
expression and statement of financial independence from their parents, while
shoplifting for others was a way to get attention and be seen by parents. As
such, the females are no different than typical adolescent females in their need
for emotional closeness as well as desiring behavioral autonomy. The
exception is that they, among other things, may be using delinquency to
express these needs. In this view, taking part in delinquent acts can, for these
females, be interpreted as part of their autonomy development (Chen, 2010).
This finding points to the importance of supporting the females’ needs to be
more autonomous in ways that are pro-social.

Another key aspect identified in the themes in Study 4 was regarded as

conveying transactions. This was to illustrate the interactive process in which
the adolescent and the family mutually influence each other, conceptualizing
the family context as a reciprocal system (Kerr & Stattin, 2003). This was
illustrated in how the females described their parents’ reactions to their
children’s delinquency, which, in return, made the females feel a certain way.
These transactions in connection to their delinquency were most often
portrayed as something negative, where, for example, committing a crime
created conflict with the parents and put friction in the relationship. For some,
this had resulted in a negative effect on the relationships, for example, a
decrease in trust. These conflicts and frictions can, however, be seen as normal
and needed. The development of autonomy has been suggested to be
dependent on the quality of the relationships between the adolescent and
parents and on how parents and their teenagers negotiate conflicts and
maintain their relationship (Moretti & Peled, 2004; Smetana, 2011). As such,
conflicts between parents and adolescents can be regarded as a process
through which the adolescent relationship transformation occurs. When
children become adolescents, they want to make more decisions on their own
and should be allowed certain autonomy to grow and develop a sense of self
(Steinberg & Silk, 2002). Most often, conflicts are necessary for this process,
and depending on the context, even viewed as beneficial to healthy
development (Adams & Laursen, 2001). To this point, there are some
descriptions of how the turbulent period in connection to the delinquency had
resulted in an improved relationship to parents, i.e., brought them closer than
before. Despite talking about how the family relationships had both
contributed to their offending as well as been affected by it, no one attributed
any blame to their parents or spoke of their family as a factor that could help
prevent future delinquency. This is contrasted to how they viewed peers in
connection to their delinquency, giving weight to these relationships both for
committing crimes, as well as desisting. This could be interpreted as the
females lacking to view their parents, and in extension the adult world, as an
opportunity to change their behavior.

Finally, although we did not specifically ask about peers and/or family, these
two relationships were mentioned by all of the participants when describing

66
their delinquency in depth. In contrast, other topics that have been suggested
as being important for the occurrence of delinquency, were mentioned only in
periphery or not at all, such as the topic of school. Unpublished data from the
interviews containing descriptions of the females talking about their school
situation and view on their education later in life showed that they seldom
talked about school in connection to their delinquency. Although some of the
females described how some of their delinquency and/or norm-breaking
behaviors took place within the context of school, they did not reflect further
on the meaning of education for their delinquency. The little material available
where the females described school or education at all, consisted merely of
descriptive information, indicating that they did not see any connection
between how school was going and their delinquent behavior. When they
mentioned school, it was mainly to say that they were happy in their school
situation, i.e., enrolled in a study program of interest, or in contrast to this, not
enjoying school and dissatisfied with the program study of choice. They all,
however, expressed an ambition to continue with higher education, where
some had a positive view on their school situation, despite their delinquency,
and others displayed some concerns. The females’ lack of mentioning school
in connection to their delinquency is an important finding in itself. It shows
that, when probed openly to describe their delinquency, they do not consider
school, as opposed to peers and family, as important in connection to their
criminal behavior. The reasons as to why that is, can only be speculative.
Based on the quantitative part of the thesis, which shows low school
performance for the group at large, this result, or lack of such, is, however,
interesting and noteworthy. Especially as the females did express a will and
wish to continue to higher education. A previous study on young offenders’
own views about their education in connection to their delinquency, showed
that despite challenges and difficulties in their school experiences, they still
expressed aspirations regarding their future and valued their education
(Sander et al., 2010). In line with these results, Reed and Wexler (2014) found
that young offenders do not necessarily lack interest in pursuing education,
but rather are failing due to lack of support and a disconnection to the
educational system (Reed & Wexler, 2014). Whether or not this is the case for
the investigated group can only be speculated, as more research is needed to
discover the reasons why they are failing.

Delinquency and its connection to identity development

A meta-analysis (Kroger et al., 2010) examining the developmental patterns
of identity status changes during adolescence found that occurrence of
moratoriums rose steadily up until the age of 19, followed by a firm decline
thereafter. As most of the females were 15–17 when committing the crimes of
which they were convicted, it can be assumed that they were, perhaps, in
search of their identities during that time, what Josselson (1996) referred to as
searchers. This stage of identity development is often described as a

67
challenging part of the process, where young people often are occupied with
exploration and discovery sometime leading to crisis and internal conflicts
(Erikson, 1968). For many, the search and exploration process will involve
opposing parental and societal rules, which may lead to participating in
delinquency. In fact, both delinquency and identity formation have been
theoretically conceptualized to be developmentally linked during adolescence
(e.g., Mercer, Crocetti, Branje, Van Lier, & Meeus, 2017). For example,
Moffitt’s (1993) description of adolescence, with the challenges of the
maturity gap and the need for autonomy and independence runs parallel to
how Erikson (1980) described the adolescent being caught in a role ambiguity
(i.e., psychosocial moratorium), trying to let go of childhood identifications
while at the same time exploring new interest, beliefs and views in order to
develop a new more adult personal identity. Delinquency could also be related
more explicitly to identity development in that delinquent behaviors of
different kinds can be used as a mean for identity exploration. The identity
process can also be used to understand the process of recidivism and
desistance. For example, the maturational theory of desistance proposed by
Massoglia and Uggen (2010) can be used to provide a general understanding
of the high level of desistance for the females. Applying the theory to the
present findings, it can be presumed that those who managed to abstain from
crime could have, perhaps, moved away from this stage and achieved a more
mature self-view, while those who have not may still be in search (e.g.,
drifters). This theory has empirical support in studies that have found that a
mature self-view plays a critical role in the process of desistance (Walters,
2018).

The process of maturation and identity achievement is one of reciprocal

interaction between the individual and a social context that provides
opportunities and possibilities for exploration. The interaction between the
individual and context has been stressed in Erikson’s (1980) psychosocial
theory of development, where these interactions have been given weight for
the formation of identity (Kroger, 2015). Both Moffitt (1993) and Erikson
(1980) emphasized how the balance between the young person and those
surrounding the adolescent have bearing for the development of identify as
well as occurrence of delinquency. This perspective can be used to understand
for example the role the females ascribed to both peers and family in relation
to their delinquency. If the adolescent’s social context is lacking in this
respect, it will not promote such a development. The females’ descriptions of
how their delinquency affected their parents’ actions and reactions, which, in
turn, had affected their own feelings, indicates that there is a reciprocal
influence in the adolescent–parent relationships, as suggested by previous
scholars (Kerr & Stattin, 2003). Due to the ambivalence in the parent–child
relationships expressed by the females in the interviews, in addition to the
inconsistent results in the self-reports in Study 1 regarding parents, perhaps
the females need help to understand these relational aspects and support to
better appreciate what happens in this phase of life.

68
Implications
The rehabilitative part of youth service, i.e., the advocacy programs, most
commonly used in the city where the females had completed their sentence
(Zamora, 2011), as well as interventions for offenders in general (Andrews &
Bonta, 2010) have largely focused on criminal behavior with the intent to
reduce recidivism. As is evident from the present results, many of the females
that the youth service come in contact with do not display extensive
criminality, but rather display limited levels of delinquency, as well as low
rates of re-offending. They do, however, show poor educational attainment
and a need for support to complete their education. It is reasonable to assume
that a large number of the young females within youth service are at risk for
further exclusion. These findings suggest that perhaps the content of these
programs is not suitable for the rehabilitation of these young offenders.
Interventions aimed at this group may instead be less focused on criminal
behavior and more focus should be put in helping the females through other
sectors than the juvenile justice system, such as school. This is in line with
previous suggestions that the youth justice system may not always be the best
arena for supporting delinquent females, but that rather provisions within
mainstream youth services would be a better approach in supporting their
needs (Sharpe, 2010).

