AN EXAMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND TRAIT INFLUENCES ON ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY

A single common factor underlies variation in delinquent acts; thus, b y statistical criteria, they appear ''unitary.'' We extended the analy sis of single-factoredness from delinquency itself to explanatory vari ables associated with delinquency (e.g., parental affection, personali ty traits, school involvement). Three factors were extracted from 15 e xplanatory variables. All three factors were statistically associated with delinquency, but the first factor extracted dominated in terms of variance explained (21.6% vs. 1.6% and 3.4%, respectively). This firs t factor had loadings from variables in conceptually diverse domains ( e.g., family and peer relations, school success, and personality). A q uestion for delinquency theory is why diverse explanatory variables lo ad primarily on one factor, if theories postulate multiple and complex social and individual influences.