NCJ Number
86245
Date Published
1980
Length
51 pages
Annotation
This model articulates a means through which existing social institutions can prevent youth crime without recourse to the formal legal authority of the juvenile court; social development of the juvenile is emphasized.
Abstract
The National Center for the Assessment of Delinquent Behavior and Its Prevention developed the model after conducting a comprehensive review of theories and research on delinquency, secondary analyses of 10 self-reported delinquency data sets, and a national survey of prevention programs. Three general conclusions emerged from these efforts. Prevention approaches should focus on the cause of delinquency if they are to be effective. There are multiple correlates and causes of delinquency which operate within the institutional domains of family, school, peers, and community. Therefore, effective prevention should address these multiple causes in all of these settings. Finally, delinquency results from inadequate processes of social development. Different causal elements are more salient at different stages of the developmental process. Different prevention strategies are required at different stages in the socialization of youths. Promising intervention strategies and approaches for the 1980's include parenting training, family crisis intervention services, performance based education, student involvement in school classroom policy formulation and disciplinary procedures, skills training, education in rights and responsibilities under the law, prevocational exploration, cross-age tutoring, integrated school and work programs, peer leadership groups, and community youth development projects. One figure and approximately 80 references are included.