Juvenile Delinquency

Robert Agnew is Fellow of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), recipient of ASC's Edwin H. Sutherland award, and past President of the ASC. He is best known for the development of General Strain Theory. He is the author of several books, including Pressured into Crime: An Overview of General Strain Theory (2005) and Why Do Criminals Offend? A General Theory of Crime and Delinquency (2004), both published by Oxford University Press. Timothy Brezina is Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University. His research interests include criminological theory, youth violence, and youth mentoring. His studies have appeared in Criminology, Justice Quarterly, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and other leading journals. He is currently evaluating an innovative Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program for at-risk youth.

Each chapter end with Test Your Knowledge of this Chapter, Thought and Discussion Questions, Key Terms, and Endnotes sections.
PART 1. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF DELINQUENCY
1. What Is Delinquency and How Does It Differ from Adult Crime
Juvenile Delinquents Are Viewed Differently than Adult Criminals
Juvenile Delinquents Are Treated Differently than Adult Criminals
Special Laws for Juveniles: Status Offenses:
A Special Court for Juveniles: Juvenile Court:
Special Correctional Programs for Juveniles:
How Can We Explain the Invention of Juvenile Delinquency?
Changing Conception of Children:
Major Social Changes, Especially the Growth of Urban Slums:
Gender, Race, and the Invention of Delinquency:
Our View and Treatment of Juvenile Offenders Continues to Evolve
"Getting Tough" with Juvenile Offenders (Late 1980s through the Early 2000s):
Retreating from the Get-Tough Approach (Since the Early 2000s):
Summary
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercises:
Controversial Case:
2. How Is Delinquency Measured?
Official Statistics--Especially Arrest Data from the Police
Problems with Arrest Data:
Summary:
Self-Report Data
How Do We Know that Juveniles Are Telling the Truth?
Problems with Many Self-Report Surveys:
Recent Self-Report Surveys Have Made Much Progress in Overcoming the Preceding Problems:
Victimization Data
Problems with Victimization Data:
Summary
Teaching Aids
A Challenge:
Practical Advice: Three Things to Beware of When Others Discuss the Extent of and Trends in Delinquency (and a Challenge):
Web-Based Exercise: Measuring the Extent of Rape:
Answers to the Challenge:
3. How Much Delinquency Is There, and Is Delinquency Increasing?
How Much Delinquency Is There?
How Many Juveniles Are Arrested, and What Are They Arrested For?:
How Much Self-Reported Delinquency Is There?:
How Many Juveniles Are Victimized, and How Many Victimizations Are Committed by Juveniles?:
Summary:
Is Juvenile Delinquency Increasing?
Are Juvenile Arrests Increasing?:
Is Self-Reported Delinquency Increasing?:
Are Victimizations Committed by Juveniles Increasing?:
Summary:
How Can We Explain the Dramatic Decline in Serious Crime Since the Mid-1990s?
Teaching Aids
Exercise: The Extent of and Trends in Campus Crime:
Web-Based Exercise: Finding the Latest Information on the Extent of and Trends in Crime and Delinquency:
4. Who Is Most Likely to Engage in Delinquency?
Is Social Class Related to Delinquency?
Early Studies Based on Arrest Data:
Early Self-Report Studies:
Criticisms of the Early Self-Report Studies:
The Later Self-Report Studies:
Summary:
Are Race and Ethnicity Related to Delinquency?
Arrest Data:
Criticisms of Arrest Data:
Self-Report Data:
Victimization Data:
Is Race Related to Delinquency?:
Are Race Differences in Serious Delinquency Explained by Social Class?:
Is Age Related to Delinquency?
Is Gender Related to Delinquency?
Arrest Data:
Self-Report Data:
Summary:
Are There Different Types of Delinquents?
An Overview of the Research on the Different Types of Delinquents:
What Are the Different Types of Delinquents?:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Exercise 1: Perceptions of Race and Crime:
Exercise 2: Why Do Asian Americans Have Lower Crime Rates?:
Exercise 3: Explaining the Association Between Gender and Crime:
Exercise 4: Girls' Delinquency:
PART 2. THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY: THEORIES
5. What Is a Theory and How Do We Test Theories?
What Is a Theory?
What Are the Basic Parts of a Theory?:
Why Is It Important to Study Theories of Delinquency?:
How Do We Test Theories of Delinquency (or Determine Whether Some Factor Causes Delinquency)?
