NCJ Number
228153
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 6 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 439-455
Date Published
September 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the extent to which determinants derived from social disorganization theory at the city and neighborhood levels affect youth delinquency over and above the influence of individual characteristics.
Abstract
Results of the study found that cities were a more important ecological context than neighborhoods in the explanation of youth delinquency. It was also found that contextual disadvantage, measured at both city and neighborhood levels, affected youth delinquency. Adolescents living in cities or neighborhoods characterized by a higher level of contextual disadvantage showed higher levels of delinquent behavior. Of the indicators used to construct contextual disadvantage, only the percentage of one-parent families living in the city or the neighborhood significantly affected the delinquency. The results also showed that family disruption affected youth delinquency at the individual, neighborhood, and the city levels. Previous research has not yet integrated determinants of youth delinquency at the city, neighborhood, and individual levels simultaneously. This study tested whether city and neighborhood characteristics have additional effects on juvenile delinquency, controlling for individual-level determinants. To accomplish this task, individual-level data from 11 cities in the Netherlands were used, supplemented with information about the structural characteristics of these cities and their neighborhoods. Tables and references