NCJ Number
184867
Date Published
2000
Length
31 pages
Annotation
The application of a contextual framework to adolescent criminality must be extended to account for the unique developmental context of adolescence as well as the types of social and situational factors that frame the daily activities of youths; this chapter merges these two perspectives to assess the role of contextual factors in decision making by adolescents in criminal events.
Abstract
The chapter begins by defining and dividing the elements of context into several dimensions. Context shapes decisions to engage in crime through the attributes of settings and the interaction of developmental status with the setting in which developmental processes unfold. The chapter provides examples to show how intentionality and goal orientation are evident in four types of crimes that are common during childhood and adolescence: childhood aggression, gang violence, robbery, and dating violence. The goals and functions of these acts are identified, and explanations are offered for the diversity of outcomes. The chapter then constructs a framework for understanding the interactions of individual and contextual factors in decision making in criminal events. A discussion of social context and social identity advises that adolescence is a time to pursue some universal developmental goals, i.e., social affiliation, mastery, social identity, and autonomy. The development of identity is a central and perhaps overarching function of adolescent crime. Teenagers may situationally engage in antisocial behavior to form and/or maintain certain social identities within the broader social context of the neighborhood. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications for law and social science. 104 references