Childhood Deviance as a Developmental Process: A Study of 223 Urban Black Men From Birth to 18.

Family and demographic factors, such as parental deviance, disturbed homes, delinquent siblings, and poverty, are useful predictors that some form of childhood deviance will occur. They are not sufficiently specific, however, in predicting its quantity, variety or type. In this paper evidence is sought which would explain deviance in children as part of the developmental process. The patterns and sequence of age dated initiations of 13 deviant behaviors during the childhoods of 233 young black men are examined. The behaviors are defined and their frequency and the range of ages at which they first occurred are shown. It is demonstrated that the number of deviant behaviors per child is not the product of a purely random process. The kinds of correlations that should be expected among acts beginning at various ages and affecting varying proportions of a population are considered. After establishing what seem to be causal connections between behaviors, their practical importance for those interested in prediction or intervention is evaluated. The theoretical implications of a developmental model of deviance are discussed within the context of the field of child development. (GC)