The aim of this research was to test an ecological model as explanation of juvenile delinquency. 204 Mexican students of junior and high school answered a questionnaire containing questions about family violence, antisocial behavior, child abuse, mother and father alcohol consumption, as well as some family, school, and neighborhood environmental characteristics. Observed variables constituted factors and indexes that represented the ecological theory. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. Results showed that the microsystem had a direct effect on antisocial behavior of youths, the exosystem had also a direct effect on the microsystem and an indirect effect on antisocial behavior, while the macrosystem had a direct effect on the exosystem and an indirect effect on antisocial behavior. These results seem to support the ecological model as an appropriate explanation of juvenile antisocial behavior.
antisocial behavior; juveniles; ecological model; structural equations
