Crime and Punishment in Norwegian Mid-adolescents: A Normal Population Study

• NCJ Number: 184154
• Journal: Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: 2000 Pages: 87-104
• Author(s): Willy Pedersen
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Finland

Annotation

Within a national representative sample of Norwegian adolescents, this study identified factors related to an adolescent's involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Abstract

During the winter of 1992-93, a national representative sample of Norwegian secondary school pupils completed a self-administered questionnaire at school. Of the adolescents studied, 2.8 percent had received a penal sanction during the last year: 3.7 percent of the boys and 1.9 percent of the girls. The sanctions varied in seriousness, from a ticket fine to a prison sentence. These adolescents had much higher crime participation than other adolescents. In particular, substance-related offenses were of importance. They had a high frequency of alcohol intoxication, and they often had a previous history of police contacts. No links were found to parental social class, but there was an association with parental history of unemployment. Furthermore, numerous other parental risk factors were found, such as marital breakup, low level of care, lack of monitoring, and frequent alcohol intoxication; however, these factors were also associated with the development of crime. When the analysis controlled for crime, alcohol intoxication, and a previous history of police contacts, poor parental monitoring was the only (marginally) significant predictor of penal sanctions. On the other hand, criminal behavior had a highly significant effect as early as the lowest level of participation; this effect increased steeply at higher levels. Alcohol had an effect, but only when the adolescents reported a rather high number of intoxication episodes. Thus, a problematic family background and small resources obviously played a role in the development of criminal behavior among adolescents, but these factors were less significant as direct factors in being caught by the police and punishment by the penal system. The subjects in the sample were still in their mid-teens, however, and it may be that development in late adolescence and young adulthood will take a different course. 5 tables and 38 references