A Model Explaining Violent Behavior among Youth: A Case Study of Middle School Students in Bangkok, Thailand

The history of criminological thought has seen several theories that explain violent behavior among youth . However, a comparative analysis between male and female has limited number of studies. This article estimates a multilevel model that investigate the effects of variables derived from four criminology theories. Mixed method was applied. Four-hundred and sixty-seven quantitative participants and 8 qualitative samples were drawn from five middle schools. Self-report questionnaire and oral history interview were utilized in this data collection. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and content and interpretation has been applied in analyses. The quantitative results revealed that the two most influence variables over verbal and physical violence were exposure to family violence and situational reasoning as they were both directly and indirectly influence. Moral reasoning and attachment to family had not much influence as they only had indirect influenced behaviors. The SEM model explains male behaviors from female differently. The qualitative findings provided more details for the quantitative results. The research contributes discussion, recommendations for policy, practice and further studies.