Association Between Social Capital and Juvenile Crime: The Role of Individual and Structural Factors

• NCJ Number: 213863
• Journal: European Journal of Criminology Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 123-148
• Author(s): Venla Salmi; Janne Kivivuori
• Date Published: March 2006
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined the association between "social capital," which pertains to relationships and resources that facilitate action and cooperation for mutual benefit, and self-reported delinquency when structural and individual-level factors are controlled.

Abstract

The study found that the social-capital variables of low parental support, low teacher control, and low interpersonal trust were associated with delinquent behavior. The link between these social-capital measures and delinquency did not disappear when self-control and cognitive ability/school commitment were held constant; however, when self-control and cognitive ability were controlled, the link between social capital and delinquency seemed to weaken. This suggests that the social-capital investments of parents and teachers may be partially influenced by the individual character of the juvenile. Parental control was significantly linked with delinquency only at the bivariate level. In the multivariate model, which included all social capital variables, parental control was not connected to active delinquent behavior. Although self-control is apparently the most prominent factor related to juvenile delinquency, the findings indicate that it does not abolish the significance of other factors. Social capital factors, structural factors, and individual-level factors are apparently independently related to juvenile delinquency. These findings came from the Finnish Self-Report Delinquency Study conducted in 55 municipal comprehensive schools in Finland in the spring of 2004. In each school, all ninth-grade students composed the target population. This produced a nationally representative sample of 15-16 year-olds (n=5,142). In the questionnaire administered to the students, family and school were emphasized as the two most important social environments in a young person's life. The level of self-control was measured with a four-item scale, and delinquency was measured with the standard indicator system of the Finnish Self-Report Delinquency Study. 2 figures, 2 tables, and 51 references