NCJ Number
181564
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 1999 Pages: 117-136
Date Published
1999
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Self-report questionnaires completed by 127 juveniles in 2 detention centers provided data on juvenile involvement in serious and violent delinquency to test an integrated model that combined social structural variables and social process variables.
Abstract
The social structural variables were neighborhood disorganization and strain. The social process variables included parental control, social bond, and delinquent peer associations. The research used path analysis to test the model. Results generally supported the integrated model. The data explained as much as 44 percent of the variance. Two variables, delinquent peer associations and an overall social bond indicator, directly and significantly predicted serious delinquent behavior. Delinquent peer associations were significantly related to neighborhood disorganization, while the social bond was significantly related to parental control and strain. Thus, the data supported a systems approach to explaining juvenile delinquency and indicated that structural variables affect social process variables. Figure, tables, appended methodological information, and 68 references (Author abstract modified)