NCJ Number
83450
Date Published
1982
Length
371 pages
Annotation
The articles discuss how delinquency is measured, using race, class, and sex as variables, and search for the causes of delinquency in sociological, physiological, and psychological theories and evidence. They also look at ways to reduce delinquency through social policies and intensive treatment programs and the effectiveness of diverting offenders from juvenile court.
Abstract
Studies on delinquency measurement suggest that although social class is important in understanding delinquency, distinctions based on sex, age, and race should not necessarily be ruled out as insignificant. Authors argue that when forms of delinquency are considered together in self-report surveys, race or class differences are masked and cannot be measured. In searching for the causes of delinquency, studies put forth a differential association-reinforcement theory of criminal behavior and examine juveniles' personality test results and values (gang and lower class cultural influences). They point to other social pressures on youth, such as television and family violence, and show how perceived risks of punishment (almost nonexistent in juvenile court) and labeling affect juveniles' attitudes and behavior. Other studies discuss the effectiveness of juvenile prisons, the medical model of corrections, youth service bureaus, and juvenile court diversion in rehabilitating delinquents. Examinations of specific delinquency prevention programs (official antipoverty projects, school programs, etc.) point to the controversy generated when planners discuss how to give juveniles more of a stake in the system. The articles contain footnotes, data tables, references, and relevant newpaper articles on juvenile crime. (For individual articles, see NCJ 46692, 47880, 51135, 56832, 66015, and 83451-52.)