Violent offending, nonviolent offending, and delinquent behavior: Examining the psychosocial effects of Hong Kong male and female adolescents

H.C.O. Chan

Assistant Professor of Criminology, Department of Applied Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, S.A.R., oliverchan.ss@cityu.edu.hk

Using a sample of 892 secondary schools students from 12 schools, this study aims to explore the gender differences in the prevalence of self-reported violent offending, nonviolent offending, and delinquent behavior among male and female adolescents in Hong Kong. A number of psychosocial characteristics (i.e., self-control, alcohol and drug use, negative temperament, pro-violence attitudes, social bonding, deviant peer influence, and disorganized neighborhood) are used to explore their effect on male and female adolescents in predicting different types of offending behavior. Implications for research and practice in the area of preventing future offending behavior are also discussed.

Biography

Heng Choon (Oliver) CHAN, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Criminology at City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR. His research focuses on sexual homicide, offender profiling, sex offending, homicide, stalking behavior, and criminological issues related to the Asian population. His latest single-authored monograph on sexual homicide, published under Palgrave Macmillan, is in print since April 2015. He is now working on his next edited book, under contract with Routledge, on the psycho-criminological perspective of Asian criminal justice (i.e., police, correctional, and legal psychology). Oliver is an Associate Editor of International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.