EXPLAINING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY - CHANGING THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE (FROM CRITICAL ISSUES IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 1980, BY DAVID SHICHOR AND DELOS H KELLY SEE NCJ-65344)

• NCJ Number: 65345
• Author(s): D C GIBBONS
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 18 pages
• Corporate Author: Lexington Books
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THEORIES ON THE CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ARE REVIEWED OVERTIME WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL FACTORS.

Abstract

ALTHOUGH MUCH BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH HAS BEEN DISCREDITED, RECENT STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DELINQUENCY AND LOW INTELLIGENCE RESULTING IN POOR PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL. ARGUMENTS WHICH RELATE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR SOLELY TO PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS HAVE NOT BEEN CONVINCING. THUS, SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLARATIONS HAVE DOMINATED ANALYSES OF DELINQUENCY. THE PIONEER STUDIES OF CLIFFORD SHAW AND HENRY D. MCKAY IN CHICAGO AND OTHER CITIES DURING THE 1920'S AND 1930'S VIEWED DELINQUENCY AS AN ESTABLISHED TRADITION IN POOR URBAN AREAS BECAUSE OF THE SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION EXPERIENCED BY RECENTLY IMMIGRATED FAMILIES. SUBSEQUENT THEORIES CONTENDED THAT DELINQUENCY WAS A RESPONSE TO LOWER-CLASS STATUS WITH ITS OWN NORMS AND VALUES WHICH INSULATED YOUTHS FROM SOCIAL OR ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION. THESE THEORIES ASSUMED THAT ARREST AND COURT STATISTICS ACCURATELY MEASURED JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. SOME CRITICS, HOWEVER, CLAIM THAT MOST AMERICAN YOUNGSTERS MISBEHAVE DURING ADOLESCENCE AND THAT ONLY A SMALL PROPORTION ARE LABELED AS DELINQUENT BY POLICE AND SOCIAL AGENCIES BECAUSE OF RACE OR SOCIAL CLASS. ACCORDING TO SOCIAL CONTROL THEORISTS, DELINQUENTS HAVE POOR SELF-IMAGES AND WEAK TIES WITH PARENTS, PEERS, OR THE COMMUNITY AND CAN BE DIVERTED FROM UNLAWFUL BEHAVIOR IF THESE ELEMENTS ARE IMPROVED. OTHER STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS, NEGATIVE SCHOOL EXPERIENCES, AND STITUTIONAL PRESSURES WHICH INFLUENCE DELINQUENCY. MARXIST CRIMINOLOGISTS VIEW THE LACK OF EMPLOYMENT FOR ADOLESCENTS IN AN INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETY AS A MAJOR FACTOR IN DELINQUENCY WHICH EXACERBATES PROBLEMS OF PEER PRESSURES AND DEGRADING SCHOOL EXPERIENCES. THE DIVERGENCE OF OPINIONS CONCERNING DELIQUENCY PROVIDES LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS LOOKING TO SOCIOLOGISTS AND CRIMINOLOGISTS FOR ASSISTANCE IN COMBATING DELINQUENCY. FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (MJM)