The low levels of re-offending suggest that applying the Risk–Need–

Responsivity principle (Andrews & Bonta, 2010) may not be suitable for this
group of offenders, as this principle would imply no or little need for
interventions due to low risk of recidivism. However, using the Good Lives
Model (Ward & Brown, 2004), and following its philosophy, it is important
to support the females’ education, not just because it might be connected to
rates of recidivism, which the results in Study 2 imply that it may not be, but
because of the potential life-enhancing effects it could have in itself (van
Damme et al., 2017). The results concerning educational failure, in line with
previous findings, also point to the significance of not only following up on
this group of offenders based on criminality. Instead, it may be equally
important to look at other areas of life in answering how well female
delinquents with limited delinquency are developing following their
desistance (Lanctôt, 2015).

The qualitative findings suggest that taking part in delinquent acts, in some
ways, from the females’ own perspectives fulfill the needs for autonomy,
socializing and belonging. In line with previous qualitative studies, these
results point to the importance of supporting these young adolescents to find
pro-social contexts, behaviors and resources that meet their needs of
expressing their independence, as well as their need for belonging and
intimacy (Bottrell et al., 2010; Farrell, Thompson, & Mehari, 2017). One such
action can be to guide the females in finding meaningful structured activities
to take part in or help the young females to find other social contexts that fulfil
these needs. Engaging young offenders in structured community resources has

69
been shown to promote positive peer affiliation and pro-social behavior, thus
not only reducing delinquency, but also fostering positive development (Smith
et al., 2016). This is also important, as the females mentioned few or, for some,
no structured activities that they partook in. Finally, as the females, in many
regards, view their peers, delinquent or not, as great sources of meaning where
these relationships fulfill many developmental needs, it is important to
acknowledge the positive feelings attributed to the peer group, and to provide
other social contexts that fulfill the same type of needs. Because the females
describe having access to non-delinquent peers besides their delinquent
friends, practitioners could thus encourage the females to move closer to non-
delinquent groups, which is more realistic and doable than developing a
completely new network of friends.

Future research
The exploratory approach of the present thesis provides guidance and
motivation for future research regarding this particular group. In order to draw
definitive conclusions about the characteristics about female offenders with
limited delinquency, further studies are needed. As school was the area of life
where the females displayed the greatest problems, it is important to pay
further attention to educational attainment and problems. For example, a
follow-up study in young adulthood investigating how the females are doing
in regard to further education and employment would be valuable. This is
important, as previous research has suggested that female offenders’ academic
development tends to be delayed compared with their non-delinquent peers
(Beyer, 2001). Future research could also investigate the females’ own views
and reflection over the role and relation of school to their delinquency more
in depth. As enjoyment was high but performance low, further exploration of
how these two factors are connected would also be of value.

Research studying young offenders has, for the most part, focused on
problematic development. Although problematic outcomes of youth
development in general have continued to dominate the field, this approach
has been accompanied by an increase in positive youth development. This
view does not only view positive development as lack of problem behaviors,
but rather aims to understand the relation between individual strengths and
recourses within their social contexts in order to promote thriving (Benson,
Scales, Hamilton, & Sesma, 2006; Lerner, Lerner, Bowers, & Geldhof, 2015).
Future research could therefore apply this approach when studying the
characteristics of female offenders. The present results indicate that the
females do not only display problems, but also have certain strengths. One
such example is that the females reported to enjoy school despite displaying
low performance. This finding should be regarded as a potential strength, as
it implies that school-related efforts are feasible for this group.

70
Another possible strength is the fact that the females self-reported in Study 1
to have access to non-delinquent peers in addition to friends who engage in
norm-breaking behavior, which was also apparent in the interviews in Study
3. This is essential, as having access to non-delinquent peers can contribute to
avoiding the kind of encapsulation effect Haynie (2002) described in
interaction with solely delinquent peers. Further studies may thus focus not
solely on the importance of delinquent peers in connection to female
delinquency, but also the role of pro-social relations. Also, as delinquent
behavior was described to occur within a peer context, encouraged by group
dynamics within the young females’ circle of friends, it would be interesting
to gain a more comprehensive understanding of these group dynamics. This
could be accomplished by more closely studying how these unfold in the
context of delinquent behavior. Perhaps this approach would offer a more
comprehensive understanding of the influencing process described by the
females, in which they were both recipients and producers of influence in the
peer group.

Furthermore, as the results showed that the majority of the females did not re-
offend, it would be of interest to further explore the reasons and mechanisms
to their desisting. There are few studies that have looked at the pathways out
of crime, especially in regards to female offenders (Goodson & Morash, 2017;
Rodermond, Kruttschnitt, Slotboom, & Bijleveld, 2016), with emphasis on
how identity development could offer an understanding of this process. It
would therefore be relevant to conduct research relating to this topic, by
examining if and how the females’ identity development is connected to their
delinquency in the first place, but more importantly, in their pathways out of
crime.

Strengths and limitations

There is a great need to address this study population and examine all available
information about the characteristics of adolescent females with limited
delinquency. The different studies shown here contribute to this need, which
is the main contribution of the thesis. Another strength is that it includes a total
population of all young females sentenced to youth service in a major city
during a five-year period, thus including a large sample that otherwise would
have been difficult to collect data on. Furthermore, the multi-method approach
yields a more comprehensive view of the difficulties shown, compared to a
single method. Despite the noted strengths and contributions, there are several
limitations to the different studies that need to be addressed. One has to do
with ADAD and the comparison material used in Study 1. ADAD was initially
intended for a group of young people with more extensive problems, e.g.,
young addicts and young people with profound social problems. Given these
issues, it is possible that the instrument does not adequately capture the
problems within the present group. Also, as ADAD is a problem-oriented

71
instrument, it does not consider positive aspects of the youth’s lives or the
resources young people have (Hermodsson, & Carpelan, 2004). The variations
in response options, some dichotomous, others on an ordinal scale, led to
difficulties in the analysis of data. Also, for some behaviors, only one single-
item indicator was available. The use of a single item for one construct or
behavior has its limitations, as this may not fully represent or capture the
complex phenomena measured (i.e., have low content validity) and may lack
a measure of internal-consistency reliability. The reliability for the
delinquency scale in Study 2 was also low, which had to do with there being
no or little variations in most of the items included, where most of the females
reported only having committed shoplifting, which if deleted would have
yielded in a Cronbach’s alpha of .64. The data used (Ybrandt & Nordqvist,
2015) for comparison is also limited in that we did not have access to
individual data, instead only to what was available in the report. Also, some
relevant information was not always specified (e.g., standard deviations for
different checklists or frequencies divided by gender) by the authors, limiting
our ability to perform statistical analyses. Another limitation of the
comparison material was the high dropout rate in the reference group, which
could have implications for the interpretation of data. Nevertheless, it is most
likely that it is the less well-adjusted females who declined to participate,
indicating an underestimation of problem severity for the reference group.
However, this should not be regarded as a major limitation, as only very high
scores for all dropouts would substantially change the results. It should also
be noted that the data collection occurred in different settings for all three
groups. The present study group and the group of residential females were
interviewed in a personal meeting with staff members, whereas the reference
group self-reported information via telephone interviews to a researcher. It is
possible that the willingness and motivations of the females in the youth
service group in sharing certain information was impacted by the setting. The
two comparison groups also differed from the youth service group in that they
covered a larger age range, which also could have had some implications for
the results, mainly regarding school. However, as important these aspects are
for consideration, they do not change the main results. Having these
comparisons offers an opportunity to compare the uniqueness, or lack thereof,
of the problems in different areas for the investigated females. Although
having its limitations, ADAD and the comparison material offers a unique set
of data for this group of offenders who are highly under-researched. The need
to gain more knowledge about the characteristics of this group of offenders,
we believe, overrides the shortcomings of ADAD and the comparison material
available, as the alternative would have been to not conduct any studies at all.

