NCJ Number
178363
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 445-460
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether violence, rather than being an isolated subculture in itself, is part of a general subculture of delinquency; it also analyzed the relationship of variables adapted from social control theories to violent behavior and nonviolent delinquency.
Abstract
The study sample consisted of all Icelandic students born in 1979 (15 and 16 years old) attending the compulsory 10th grade of secondary school. Anonymous questionnaires were administered to all students present in class on one day in the period of January 16-21, 1995. Valid questionnaires were obtained from 3,810 students or 87 percent of this cohort (1,879 girls and 1,931 boys). The questionnaire measured sociodemographic variables, social control variables, peer subculture involvement, violent behavior, and nonviolent delinquency. The study findings support the concept that violence is part of a general subculture of delinquency. They show a strong relationship between violent behavior on one hand and illegal activities, alcohol use, and smoking on the other hand. Furthermore, it found that violent behavior was positively related both to friends' violent behavior and friends' nonviolent delinquency. The findings also support the argument that social control affects violence in a similar way as other forms of delinquency. Factors drawn from social control were significantly related to violence, and correlation patterns were similar to that of nonviolent delinquency. 4 tables and 39 references