NCJ Number
184017
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 78 Issue: 4 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 1509-1538
Date Published
June 2000
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study adds to the literature on adolescent delinquency by offering a theoretical framework that integrates insights from labor market and stratification research on one hand and microlevel family and criminological research on the other.
Abstract
Analyses draw from local labor market data and nationally representative longitudinal survey data on adolescents; they use techniques that take into account clustering within hierarchical structures. The analyses focus on two adolescent delinquency outcomes, fighting and drug use. Measurement of labor market attributes is consistent with current research on labor market opportunity, economic development, and related patterns of stratification. Findings suggest strong effects of low-wage service-sector concentration and unemployment on both fighting and drug use among adolescents. Consistent with the study's emphasis on potential mediating processes, the study finds that these effects are partially produced through the patterning of family income, family intactness, and adolescent attachment to parents and school. An interesting finding is that low-wage service-sector size and unemployment effects on adolescent delinquency persist even with potential mediators controlled. The study concludes by discussing these persistent effects and their implications for policy. 5 tables, 1 figure, 4 notes, and 91 references