NCJ Number
170603
Date Published
1998
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This is a video of a description of NIJ-funded research in progress that is examining the impact of community characteristics on the attitudes and behaviors of the youth who live in various types of neighborhoods in Chicago.
Abstract
The study described by Felton Earls, one of the researchers, is a longitudinal study of cohorts of youth who were ages 9, 12, and 15 at the beginning of the study. Cohorts of 100 youths in each of 80 Chicago neighborhoods are participating in the study. The 80 neighborhoods have a diversity of characteristics representative of a cross-section of Chicago neighborhoods. Earls notes a conceptual problem in the study, i.e., the multiple pathways that can lead to delinquency in interaction with influences that can offset the development of delinquent behaviors. The problem for this study is to respect the variety of factors that impact delinquent and nondelinquent behavior while focusing on how neighborhood characteristics interact with individual and familial factors to fuel or impede antisocial behavior. The particular focal points of this longitudinal study are how exposure to violence in a community influences violent behavior in interpersonal behaviors, as well as how fear of violence produces certain reactions in social organization, such as the formation of gangs. The intent of this research is to identify correlations between neighborhood characteristics, particularly regarding violence and fear of violence, and the self-reported delinquent behaviors of the study cohorts over time. Questions from the audience are included on the video.