GENERALITY VERSUS SPECIFICITY OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR - PSYCHOLOGICAL ANDFUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES

Data from a longitudinal study of male and female youth were used to e xamine the association between cumulative levels of delinquency and dr ug use from early adolescence to young adulthood. Results from a princ ipal components analysis indicated that delinquency and drug use repre sent two distinct dimensions of problem behavior. Subjects were catego rized into four groups based on their cumulative levels of drug use an d delinquency over a nine-year period. Group differences in the reacti ve coping use of problem behaviors, in psychological problems, and in personality traits were assessed. Results indicate that subjects who a re high in both drug use and delinquency have significantly higher lev els of mental health problems than all other subjects. Overall, the fi ndings support the notion that the expression of deviance is not neces sarily undifferentiated. Instead, different individuals may specialize in different forms of deviance.