A limitation pertaining to Study 2 is that we do not have complete follow-up

data regarding recidivism for all individuals or information regarding school
for those who completed upper secondary school 2015 and later. This means
that only a sub-portion of the females could be included in the analysis
regarding, for example, the relation between recidivism and education. Also,
there are limitations to measuring rates of recidivism with registered

72
criminality only, as these are not ideal data and should be complemented by,
for example, self-reported data. Both suspicion and conviction rates as
measure for recidivism have problems with underestimation because an
unknown number of offenses may go undetected, as these numbers do not
account for all crimes committed. The use of self-reports can overcome the
potential problems related to underestimation. However, these have their own
limitations, such as poor recall, problems with participation and over- as well
as under-reporting. And finally, the self-reports regarding delinquency, school
problems and school satisfaction was gathered at the start of youth service and
asked for retrospective information. It could be that school satisfaction, for
example, had declined in upper secondary school and that those who were less
satisfied with their school situation also had lower grades.

Both Studies 1 and 2 used non-parametric tests, which has both its advantages
as well as disadvantages. The reason for choosing this method of analysis was
mainly that the data used was not normally distributed, including people who
could be considered outliers. Also, the items in ADAD were mostly on an
ordinal and categorical scale. For these reasons, non-parametric analyses
seemed more appropriate, despite that these have lower power compared to
parametric approaches. This is important to take into consideration, as the lack
of differences found in some cases, for example, in educational attainment
between the recidivists and the non-recidivists could perhaps be due to matter
of statistical power, where the smaller sample size in the reoffender group
could have exacerbated this problem. Also, as multiple statistical comparisons
were used, the risk of making a Type I error increases. The reason for not
correcting for multiple comparisons (such as a Bonferroni correction) was the
fear of losing power, which was already a problem from using non-parametric
tests, as well as having a small sample sizes for some subgroups. We found it
important to avoid making Type II errors and missing significant results, and
decided to go with the solution chosen. Due to these limitations, more research
is needed to validate and replicate the present findings in order to draw more
conclusive conclusions and be able to further generalize the results.

Another limitation in regard to Study 3 and 4, was the difficulty in recruiting

participants, leading to a small convenience sample used. One female enrolled
in youth service during the inclusion period was regarded by the social service
as unfit to take part and was therefore not asked to partake. Due to this being
a group of offenders deemed to have limited special care needs, it can be
presumed that they represent delinquent females with fewer behavioral
problems and that the results may not be of relevance for female offenders
with more severe antisocial behavior. Having used only data from participants
living in major cities could have some implications on the findings. Including
participants from smaller towns or female offenders living in the countryside
may have yielded different results. The interview guide did not include
questions relating specifically to family or peers, but rather consisted of
general inquiries about the participants’ views of what had led them to their
delinquent behavior. Therefore, questions relating specifically to family/peers

73
were not asked unless in forms of follow-up questions relating to topics raised
by the participants themselves. However, one can also view the spontaneous
focus on family and peers without any directions from the interviewer as a
strength in that it shows that these areas of life are a major part of their
delinquent behavior and what they themselves consider important when freely
describing their delinquent behavior. The fact that the females, when asked
freely about their delinquency, do not relate school to it is interesting, and a
result in itself. However, due to lack of data we were not able to further
investigate this area, which was shown to be one of the areas of great need in
the quantitative material. Finally, one needs to consider potential reasons that
may motivate the participants to present themselves in more positive terms by,
for example, understating their delinquent behavior. However, from my point
of view, they were all willing participants who were comfortable in sharing
their stories.

Conclusions
There is a lack of knowledge concerning the characteristics of young female
offenders without pronounced behavioral problems. The data collected
through self-reports at the beginning of youth service was further
complemented with a 24-month follow-up with registry data from registered
criminality records, educational attainment records and social service records.
In addition, in-depth interviews with females sentenced to youth service were
held to explore the females’ own views of factors relating to their delinquency.
Although being convicted of a crime, the young females displayed limited
self-reported delinquency 12 months prior to starting their referral, and low
rates of recidivism within two years after being sentenced. The area of life
where they showed the greatest problems concerned their education, where
the majority displayed low or incomplete grades from compulsory and upper
secondary school, clearly below average for females their age. This suggests
that although the females are limited in their delinquency, and do not re-offend
to a high degree, their low levels of education could still put them at risk for
sub-optimal development. According to the qualitative data, the females
ascribed particular importance to peers and family when describing their
delinquency. Peers were described to be an important factor for all aspects of
the crime: the reasons leading up to the crimes and the act as such, as well as
for continuing or desisting with delinquent behavior. As such, delinquent
friends were described as promoting and influencing their delinquent
behavior, while pro-social relationships, from their own perspective, appeared
to have a protective influence in their desisting. As with peers, the family
relations were given a prominent role in the entire delinquency process.
Relations with parents were described as contributing to the occurrence of
delinquency, and at the same time be affected by it. However, in contrast to
how they viewed peers, their family was not directly blamed for their
involvement in crime, nor did they view them as potential resources of

74
desistance. The narratives of the females illustrate that the process of
delinquency in relation to peers and family involve dynamic and mutually
influential exchanges, conveying these contexts as reciprocal systems where
individuals equally affect and/or influence each other. Although portrayed as
separate and contributing and being affected by the crimes in different ways,
peers and family were described as being equally important to this process. As
described by the females, some parts of their delinquency, in connection to
their interpersonal relationships, can be viewed as part of typical development
during adolescence.

75
References

Acoca, L. (2000). Educate or incarcerate? Girls in the Florida and Duval

County juvenile justice system. San Francisco: National Council on Crime
and Delinquency.
Adams, R., & Laursen, B. (2001). The organization and dynamics of
adolescent conflict with parents and friends. Journal of Marriage & the
Family, 63, 97–110.
Akers, R. L. (1998). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of
crime and deviance. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Akers, R. L. (1992). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Fairfax,
VA: Techbooks.
Andershed, A-K. (2013a), Girls at risk. New York: Springer.
Andershed, A-K. (2013b). Girls at risk in their own right. In A-K. Andershed
(Ed.), Girls at risk (pp. 1–18). New York: Springer.
Andersson, F., & Levander, M. T. (2013). Adult onset offending in a Swedish
female birth cohort. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 172–177.
Andersson, F., Levander, S., Svensson, R., & Torstensson Levander, M.
(2012). Sex differences in offending trajectories in a Swedish cohort.
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 22, 108–121.
Andersson, F., Levander, S., & Torstensson Levander, M. T. (2013). A life-
course perspective on girls’ criminality. In A-K. Andershed (Ed.), Girls
at Risk (pp. 119–137). New York: Springer.
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and
practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(1), 39–55.
Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American
Psychologist, 54(5), 317–326.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the
late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.
Bäckman, O., Estrada, F., Nilsson, A., & Shannon, D. (2014). The life course
of young male and female offenders: Stability or change between different
birth cohorts? British Journal of Criminology, 54(3), 393–410.
Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Barbot, B., & Hunter, S. R. (2012). Developmental changes in adolescence
and risks for delinquency. In E. L. Grigorenko (Ed.), Handbook of
juvenile forensic psychology and psychiatry (pp. 11–34). Boston:
Springer, Boston.
Basow, S. A. (2006). Gender role and gender identity development. In
Worell, J. & Goodheart, C. D. (Eds.), Handbook of girls’ and women’s

