The relationship between gender and delinquency: Assessing the mediating role of anticipated guilt

Purpose: Gender differences in delinquency are well-documented, with dominant explanations drawing largely on control, strain, and learning theories. We suggest that gender differences in guilt mediate a substantial portion of gender's association with delinquency over and above variables derived from these theories. Methods: We use negative binomial regression and path analysis to test this assertion using data collected from a convenience sample of middle-school and high-school students in a Northeastern region of the United States. Results: Results suggest that variables derived from control and learning theories may explain part of the gender gap in delinquency, but that a larger portion of the gender gap is due to gender differences in anticipated guilt. Conclusions: Anticipated guilt appears to reflect a critical component of the explanation for why males engage in higher levels of delinquency than females, and future research should therefore pay greater attention to identifying the factors that influence interpersonal differences in the experience of guilt. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.