The Scientific Method:
Carefully Define Your Independent and Dependent Variables:
Decide How to Gather Data to Test Your Belief or Theory:
Develop Measures of Your Independent and Dependent Variables:
Select a Sample of Juveniles to Survey:
Analyze the Data You Have Collected:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Some Challenges:
Web-Based Resources for Your Criminological Research Project:
Answers to the Challenges:
6. Strain Theory
What Are the Major Types of Strain?
The Failure to Achieve Your Goals:
Loss of Positive Stimuli/Presentation of Negative Stimuli:
What Impact Does Strain Have on the Juvenile?
Why Are Some Juveniles More Likely to Cope with Strain Through Delinquency?
Summary
Teaching Aids
Case Studies:
Web-Based Exercise: Applying Strain Theory:
7. Social Learning Theory
Juveniles Learn to Engage in Delinquency from Others
The Differential Reinforcement of Delinquency:
The Frequency, Amount, and Relative Probability of Reinforcement:
Positive and Negative Reinforcement:
Punishment:
The Sources of Reinforcement and Punishment:
Some Individuals Are More Likely to Be Reinforced for Delinquency than Others:
Intermittent Reinforcement:
Discriminative Stimuli:
Research on the Reinforcement and Punishment of Delinquency:
Beliefs Favorable to Delinquency
Generally Approve of Minor Delinquency:
Conditionally Approve of Delinquency, Including Some Serious Delinquency:
General Values Conducive to Delinquency:
Where Do the Beliefs Favorable to Delinquency Come From?:
The Imitation of Delinquent Models
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Cases:
Web-Based Exercise: Learning to Hate:
8. Control Theory
Why Do Juveniles Conform (and Sometimes Deviate)?
How Is Control Theory Similar to and Different from Social Learning Theory?:
What Are the Major Types of Control (or Restraints to Delinquency)?
Direct Control:
Stake in Conformity:
Belief:
Self-Control:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue: The Nature of Human Nature:
Controversial Methods for Increasing Direct Control:
Web-Based Exercise: Where Do Theories Come From?:
9. Labeling Theory
Background on Labeling Theory
How Do Others React to the Juvenile's Delinquency?
Harsh/Rejecting Reaction:
Failure to Respond to the Juvenile's Delinquency:
"Condemn the Delinquency but Accept the Juvenile" Reaction:
Summary:
Why Does the Harsh/Rejecting Reaction Lead to Further Delinquency?
Reduces Control:
Increases Strain:
Increases the Social Learning of Delinquency:
Creates a Delinquent Self-Concept:
What Determines Whether Juveniles Experience the Harsh/Rejecting Reaction?
Are Some Juveniles More Likely than Others to Respond to the Harsh/Rejecting Reaction with Further Delinquency?
The Evidence on Labeling Theory
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue #1: Going Too Far? Zero-Tolerance Policies in the Nation's Schools:
Controversial Issue #2: Is It Sometimes Best to Ignore Delinquency?:
Web-Based Exercise: Applying Labeling Theory (Race and Labeling):
10. The Life Course
Why Do Most Individuals Increase Their Levels of Offending During Adolescence?
The Biological and Social Changes Associated with Adolescence:
A Reduction in Control:
An Increase in the Social Learning for Crime:
An Increase in Strain:
Summary:
Why Do a Small Percentage of Individuals Offend at High Rates over Much of Their Lives?
Traits Conducive to Crime:
Poor Parenting:
High Rates of Offending over the Life Course:
Summary:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercise: Comparing Adult and Juvenile Offenders:
Controversial Issue: An Evolutionary Theory of Adolescence-Limited Offending:
11. Is Delinquency More Likely in Certain Types of Situations?
What Types of Situations Are Most Conducive to Delinquency?
Strain Theory: Situational Strains:
Strain Theory: Situational Factors that Increase the Likelihood of Delinquent Coping:
Social Learning and Control Theories: The Benefits and Costs of Delinquency:
Attractive Targets:
The Absence of Capable Guardians:
The Presence of Delinquent Peers:
Summary:
What Factors Influence the Likelihood that Predisposed Offenders Will Encounter Situations Conducive to Delinquency?
The Nature of the Individual's Routine Activities:
Factors Influencing Routine Activities:
Summary:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Applying the Research: Examining the Routine Activities of College Students:
Web-Based Exercise: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design:
12. Group Differences in Delinquency
Why Are Crime Rates Higher in Some Communities than in Others?
What Are the Characteristics of High-Crime Neighborhoods and Cities?
Summary:
Are Communities with Characteristics Conducive to Crime Becoming More Common?
Why Are Deprived Communities Higher in Crime?