76
 psychological health: Gender and well-being across the lifespan
(pp. 242–251). New York: Oxford University Press.
Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent
competence and substance use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1),
56–95.
Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K. (2006). The gendered nature of risk factors for
delinquency. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 48–71.
Belknap, J., Holsinger, K., & Dunn, M. (1997). Understanding incarcerated
girls: The results of a focus group study. The Prison Journal, 77(4), 381–
404.
Belsky, J. (2010). Experiencing the lifespan. New York: Worth Publishers.
Benson, P. L., Scales, P. C., Hamilton, S. F., & Sesma, A. (2006). Positive
youth development: Theory, research, and applications. Hoboken: Wiley.
Bergman, L. R., & El-Khouri, B. M. (1998). Sleipner. A statistical package
for pattern-oriented analyses. Version 2.1. Stockholm: Stockholm
University, Department of Psychology.
Beyer, M. (2001). Delinquent girls: A developmental perspective. Kentucky
Children’s Rights Journal. Washington: Children’s Law Center.
Björk, M. L., & J’son Knodt, I. (2003). Det finns inga hopplösa fall, eller…?
[There are no hopeless cases, are there...?]. Stockholm: National Board of
Institutional Care.
Blomberg, T. G., Bales, W. D., Mann, K., Piquero, A. R., & Berk, R. A.
(2011). Incarceration, education and transition from delinquency. Journal
of Criminal Justice, 39(4), 355–365.
Bonnie, R. J., Johnson, R. L., Chemers, B. M., & Schuck, J. A.
(2013). Reforming juvenile justice: A developmental approach.
Washington: National Academies Press.
Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2016). The psychology of criminal conduct.
Cincinnati: Routledge.
Börjesson, J. (2011). Psychometric studies of the Swedish version of the
Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD) instrument. (Doctoral
dissertation). Department of Psychology, Umeå University.
Börjesson, J., & Ybrandt, H. (2012). Concurrent and predictive validity of the
Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD). The Open Psychology
Journal, 5, 20–30.
Born, M., Cattelino, E., Gavray, C., & Glowacz, F. (2015). Adolescent
delinquent behaviours as attempts of group social integration and well-
being through social acceptance? In R. Carneiro (Ed.), Youth, Offense and
Well-Being (pp. 163–176). Lisboa: UCP.
Bosma, H. A., & Kunnen, E. S. (2001). Determinants and mechanisms in ego
identity development: A review and synthesis. Developmental
Review, 21(1), 39–66.
Bottcher, J. (2001). Social practices of gender: How gender relates to
delinquency in the everyday lives of high‐risk
youths. Criminology, 39(4), 893–932.
Bottrell, D., Armstrong, D., & France, A. (2010). Young people’s relations to
crime: Pathways across ecologies. Youth Justice, 10(1), 56–72.

77
Brauer, J. R., & De Coster, S. (2015). Social relationships and delinquency:
Revisiting parent and peer influence during adolescence. Youth &
Society, 47(3), 374–394.
Broidy, L. M., Stewart, A. L., Thompson, C. M., Chrzanowski, A., Allard, T.,
& Dennison, S. M. (2015). Life course offending pathways across gender
and race/ethnicity. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course
Criminology, 1(2), 118–149.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human
development. International Encyclopedia of Education, 3(2), 37–43.
Brown, B. B. (2004). Adolescents’ relationships with peers. In R. Lerner &
L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 363–94).
Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Brown, B. B., & Larson, J. (2009). Peer relationships in adolescence. In R. M.
Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp.
74–103). Hoboken: Wiley.
Brown, J. D., Riley, A. W., Walrath, C. M., Leaf, P. J., & Valdez, C. (2008).
Academic achievement and school functioning among nonincarcerated
youth involved with the juvenile justice system. Journal of Education for
Students Placed at Risk, 13(1), 59–75.
Brown, L., Chesney-Lind, M., & Stein, N. (2007). Patriarchy matters: Toward
a gendered theory of teen violence and victimization. Violence Against
Women, 13(12), 1249–1273.
Brottförebyggande rådet (Brå). (2011). Ungdomsvård och ungdomstjänst. En
utvärdering av 2007 års påföljdsreform för unga lagöverträdare. [Youth
care and youth service. An evaluation of the 2007 reform penalty for
young offenders]. Stockholm: National Council of Crime Prevention.
Brottsförebyggande rådet (Brå) (2013). Personer lagförda för brott. Slutlig
statistik för 2012. [Persons charged with crimes. Final Statistics for 2012].
Stockholm: National Council of Crime Prevention.
Brottförebyggande rådet (Brå). (2018a). Personer lagförda för brott. Slutlig
statistik för 2017. [Number of people prosecuted for crimes. Final
statistics for 2017]. Stockholm: National Council of Crime Prevention.
Brottförebyggande rådet (Brå). (2018b). Skolundersökningen om brott 2017
[School survey on crime 2017. Report 2018:15]. Stockholm: National
Council of Crime Prevention.
Buchmann, C., & Hannum, E. (2001). Education and stratification in
developing countries: A review of theories and research. Annual Review
of Sociology, 27(1), 77–102.
Burgess, R. L., & Akers, R. L. (1966). A differential association-
reinforcement theory of criminal behavior. Social Problems, 14(2), 128–
147.
Carlsson, J. (2015). Evolving identities: Contents and processes of identity
development among people in their late twenties. (Doctoral dissertation).
Department of Psychology, Gothenburg University.

78
Carlsson, J., Wängqvist, M., & Frisén, A. (2016). Life on hold: Staying in
identity diffusion in the late twenties. Journal of Adolescence, 47, 220–
229.
Carlton-LaNey, I., & Andrews, J. (1998). Direct practice: Addressing gender
in practice from a multicultural feminist perspective. In J. Figueira, F. E.
McDonough, F. E. Netting, & A. Nichols-Casebolt (Eds.), The role of
gender in practice knowledge: Claiming half the human experience (pp.
93–125). New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
Cauffman, E., Monahan, K. C., & Thomas, A. G. (2015). Pathways to
persistence: Female offending from 14 to 25. Journal of Developmental
and Life-Course Criminology, 1(3), 236–268.
Chen, X. (2010). Desire for autonomy and adolescent delinquency: A latent
growth curve analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(9), 989–1004.
Chesney-Lind, M. (2002). Criminalizing victimization: The unintended
consequences of pro‐arrest policies for girls and women. Criminology &
Public Policy, 2(1), 81–90.
Chesney-Lind, M. (2006). Patriarchy, crime, and justice: Feminist
criminology in an era of backlash. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 6–26.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2013). The female offender: Girls, women,
and crime. New York: Sage.
Chinet, L., Plancherel, B., Bolognini, M., Holzer, L., & Halfon, O. (2005).
Adolescent substance-use assessment: Methodological issues in the use of
the ADAD (Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis). Substance Use &
Misuse, 40(3), 405–425.
Chitsabesan, P., Kroll, L., Bailey, S. U. E., Kenning, C., Sneider, S.,
MacDonald, W., & Theodosiou, L. (2006). Mental health needs of young
offenders in custody and in the community. The British Journal of
Psychiatry, 188(6), 534–540.
Constantine, M. G., Anderson, G. M., Berkel, L. A., Caldwell, L. D., & Utsey,
S. O. (2005). Examining the cultural adjustment experiences of African
international college students: A qualitative analysis. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 52(1), 57–66.
Crawford, M., & Unger, R. (2000). A feminist psychology. Boston: McGraw
& Hill.
Crone, E. A., & Dahl, R. E. (2012). Understanding adolescence as a period of
social–affective engagement and goal flexibility. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience, 13(9), 636–650.
Crocetti, E., Rubini, M., & Meeus, W. (2008). Capturing the dynamics of
identity formation in various ethnic groups: Development and validation
of a three-dimensional model. Journal of Adolescence, 31(2), 207–222
Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Campbell, S. B. (2002). Developmental
psychopathology and family process: Theory, research, and clinical
implications. New York: Guilford Press.
Dahl, R. E. (2004). Adolescent brain development: A period of vulnerabilities
and opportunities. Keynote address. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 1021(1), 1–22.

79
Daly, K. (1992). Women’s pathways to felony court: Feminist theories of
lawbreaking and problems of representation. Southern California Review
of Law and Women’s Studies, 2, 11–52.
de Vogel, V., & Nicholls, T. L. (2016). Gender matters: An introduction to
the special issues on women and girls. International Journal of Forensic
Mental Health, 15(1), 1–25.
Diamond, G. M., Shilo, G., Jurgensen, E., D’Augelli, A., Samarova, V., &
White, K. (2011). How depressed and suicidal sexual minority
adolescents understand the causes of their distress. Journal of Gay &
Lesbian Mental Health, 15(2), 130–151.
Eccles, J., & Gootman, J. A. (2002). Community programs to promote youth
development. Washington: National Academies Press.
Eccles, J., & Roeser, R. W. (2011). Schools as developmental contexts during
adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 225–241.
Elonheimo, H., Gyllenberg, D., Huttunen, J., Ristkari, T., Sillanmäki, L., &
Sourander, A. (2014). Criminal offending among males and females
between ages 15 and 30 in a population-based nationwide 1981 birth
cohort: Results from the FinnCrime Study. Journal of Adolescence, 37(8),
1269–1279.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle. New York: Norton.
Farrell, A. D., Thompson, E. L., & Mehari, K. R. (2017). Dimensions of peer
influences and their relationship to adolescents’ aggression, other problem
behaviors and prosocial behavior. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 46(6), 1351–1369.
Felson, R. B., Staff, J., Farkas, G., Ulmer, J., & Osgood, D. W. (2006).
Explaining the academic performance-delinquency relationship.
Criminology, 44(2), 299–320.
Ford, J., & Schroeder, R. (2011). Higher education and criminal offending
over the life course. Sociological Spectrum, 31, 21–58.
Forsman, H., Brännström, L., Vinnerljung, B., & Hjern, A. (2016). Does poor
school performance cause later psychosocial problems among children in
foster care? Evidence from national longitudinal registry data. Child
Abuse & Neglect, 57, 61–71.
Fraser, M. W., Galinsky, M. J., & Richman, J. M. (1999). Risk, protection,
and resilience: Toward a conceptual framework for social work
practice. Social Work Research, 23, 131–143.
Friedman, A. S., & Utada, A. (1989). A method for diagnosing and planning
the treatment of adolescent drug abusers (the Adolescent Drug Abuse
Diagnosis [ADAD] instrument). Journal of Drug Education, 19(4), 285–
312.
Gambone, M. A., & Connell, J. P. (2004). The community action framework
for youth development. The Prevention Researcher, 11(2), 17–20.
Gill, J., Esson, K., & Yuen, R. (2016). A girl’s education: Schooling and the
formation of gender, identities and future visions. London: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

