NCJ Number
98034
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (June 1985) Pages: 471-497
Date Published
1985
Length
27 pages
Annotation
An empirical analysis of the relationship between An empirical analysis of the relationship between community structure and deviant behavior among ninth-grade students in four communities in Finland shows that social networks play a central role in adolescents' problems, but the influence of the community is complicated.
Abstract
The study used a model that considered the interactions among community factors, social newtwork factors, and the individual in producing active deviance, such as delinquency, and passive deviance, such as psychological problems. Community factors considered were the availability of opportunities, degree of social isolation, and living conditions. Social network factors considered were the degree of social support or social control in the family and discrimination in the family and school. Personality was described through questions about attitudes. The subjects lived in four types of areas: urban areas with high and low rates of child welfare cases and rural areas with high and low levels of welfare cases. Ninth graders aged 15 and 16 completed questionnaires in class. A total of 572 questionnaires were completed during April and May 1979. Although many of the results fit the model, some puzzling results led to a followup study in the study areas and in another rural area in 1980. It was not possible to detect typical structural features of a good community, and some features thought to be structural proved to be transitory. Data tables and narrative descriptions present details on the influences of each variable on delinquency and psychic problems for both males and females. One note and 21 references are also supplied.