Peggy C. Giordano (Distinguished Professor) received her PhD in sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1974 and joined the faculty of Bowling Green State University the same year. She is interested in adolescent and young adult problem behaviors, particularly juvenile delinquency and intimate partner violence. She relies on qualitative as well as quantitative methods to explore life course variations in problem behavior involvement, and the role of social networks in patterns of stability and change. Her monograph on the experiences of a sample of highly delinquent youth (Legacies of Crime) focuses on the intergenerational transmission of crime and other negative developmental outcomes. She is currently conducting a longitudinal study of the relationship experiences of a large, diverse sample of respondents interviewed first as adolescence, and subsequently as they have navigated the transition to adulthood. This study (The Toledo Adolescent Relationships study) includes five waves of interviews, and focuses on the character and dynamics of dating and sexual relationships, and in turn, how variations in such experiences influence delinquency involvement, intimate partner violence, HIV risk-taking, depression and other developmental outcomes.