80
Gilligan, C. (1987). Adolescent development reconsidered. New Directions
for Child and Adolescent Development, 37, 63–92.
Gilligan, C., Lyons, N., & Hanmer, T. J. (1990). Making connections: The
relational worlds of adolescent girls at Emma Willard School (Vol. 5).
Harvard: University Press.
Ginner Hau, H. (2010). Swedish young offenders in community-based
rehabilitative programmes: Patterns of antisocial behaviour, mental
health, and recidivism (Doctoral dissertation). Department of Psychology,
Stockholm University.
Ginner Hau, H., & Smedler, A. (2011). Young male offenders in community‐
based rehabilitative programmes–self‐reported history of antisocial
behaviour predicts recidivism. International Journal of Social
Welfare, 20(4), 413–420.
Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Lowery, A. R. (2004). A longterm
follow up of serious adolescent female offenders. In M. Putallaz & K.
Bierman (Eds.), Aggression, antisocial behavior and violence among
girls: A developmental perspective. Duke Series in Child Development
and Public Policy (pp. 186–202). New York: Guilford Publications.
Glasser, B. G. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis: Emergence vs
forcing. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.
Goldson, B. (2002). Children, crime and the state. In B. Goldson, M.
Lavlaette, & J. Mckechnie (Eds.), Children, welfare and the state (pp.
120–135). London: Sage.
Goodkind, S., Wallace, J. M., Shook, J. J., Bachman, J., & O’Malley, P.
(2009). Are girls really becoming more delinquent? Testing the gender
convergence hypothesis by race and ethnicity, 1976–2005. Children and
Youth Services Review, 31(8), 885–895.
Goodson, M. V., & Morash, M. (2017). Court-involved girls’ perceptions of
the attainability of a desired possible self and its connection to past
adversity and current behavior. Feminist Criminology, 12(4), 384–404.
Gottfredson, D. C. (2001). Schools and delinquency. Cambridge University
Press.
Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford
University Press.
Graves, K. N. (2007). Not always sugar and spice: Expanding theoretical and
functional explanations for why females aggress. Aggression and Violent
Behavior, 12(2), 131–140.
Grier, L. K. (2000). Identity diffusion and development among African
Americans: Implications for crime and corrections. Journal of Offender
rehabilitation, 30(1/2), 81–94.
Gutman, L. M., Peck, S. C., Malanchuk, O., Sameroff, A. J., & Eccles, J. S.
(2017). Introduction: Moving through adolescence: Developmental
trajectories of African Americans and European American youth.
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82(4), 7–
28.
Hall, G. S. (1904). Adolescence (Vols. 1 & 2). New York: Appleton.

81
Harris, A. (2004). Future girl: Young women in the twenty-first century. New
York and London: Routledge.
Hayden, C., & Martin, D. (2011). Crime, anti-social behaviour and schools.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hayden, M. (2011). Transnational spaces of education: The growth of the
international school sector. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9(2),
211–224.
Haynie, D. L. (2002). Friendship networks and delinquency: The relative
nature of peer delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18(2),
99–134.
Haynie, D. L. (2003). Contexts of risk? Explaining the link between girls’
pubertal development and their delinquency involvement. Social
Forces, 82(1), 355–397.
Henneberger, A. K., Oudekerk, B. A., Reppucci, N. D., & Odgers, C. L.
(2014). Differential subtypes of offending among adolescent girls predict
health and criminality in adulthood. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41,
181–195.
Hermodsson, A., & Carpelan, K. S. (2004). ADAD och utvecklingen av ett
dokumentationssystem för ungdomar. Nordisk Sosialt Arbeid, 24(2),
110–123.
Hill, C. E. (2012). Consensual qualitative research: A practical resource for
investigating social science phenomena. Washington: American
Psychological Association.
Hill, C. E., Knox, S., Thompson, B. J., Williams, E. N., Hess, S. A., & Ladany,
N. (2005). Consensual qualitative research: An update. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 196–205.
Hill, C. E., Thompson, B. J., & Williams, E. N. (1997). A guide to conducting
consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25(4),
517–572.
Hirschfield, P. J. (2017). Schools and Crime. Annual Review of Criminology,
1, 149–169.
Hirschi, T., & Gottfredson, M. (1983). Age and the explanation of
crime. American Journal of Sociology, 89(3), 552–584.
Hoeve, M., Dubas, J. S., Eichelsheim, V. I., Van Der Laan, P. H., Smeenk,
W., & Gerris, J. R. (2009). The relationship between parenting and
delinquency: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 37(6), 749–775.
Hoffmann, J. P., Erickson, L. D., & Spence, K. R. (2013). Modeling the
association between academic achievement and delinquency: An
application of interactional theory. Criminology, 51(3), 629–660.
Hollander, A., & Tärnfalk, M. (2007). Juvenile crime and the justice system
in Sweden. In M. Hill, A. Lockyer, & F. Stone (Eds), Youth justice and
child protection (pp. 90–103). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Holmberg, S. (2013). Påföljdssystemet för unga. [Sanctions for young
offenders]. In F. Estrada & J. Flyghed (Eds.), Den svenska
ungdomsbrottsligheten (pp. 313–331). Lund: Studentlitteratur.

82
Hubbard, D. J., & Pratt, T. C. (2002). A meta-analysis of the predictors of
delinquency among girls. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34(3), 1–
13.
Innala, C., & Shannon, D. (2007). En kriterievalidering av brottsfrågorna i
svenska ADAD-instrumentet. [A criteria evaluation of the delinquency
related items in ADAD]. Rapport 2007:2. Stockholm: The National Board
of Institutional Care.
Jansson, C.-G. (2004). Youth justice in Sweden. In M. Tonry, & A. Doob
(Eds.). Youth crime and youth justice – Comparative and cross-national
perspectives (pp. 391–441). Chicago and London: University of Chicago
Press,
Jennings, W. G., & Reingle, J. M. (2012). On the number and shape of
developmental/life-course violence, aggression, and delinquency
trajectories: A state-of-the-art review. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(6),
472–489.
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E.
(2011). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–
2010. Vol. I: Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 01–4924).
Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug.
Josselson, R. (1996). Revising herself: The story of women’s identity from
college to midlife. New York: Oxford University Press.
Josselson, R., & Harway, M. (2012). Navigating multiple identities: Race,
gender, culture, nationality, and roles. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Kazemian, L., Farrington, D. P., & Le Blanc, M. (2009). Can we make
accurate long-term predictions about patterns of de-escalation in
offending behavior?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(3), 384–400.
Keijsers, L. (2016). Parental monitoring and adolescent problem behaviors:
How much do we really know?. International Journal of Behavioral
Development, 40(3), 271–281.
Keijsers, L., & Poulin, F. (2013). Developmental changes in parent–child
communication throughout adolescence. Developmental
Psychology, 49(12), 2301–2308.
Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2003). Parenting of adolescents: Action or reaction?
In A. C. Crouter & A. Booth (Eds.), Children’s influence on family
dynamics: The neglected side of family relationships (pp. 121–151).
Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kerr, M., Stattin, H., Biesecker, G., & Ferrer‐Wreder, L. (2003). Relationships
with parents and peers in adolescence. In R. M. Lerner, M. A.
Easterbrooks, & J. Mistry (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Vol. 6.
Developmental psychology (pp. 395–422). Hoboken: Wiley.
Kerr, M., Stattin, H., & Burk, W. J. (2010). A reinterpretation of parental
monitoring in longitudinal perspective. Journal of Research on
Adolescence, 20(1), 39–64.
Kroger, J. (2015). Identity development through adulthood: The move toward
“wholeness.” In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook

