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CUJPIA: VOL. 10 NO. 1, SEPT 2025

Aggression as a Determinant of Juvenile Delinquency: A Scoping Review : Paper selected from 2nd Covenant University Conference on Leadership and Development (CUCLeD), June 11-13, 2025

  • Okwuosa, Gloria Chinweudo
  • Adejumo, Gbadebo Olubunmi
Submitted
November 2, 2025
Published
2025-09-01

Abstract

Around the world, there remain major social and developmental problems related to juvenile delinquency and aggression has been shown to often predict such offenses. This scoping review analyzed research papers from 2000 to 2025 to see if aggression can predict juvenile delinquency, identify the main trends and find which subjects still need more study. We used the Arksey and O’Malley framework, with help from PRISMA-ScR guidelines, to select 15 studies that came from a variety of regions and research designs such as cross sectional, longitudinal or meta-analytic. The review revealed that many types of aggression, especially physically, reactive and impulsive aggression, are strongly linked to theft, assault and actions against social norms. Against what was widely assumed, aggression was closely linked to a variety of risks such as poor grades, family dysfunction, peer influence and experiencing violence. Experts observed that male aggression usually appeared as shouting or physical fights, while female delinquency was measured by increased risks of self-injury. Even with plenty of evidence, there are still problems, including few studies on female adolescents, too much use of cross-sectional data and a shortage of research from low and middle-income countries whose environments may vary greatly. Having various ways to define and measure aggression makes it difficult to compare studies. Even so, early action by schools, therapists and families appears essential, given the results. Having detailed strategies based on each situation is important to handle features of the person and the environment that cause delinquency. Therefore, aggression should be considered a solid and intricate predictor of juvenile delinquency which suggests that new research should focus on long-term and interdisciplinary studies to guide effective approaches for guiding at-risk youth.