ABSTRACT

Extensive research, spanning several decades, on the correlation among adolescent risk-taking or problem behaviors has been conducted.1 Overall, these studies suggest that adolescents who report engaging in a specific form of problem behavior (i.e. delinquency) are significantly more likely to report engaging in other problem behaviors (e.g. sexual risk-taking). Traditionally, these studies have relied on factor analytic techniques to assess the dimensionality of adolescent problem behaviors and have provided support for a unidimensional latent construct (Jessor & Jessor, 1977; LeBlanc & Bouthiller, 2003). Based on this body of research, it has been suggested that the tendency to engage in any one form of problem behavior is part of a general syndrome referred to as problem behavior syndrome or general deviance.