83
 of identity development (pp. 65–80). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford
University Press.
Kroger, J. (2003). What transits in an identity status transition? Identity: An
International Journal of Theory and Research, 3, 197–220.
Kroger, J., & Marcia, J. E. (2011). The identity statuses: Origins, meanings,
and interpretations. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles
(Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 31–53). New York:
Springer.
Kroger, J., Martinussen, M., & Marcia, J. E. (2010). Identity status change
during adolescence and young adulthood: A meta-analysis. Journal of
Adolescence, 33(5), 683–698.
Kroneman, L. M., Loeber, R., Hipwell, A. E., & Koot, H. M. (2009). Girls’
disruptive behavior and its relationship to family functioning: A
review. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(3), 259–273.
Kruttschnitt, C., & Giordano, P. (2009). Family influences on girls’
delinquency. In M. A. Zahn (Ed.), The delinquent girl (pp. 107–
126). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (2003). Parents’
monitoring-relevant knowledge and adolescents’ delinquent behavior:
Evidence of correlated developmental changes and reciprocal influences.
Child Development, 74(3), 752–768.
Lanctôt, N. (2015). Development of antisocial behavior in adolescent girls. In
J. Morizot & L. Kazeiman (Eds.), The development of criminal and
antisocial behavior: Theory, research and practical applications (pp.
399–411). New York: Springer.
Lanctôt, N., Cernkovich, S. A., & Giordano, P. C. (2007). Delinquent
behavior, official delinquency, and gender: Consequences for adulthood
functioning and well‐being. Criminology, 45(1), 131–157.
Landsheer, J. A., & van Dijkum, C. (2005). Male and female delinquency
trajectories from pre through middle adolescence and their continuation
in late adolescence. Adolescence, 40, 729–748.
Larson, R. W., Richards, M. H., Moneta, G., Holmbeck, G., & Duckett, E.
(1996). Changes in adolescents’ daily interactions with their families from
ages 10 to 18: Disengagement and transformation. Developmental
Psychology, 32(4), 744–754.
Larson, R. W., Wilson, S., & Rickman, A. (2009). Globalization, societal
change, and adolescence across the world. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg
(Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, Volume 2. Contextual
influences on adolescent development (pp. 590–622). Hoboken: Wiley.
Larsson, M., Pettersson, C., Skoog, T., & Eriksson, C. (2016). Enabling
relationship formation, development, and closure in a one-year female
mentoring program at a non-governmental organization: a mixed-method
study. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 179–193.
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2001). Understanding desistance from
crime. Crime and Justice, 28, 1–69.
Launay, J., & Dunbar, R. I. (2015). Playing with strangers: Which shared traits
attract us most to new people?. PloS one, 10(6), e0129688.

84
Lauritsen, J. L., Heimer, K., & Lynch, J. P. (2009). Trends in the gender gap
in violent offending: New evidence from the National Crime
Victimization Survey. Criminology, 47(2), 361–399.
Laursen, B., & Bukowski, W. M. (1997). A developmental guide to the
organisation of close relationships. International Journal of Behavioral
Development, 21(4), 747–770.
Laursen, B., & Collins, W. A. (2004). Parent-child communication during
adolescence. The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication, 2,
333–348.
Lederman, C. S., Dakof, G. A., Larrea, M. A., & Li, H. (2004). Characteristics
of adolescent females in juvenile detention. International Journal of Law
and Psychiatry, 27(4), 321–337.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E. P., & Geldhof, G. J. (2015). Positive
youth development and relational developmental systems. In W. F.
Overton & P. C. Molenaar (Eds.), Theory and method: Handbook of child
psychology and developmental science (pp. 607–651). Hoboken: Wiley.
Leve, L. D., Chamberlain, P., & Kim, H. K. (2015). Risks, outcomes, and
evidence-based interventions for girls in the US juvenile justice
system. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 18(3), 252–279.
Li, Y. (2011). School engagement: What it is and why it is important for
positive youth development. In R. M. Lerner, J. V. Lerner, & J. B. Benson
(Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 131–160).
Netherlands: Elsevier JAI.
Little, S. G., Akin-Little, A., & Lloyd, K. (2013). School performance in
adolescence. In W. T. O’Donohue, L. T. Benuto & L. Woodward Tolle
(Eds.), Handbook of adolescent health psychology (pp. 223–234). New
York: Springer.
Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (2000). Young children who commit crime:
Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions,
and policy implications. Development and Psychopathology, 12(4), 737–
762.
Loeber, R., Jennings, W. G., Ahonen, L., Piquero, A. R., & Farrington, D. P.
(2017a). The Pittsburgh girls study and the prevalence of self-reported
delinquency. In R. Loeber W. G. Jennings, L. Ahonen, A. R. Piquero, D.
P. Farrington (Eds.), Female Delinquency from childhood to young
adulthood (pp. 5–11). Cham: Springer.
Loeber, R., Jennings, W. G., Ahonen, L., Piquero, A. R., & Farrington, D.
P. (2017b). Female delinquency from childhood to young adulthood. New
York, NY: Springer.
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook
of adolescent psychology, (pp. 159–187). New York: Wiley.
Massoglia, M., & Uggen, C. (2010). Settling down and aging out: Toward an
interactionist theory of desistance and the transition to
adulthood. American Journal of Sociology, 116(2), 543–582.
Matsueda, R. L. (2001). Differential association theory. Encyclopedia of
Criminology and Deviant Behavior, 1, 125–130.
McElhaney, K. B., Allen, J. P., Stephenson, J. C., & Hare, A. L. (2009).

85
 Attachment and autonomy during adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L.
Steinberg. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 358–403).
John Wiley & Sons.
McGloin, J. M., & DiPietro, S. (2013). Girls, friends and delinquency. In
Cullen, F. T., Wilcox, P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminological
theory (pp. 294–312). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Blum, R. W. (2002). Promoting school
connectedness: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of
adolescent health. Journal of School Health, 72(4), 138–146.
McReynolds, L. S., Wasserman, G. A., DeComo, R. E., John, R., Keating, J.
M., & Nolen, S. (2008). Psychiatric disorder in a juvenile assessment
center. Crime & Delinquency, 54(2), 313–334.
Mercer, N., Crocetti, E., Branje, S., Van Lier, P., & Meeus, W. (2017).
Linking delinquency and personal identity formation across adolescence:
Examining between-and within-person associations. Developmental
Psychology, 53(11), 2182–2194.
Miller, S., Winn, D. M., Taylor, J., & Wiki, T. (2012). Girls’ relational
orientation and interpersonal dynamics of delinquency. In S. Miller (Ed.)
Delinquent Girls: Contexts, relationships, and adaptation (pp. 85–101).
New York: Springer.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent
antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review,
100, 674–701.
Moffitt, T. E. (2006). A review of research on the taxonomy of life-course
persistent versus adolescence-limited antisocial behavior. In F. T. Cullen,
J. P. Wright, K. R. Blevins (Eds.), Taking stock: The status of
criminological theory (pp. 277–311). New Brunswick: Transaction.
Moffitt, T. E. (2017). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent
antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. In K. M. Beaver (Ed.).
Biosocial theories of crime (pp. 69–96). London: Routledge.
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Harrington, H., & Milne, B. J. (2002). Males on the
life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways:
Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology, 14(1),
179–207.
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Rutter, M., & Silva, P. A. (2001). Sex differences in
antisocial behaviour: Conduct disorder, delinquency, and violence in the
Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Cambridge University Press.
Monahan, K., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2009). Affiliation with
antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and desistance from
antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood. Developmental
Psychology, 45, 1520–1530.
Moretti, M. M., Odgers, C., Reppucci, N. D., & Catherine, N. L. (2011).
Serious conduct problems among girls at risk: Translating research into
intervention. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family
Studies, 2(1/2), 142–161.

