NCJ Number
92351
Date Published
1983
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Policies to prevent serious and violent juvenile delinquency should focus on four areas: strengthening informal social controls, reducing school violence and delinquency, preventing family violence, and creating high-quality job opportunities for youths.
Abstract
An integrated theory that addresses the case of violent delinquency incorporates control, strain, and social learning perspectives on juvenile delinquency. It includes both psychological and sociological approaches and relies on properties of both the individual and the environment to explain behavior. It also asserts that intervention should focus on goals and opportunities and the bonds of integration and commitment. Interviews with 63 youths who had been adjudicated delinquent on a violent offense and who had a history of chronic violence revealed that environmental variables explained from 30 percent to 60 percent of the variance in self-reported delinquency, while individual variables explained from 15 percent to 37 percent. Violence was found to be predicted by factors which were different from those that predicted other offense types. The violent youths reported a wide range of offenses, including drug and property crimes as well as violent crimes. Self-reported delinquency appeared to be shaped and reinforced through environmental influences from peers, neighborhoods, and schools. The workplace reduced or reversed some of these effects. Providing opportunities and interactions that strengthen integration is a critical component of a social policy to reduce violent delinquency. Data tables, notes, and 43 references are provided.