Different views: The impact of sex, area of residence, and victimization on teenagers' explanations for delinquency

Hypothesized, following attribution theory, that psychological closeness (i.e., familiarity, similarity, physical proximity) to the perpetrators of delinquency would lead to its being explained in terms of external (environmental and situational) factors, while being a victim of delinquency would promote internal (dispositional and personal) explanations. Consistent with these hypotheses, 74 15-yr-olds endorsed less individualistic explanations and stressed the social functions of delinquency more than did older Ss in an earlier study by A. Furnham and M. Henderson (see record 1984-04206-001). Males, Ss living closer to the city center, and nonvictims favored external explanations more than did females, those living on the outskirts of the city and in rural areas, and victims.