86
Moretti, M. M., & Peled, M. (2004). Adolescent-parent attachment: Bonds
that support healthy development. Paediatrics & Child Health, 9(8), 551–
555.
Murray, J., & Farrington, D. P. (2010). Risk factors for conduct disorder and
delinquency: Key findings from longitudinal studies. Canadian Journal
of Psychiatry, 55, 633–642.
Newcomb, A. F., & Bagwell, C. L. (1996). The developmental significance of
children’s friendship relations. In W. M. Bukowski et al. (Eds.), The
company they keep. Friendship in childhood and adolescence (pp. 289-
321). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nilsson, A., & Estrada, F. (2009). Kriminalitet och livschanser.
Uppväxtvillkor, brottslighet och levnadsförhållanden som vuxen
[Criminality and life prospects. Childhood conditions, crime and living
conditions in adults age]. Arbetsrapport 2009:20. Stockholm: Institute for
Future Studies.
Odgers, C. L., Moffitt, T. E., Broadbent, J. M., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J.,
Harrington, H., ... & Caspi, A. (2008). Female and male antisocial
trajectories: From childhood origins to adult outcomes. Development and
Psychopathology, 20(2), 673–716.
Oreopoulos, P., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Priceless: The nonpecuniary
benefits of schooling. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(1), 159–184.
Oudekerk, B. A., Erbacher, M. K., & Reppucci, N. D. (2012). A comparison
of diversity, frequency, and severity self-reported offending scores among
female offending youth. Psychological Assessment, 24(3), 738–750.
Pardini, D. A., Waller, R., & Hawes, S. W. (2015). Familial influences on the
development of serious conduct problems and delinquency. In J. Morizot,
L. Kazemina (Eds.), The development of criminal and antisocial
behavior (pp. 201–220). Cham: Springer.
Pasko, L., & Chesney-Lind, M. (2011). Girls violence and juvenile justice: A
critical examination. In W. S. DeKeseredy & M. Dragiewicz (Eds.),
Handbook of critical criminology (pp. 252–264). London/New York:
Routledge.
Patino, V., Ravoira, L., & Wolf, A. (2006). Rallying cry for change: Charting
a new direction in the state of Florida’s response to girls in the juvenile
justice system. Oakland: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (2017). A developmental
perspective on antisocial behavior. In P. Mazerolle (Ed.), Developmental
and life-course criminological theories (pp. 29–35). London: Routledge.
Patterson, G. R., & Yoerger, K. (1993). Developmental models for delinquent
behavior. In S. Hodgins (Ed.). Mental disorder and crime (pp. 140-172).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Payne, A. A., Welch, K., & Payne, A. A. (2015). How school and education
impact the development of criminal and antisocial behavior. In J. Morizot
& L. Kazeiman (Eds.), The development of criminal and antisocial
behavior: Theory, research and practical applications (pp. 237–251).
New York: Springer.
Peterson, G. W. (2005). Family influences on adolescent development. In T.

87
 P. Gullotta & G.R. Adams (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent behavioral
problems (pp. 27–55). US: Springer.
Piquero, A. R., Diamond, B., Jennings, W. G., & Reingle, J. M. (2013).
Adolescence-limited offending. In C. L. Gibson & M. D. Krohn
(Eds.), Handbook of life-course criminology: Emerging trends and
directions for future research (pp. 129–142). New York: Springer.
Piquero, A. R., Farrington, D. P., & Blumstein, A. (2003). The criminal career
paradigm. Crime and Justice, 30, 359–506.
Piquero, A. R., Hawkins, J. D., & Kazemian, L. (2012). Criminal career
patterns. In R. Loeber, & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), From juvenile
delinquency to adult crime: Criminal careers, justice policy and
prevention (pp. 14–46). New York: Oxford University Press.
Piquero, A. R., & Moffitt, T. E. (2005). Explaining the facts of crime: How
the developmental taxonomy replies to Farrington’s invitation. In David
P. Farrington (Ed.), Integrated developmental & life-course theories of
offending: Advances in criminological theory (pp. 51–72). New
Brunswick: Transaction.
Pleydon, A. P., & Schner, J. G. (2001). Female adolescent friendship and
delinquent behavior. Adolescence, 36(142), 189–205.
Reed, D. K., & Wexler, J. (2014). “Our Teachers… Don’t Give Us No Help,
No Nothin’”: Juvenile Offenders’ Perceptions of Academic Support.
Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 31(3), 188–218.
Reynolds, B. M., & Repetti, R. L. (2006). Adolescent girls’ health in the
context of peer and community relationships. In J. Worell & C. D. Good
Heart (Eds.), Handbook of girls´ and women´s psychological health (pp.
292–300). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rice, F. P., & Dolgin, K. G. (2005). The adolescent: Development,
relationships and culture. New Zealand: Pearson Education.
Rodermond, E., Kruttschnitt, C., Slotboom, A. M., & Bijleveld, C. C. (2016).
Female desistance: A review of the literature. European Journal of
Criminology, 13(1), 3–28.
Roisman, G. I., Monahan, K. C., Campbell, S. B., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman,
E. (2010). Is adolescence-onset antisocial behavior developmentally
normative?. Development and Psychopathology, 22(2), 295–311.
Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer
relationship processes: potential trade-offs for the emotional and
behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1),
98–131.
Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W. M., & Parker, J. G. (2006). Peer interactions,
relationships, and groups. In N. Eisenberg, W. Damon & R.
M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and
personality development. Vol. 3 (pp. 571–645). Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons Inc.
Sameroff, A. J. (1999). Ecological perspectives on developmental risk. In J.
D. Osofsky & H. E. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of infant mental health:
Vol. 4. Infant mental health groups at risk (pp. 223–248). New York:
Wiley.

88
Sameroff, A. J., & Gutman, L. M. (2004). Contributions of risk research to the
design of successful interventions. In P. Allen-Mears & M.
W. Fraser (Eds.), Intervention with children and adolescents: An
interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 9–26). Boston: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.
Sander, J. B., Sharkey, J. D., Groomes, A. N., Krumholz, L., Walker, K., &
Hsu, J. Y. (2011). Social justice and juvenile offenders: Examples of
fairness, respect, and access in education settings. Journal of Educational
and Psychological Consultation, 21(4), 309–337.
Sander, J. B., Sharkey, J. D., Olivarri, R., Tanigawa, D. A., & Mauseth, T.
(2010). A qualitative study of juvenile offenders, student engagement, and
interpersonal relationships: Implications for research directions and
preventionist approaches. Journal of Educational and Psychological
Consultation, 20(4), 288–315.
Sands, R. G. (1996). The elusiveness of identity in social work practice with
women: A postmodern feminist perspective. Clinical Social Work
Journal, 24(2), 167–186.
Schwartz, J., & Steffensmeier, D. (2012). Stability and change in girls’
delinquency and the gender gap: Trends in violence and alcohol offending
across multiple sources of evidence. In S. Miller, L. Leve, & P. K. Kerig
(Eds.), Delinquent girls: Contexts, relationships, and adaptation (pp. 3–
23). New York: Springer.
SFS 2003:460. Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans. Stockholm:
Utbildningsdepartementet.
Shannon, D., Bäckman, O., Estrada, F., & Nilsson, A. (2014). Youth and crime
in Sweden. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sharpe, G. (2010). Beyond youth justice: Working with girls and young
women who offend. In R. Sheehan, G. McIvor, & C. Trotter (Eds.),
Working with women offenders in the community (pp. 177–198). New
York: Willan.
Shulman, E. P., Steinberg, L. D., & Piquero, A. R. (2013). The age-crime
curve in adolescence and early adulthood is not due to age differences in
economic status. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(6), 848–860.
Siennick, S. E., & Staff, J. (2008). Explaining the educational deficits of
delinquent youths. Criminology, 46(3), 609–635.
Simkins, S., & Katz, S. (2002). Criminalizing abused girls. Violence Against
Women, 8(12), 1474–1499.
Simmons, R. G. (2017). Moving into adolescence: The impact of pubertal
change and school context. New York: Routledge.
Smetana, J. G. (2011). Adolescents’ social reasoning and relationships with
parents: Conflicts and coordinations within and across domains. In E.
Amsel & J. Smetana (Eds.), Adolescent vulnerabilities and opportunities:
Constructivist and developmental perspectives (pp. 139–158). Cambridge
University Press.
Smetana, J. G., Campione-Barr, N., & Metzger, A. (2006). Adolescent
Development in Interpersonal and Societal Contexts. Annual Review of
Psychology, 57, 255–284.

89
Smith, E. P., Faulk, M., & Sizer, M. A. (2016). Exploring the meso-system:
The roles of community, family, and peers in adolescent delinquency and
positive youth development. Youth & Society, 48(3), 318–343.
Steinberg, L., & Silk, J. S. (2002). Parenting adolescents. In M. H. Bornstein
(Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Vol. 1: Children and parenting (pp. 103–
133). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Söderholm Carpelan, K., Andershed, A. K., Andershed, H., Brännström, L.,
Nyström, M., & Ahlgren, T. (2008). Insatser för unga lagöverträdare. En
systematisk sammanställning av översikter om effekter på återfall i
kriminalitet [Sanctions for young offenders]. Stockholm: Institutet för
utveckling av metoder i socialt arbete, Socialstyrelsen.
Söderholm Carpelan, K., Hermodsson, A., & Öberg, D. (1997). Manual.
ADAD-intervju. [Manual. ADAD-interview]. Stockholm: The National
Board of Institutional Care.
Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child
Development, 71(4), 1072–1085.
Stefanou, C. R., Perencevich, K. C., DiCintio, M., & Turner, J. C. (2004).
Supporting autonomy in the classroom: Ways teachers encourage student
decision making and ownership. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 97–
110.
Steffensmeier, D., & Schwartz, J. (2009). Trends in girls’ delinquency and the
gender gap: Statistical assessment of diverse sources. In M. Zahn (Ed.),
The delinquent girl (pp. 50–83). Temple University Press.
Steffensmeier, D., Schwartz, J., Zhong, H., & Ackerman, J. (2005). An
assessment of recent trends in girls’ violence using diverse longitudinal
sources: Is the gender gap closing?. Criminology, 43(2), 355–406.
Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent–adolescent relationships
in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(1), 1–
19.
Steinberg, L. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in
adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 69–74.
Steinberg, L. (2009). Adolescent development and juvenile justice. Annual
Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 459–485.
Steinberg, L. (2010). Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Steinberg, L. (2011). Adolescent risk taking: A social neuroscience
perspective. In E. Amsel & J. Smetana (Eds.), Adolescent vulnerabilities
and opportunities: Developmental and constructivist perspectives (pp.
41–64). Cambridge University Press.
Steinberg, L., Chung, H. L., & Little, M. (2004). Reentry of young offenders
from the justice system: A developmental perspective. Youth Violence
and Juvenile Justice, 2(1), 21–38.
Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual
Review of Psychology, 52(1), 83–110.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand
Oaks: Sage.

90
Swedish Government (2006). Ingripanden mot unga lagöverträdare.
[Interventions against young offenders]. Proposition 2005/06:165.
Sweeten, G., Piquero, A. R., & Steinberg, L. (2013). Age and the explanation
of crime, revisited. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(6), 921–938.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2010). Handbook of mixed methods in social
& behavioral research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Tracy, P. E., Kempf-Leonard, K., & Abramoske-James, S. (2009). Gender
differences in delinquency and juvenile justice processing: Evidence from
national data. Crime & Delinquency, 55(2), 171–215.
Tyler, K. A., Johnson, K. A., & Brownridge, D. A. (2008). A longitudinal
study of the effects of child maltreatment on later outcomes among high-
risk adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(5), 506–521.
Tzoumakis, S., Lussier, P., & Corrado, R. (2012). Female juvenile
delinquency, motherhood, and the intergenerational transmission of
aggression and antisocial behavior. Behavioral Sciences & the
Law, 30(2), 211–237.
Van Damme, L., Fortune, C. A., Vandevelde, S., & Vanderplasschen, W.
(2017). The Good Lives Model among detained female
adolescents. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 37, 179–189.
Van Voorhis, P. (2012). On behalf of women offenders. Criminology &
Public Policy, 11(2), 111–145.
van Wormer, K. (2010). Working with female offenders: A gender-sensitive
approach. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Vogel, M. (2017). Flickor vid de särskilda ungdomshemmen – vilka är de och
vad ska vi göra med dem? [Girls in residential care – who are they and
what are we supposed to do with them?]. In P. Leviner & T. Lundström
(Eds.), Tvångsvård av barn och unga (pp. 262–277). Stockholm: Wolters
Kluwer.
Vogel, M. A. (2018). An endeavour for autonomy: How girls understand their
lived experiences of being referred to secure care. Young, 26(1), 70–85.
Walters, G. D. (2018). Maturing out of delinquency: Unpacking the effects of
identity achievement and future orientation on crime desistance. Self and
Identity, doi:10.1080/15298868.2018.1439848.
Wångby-Lundh, M., Klingstedt, M. L., Bergman, L. R., & Ferrer-Wreder, L.
(2018). Swedish adolescent girls in special residential treatment: A
person-oriented approach to the identification of problem
syndromes. Nordic Psychology, 70(1), 17–46.
Ward, T., & Brown, M. (2004). The good lives model and conceptual issues
in offender rehabilitation. Psychology, Crime & Law, 10(3), 243–257.
Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal
conduct. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Warren, M. P. (1983). Physical and biological aspects of puberty. In M. P.
Warren (Ed.) Girls at puberty (pp. 3–28). Boston: Springer.
Waterman, A. (1999). Identity, the identity statuses, and identity status
development: A contemporary statement. Developmental Review, 19(4),
591–621.

91
Werner, N. E., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2003). Family relationship quality and
contact with deviant peers as predictors of adolescent problem behaviors:
The moderating role of gender. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(5),
454–480.
Wester, K. L., MacDonald, C. A., & Lewis, T. F. (2008). A glimpse into the
lives of nine youths in a correctional facility: Insight into theories of
delinquency. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 28(2), 101–
118.
Wiecko, F. M. (2014). Late-onset offending. Fact or fiction? International
Journal of Offender Therapy and Contemporary Criminology, 58, 107–
129.
Wigfield, A., Byrnes, J. P., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Development during early
and middle adolescence. Handbook of Educational Psychology, 2, 87–
113.
Wike, T. L., Miller, S., Winn, D. M., & Taylor, J. (2013). Going along to get
along? Interpersonal processes and girls’ delinquency. Journal of Human
Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(5), 604–615.
Wong, T. M., Slotboom, A. M., & Bijleveld, C. C. (2010). Risk factors for
delinquency in adolescent and young adult females: A European
review. European Journal of Criminology, 7(4), 266–284.
Worthen, M. G. (2012). Gender differences in delinquent involvement: An
exploration of the interactive effects of friend bonding and friend
delinquency. Sociological Focus, 45(2), 103–124.
Xia, M., Fosco, G. M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2016). Examining reciprocal
influences among family climate, school attachment, and academic self-
regulation: Implications for school success. Journal of Family
Psychology, 30(4), 442–453.
Ybrandt, H., Börjesson, J., & Armelius, B. Å. (2008). The adolescent drug
abuse diagnosis composite scores in Swedish normal and antisocial
adolescents. Substance Use & Misuse, 43(10), 1411–1423.
Ybrandt, H., & Nordqvist, S. (2015). SiS-placerade ungdomars problematik i
relation till andra ungdomar. [Youths placed in residential care, problem
behaviors in relation to other youths]. Stockholm: The National Board of
Institutional Care.
Young, S., Greer, B., & Church, R. (2017). Juvenile delinquency, welfare,
justice and therapeutic interventions: a global perspective. Psychological
Bulletin, 41(1), 21–29.
Zahn, M. A., Agnew, R., Fishbein, D., Miller, S., Winn, D. M., Dakoff, G., ...
& Feld, B. C. (2010). Causes and correlates of girls’ delinquency. Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Washington: US
Department of Justice.
Zamora, Y. (2011). Att få en ny chans – förändringsarbete och
påverkansprogram för unga lagöverträdare. [Getting a new chance –
working with young offenders]. Mellanrummet, 24, 42–47.

92