Deprived Communities Are Higher in Strain:
Deprived Communities Are Lower in Control:
Deprived Communities Foster the Social Learning of Crime:
Community Crime Rates Reduce Control, Foster the Social Learning of Crime, and Increase Strain:
Overview of the Leading Theories of Delinquency
Teaching Aids
Exercise: Increasing Community Control:
Exercise: Explaining Other Group Differences in Crime:
Web-Based Exercise: Societal Differences in Crime and Delinquency:
PART 3. THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY: RESEARCH
13. Individual Traits
Are Juveniles with Certain Traits More Likely to Engage in Delinquency?
Low Verbal IQ:
Low Self-Control:
Irritability:
Summary:
Why Are Some Individuals More Likely than Others to Possess These Traits?
Biological Influences on Traits:
Environmental Influences on Traits:
Is Mental Illness Related to Violence?
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue: Should Delinquents Be Held Responsible for Their Behavior?:
Web-Based Exercise: Programs for Mentally Ill Offenders:
14. The Family
The Effect of the Family on Delinquency
Family Structure
Are Juveniles from Single-Parent Homes More Delinquent?:
Does the Mother's Employment Outside the Home Increase Delinquency?:
Does Placing Juveniles in Childcare Facilities Increase the Likelihood of Delinquency?:
Are Teenage Parents More Likely to Have Delinquent Children?:
Are Juveniles from Large Families More Delinquent?:
Parental and Sibling Crime/Deviance
Are Juveniles with Criminal or Deviant Parents and Siblings More Likely to Be Delinquent?:
The Quality of Family Relationships
Are Juveniles Who Have Warm or Close Relationships with Their Parents Less Delinquent?:
Parental Socialization
What Should Parents Do to Teach Their Children to Avoid Delinquency?:
What Should Parents Do to Teach Their Children to Engage in Conventional Behavior?:
Summary:
Why Do Some Parents Employ Poor Parenting Practices?
A Note on Genes, Parenting, and Delinquency:
Teaching Aids
Exercise: Putting Your Knowledge to Use:
Web-Based Exercise: An Inside Look at a Troubled Family:
15. The School
What School Experiences Contribute to Delinquency?
Do School Experiences Cause Delinquency?:
Why Do Some Juveniles Have Negative School Experiences?:
School Characteristics and Delinquency
How Much Delinquency Occurs at School?:
How Can We Explain School Differences in Delinquency?:
Teaching Aids
Applying Theories and Research:
Web-Based Exercise: More Information on School Violence, Including Bullying:
16. Delinquent Peers and Gangs
What Impact Do Delinquent Peers Have on Delinquency?
Under What Conditions Are Delinquent Peers Most Likely to Cause Delinquency?:
What Are Delinquent Peer Groups Like?:
Why Are Individuals in Delinquent Groups More Likely to Engage in Delinquency?:
Why Are Some Juveniles More Likely than Others to Get Involved with Delinquent Peers?:
What Impact Do Gangs Have on Delinquency?
What Is a Street Gang?:
How Common Are Gangs?:
Are Gangs Becoming More Common?:
What Effect Do Gangs Have on Crime and Delinquency?:
What Are the Characteristics of Gang Members?:
How Are Gangs Organized or Structured?:
What Are Female Gangs Like?:
Why Do Some Juveniles Join Gangs?:
Why Do Some Communities Develop Gangs?:
How Can We Explain Long-Term Trends in Gang Activity?:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue: What Is a Gang?:
Web-Based Exercise: An Examination of Two Major Gangs:
17. Other Social Influences
Does Religion Reduce Delinquency?
The Evidence:
Does Work Reduce Delinquency Among Juveniles Attending School?
The Evidence:
Does Mass Media Violence Cause Violence Among Juveniles?
TV and Movie Violence:
Violent Video Games:
Music with Violent Themes:
Does Media Violence Affect Some Juveniles More than Others?:
Summary:
Does Social Media Engagement Increase the Risk of Delinquent Behavior?
The Evidence:
Summary:
Do Drugs Increase the Likelihood of Delinquency?
Reasons that Drugs May Affect Delinquency:
The Evidence:
Do Guns Increase the Likelihood of Delinquency?
