Personality Matters: The Effect of Defiant Individualism on both Deviant Associations and Normative Behaviors among Juveniles in Rural North Carolina

The role of defiant individualism in the production of deviant behavior has not been extensively explored within Criminology.
This study used data from a juvenile gang assessment of two rural counties in North Carolina to examine the effect of defiant
individualism on association with deviant peers, association with gang members, school engagement and grade point average.
The researchers developed a proprietary scale with which to measure defiant individualism. Additionally, an integrated defiance
continuum was constructed in which to better contextualize the findings. Findings suggested that defiant individualism had
positive relationships with both deviant peer associations and association with gang members. Furthermore, there were inverse
relationships between defiant individualism and school engagement as well as grade point average. These statistics suggested
that besides promoting deviant associations, defiant individualism also inhibited normative behaviors like school engagement
and academic achievement which may actually ameliorate deviant behavior in juveniles.