How Common Is Gun Ownership and Possession Among Juveniles?:
Do Guns Contribute to Delinquency?:
Do Guns Prevent More Crime than They Contribute To?:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue: Should Marijuana Be Legalized?:
Web-Based Exercise: Guns Across the Globe:
18. Pulling It All Together
A Brief Review of the Theories and Research on the Causes of Delinquency
Theories:
Research:
A General Theory of Delinquency
The Major Direct Causes of Delinquency and Why They Cause It:
How All These Clusters Are Related:
How Biological Factors and the Larger Social Environment Affect the Clusters:
Explaining Group Differences In Delinquency:
Using the General Theory to Explain Why Males Have Higher Rates of Delinquency than Females
The Special Role of Sexual Abuse in Explaining Serious Female Offending:
An Overview of the General Theory of Delinquency
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercise: Applying the General Theory:
PART 4. THE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF DELINQUENCY
19. Policies and Programs
The Experimental Model for Determining Program Effectiveness
The Importance of Doing Randomized Experiments:
Problems in Doing Randomized Experiments:
What If One Is Not Able to Do a Randomized Experiment?
Why Are Some Programs Ineffective at Reducing Delinquency?
Summary
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercise: The Importance (and Sometimes Neglect) of Good Evaluation Research:
Some Challenges:
Answers to Challenges:
20. The Police
How Do the Police Operate?
Preventive Patrol Is the Major Type of Policing:
The Police Spend Only a Small Amount of Their Time Dealing with Crime:
Policing Is Primarily Reactive in Nature:
When the Police Do Discover or Hear About a Crime, They Usually Do Not Catch the Offender:
If the Police Do Catch a Suspect, They Usually Do Not Arrest the Person:
How Effective Is Preventive Patrol?
How Can the Police Increase Their Effectiveness?
Will Hiring More Police Reduce Delinquency?:
Will Police Crackdowns Reduce Delinquency?:
Will Community Policing Reduce Delinquency?:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercises:
21. Juvenile Court and Corrections
What Happens When Juveniles Are Sent to Juvenile Court?
What Are the Major Goals of Juvenile Court?:
How Many Cases Does Juvenile Court Handle, and What Types Does the Court Deal With?:
What Are the Major Stages in the Juvenile Court Process?:
Juvenile Corrections: What Happens to Juveniles Who Receive a Disposition or Sentence from the Court?
Formal Probation:
Intermediate Sanctions:
A Renewed Focus on Rehabilitation:
Out-of-Home Placements:
Aftercare Services:
An Overview of the Juvenile Justice Process
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue:
Web-Based Resources and Activities:
22. The Juvenile Justice System
Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against African Americans?
The Extent of Discrimination Varies Across Police Departments and Juvenile Courts:
The Extent of Discrimination May Vary by Type of Crime:
Small Amounts of Discrimination at Different Points in the Juvenile Justice Process Can Have a Large Overall Effect:
Racial Discrimination May Be Direct or Indirect:
What Can Be Done to Address the Overrepresentation of Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System?:
Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against the Poor and Against Males or Females?
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue:
Race and Experiences with the Police:
Web-Based Exercise: The Disproportionate Minority Contact Initiative:
23. The Strategies of Deterrence and Incapacitation
Are the Juvenile Court and Correctional System Tough Enough in Dealing with Offenders, Especially Serious
Offenders?
Efforts to Get Tough with Serious Offenders
Some Get-Tough Measures:
How Effective Are Get-Tough Measures, and What Can Be Done to Increase Their Effectiveness?
Deterrence:
Specific Deterrence:
General Deterrence:
Incapacitation: Will Locking Up Delinquents Reduce Delinquency?:
Summary
Teaching Aids
Controversial Issue: Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders?:
Web-Based Exercise: Restorative Justice in Practice:
24. The Strategies of Prevention and Rehabilitation
A Brief History of Prevention and Rehabilitation
How Effective Are Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs?
General Characteristics of Effective Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs:
What Are the Characteristics of Successful Prevention/Rehabilitation Programs in Different Areas?
Programs Focusing on the Early Family Environment:
Parent Training Programs:
Programs Focusing on School Factors:
Programs Focusing on Individual Traits:
Programs Focusing on Delinquent Peers and Gangs:
Selected Other Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs
The Critical Role of Larger Social Forces in Preventing Delinquency
Summary
Teaching Aids
Web-Based Exercise: Finding the Latest Information on Programs and Practices for Reducing Delinquency:
Exercise: Extend Your Knowledge of Rehabilitation and Prevention Programs:
25. What Should We Do to Reduce Delinquency?
We Should Place More Emphasis on Prevention and Rehabilitation
We Should Hold Juveniles Accountable for Their Behavior and Protect the Community:
Teaching Aids
Exercise: What Should We Do to Reduce Delinquency?:
Web-Based Exercise: Interested in a Career in Criminology/Corrections?:
References:
Photo Credits:
Author Index:
Subject Index: