NCJ Number
188411
Editor(s)
Joseph G. Weis,
Robert D. Crutchfield,
George S. Bridges
Date Published
2001
Length
672 pages
Annotation
This anthology contains readings on the history and definitions of delinquency, the observation and measurement of delinquency, the distribution and correlates of delinquency, the interdependence of theory and practice in understanding what causes delinquency and how to control it, and juvenile justice reform.
Abstract
The readings are by authors from different academic disciplines, with different theoretical and ideological orientations, and with diverse ideas on the best ways to prevent and control juvenile delinquency in American society. Four papers pertain to the history and definitions of delinquency. They focus on the portrayal of the "stubborn" child as a deviant, the rise of the child-saving movement, and juvenile court law in Cook County (Illinois) in 1899. Four papers on the observation and measurement of delinquency consider the prevalence, incidence, rates, and other descriptive measures of delinquency; the accuracy of official and self-report measures of delinquency; and chronic offenders as missing cases in self-report delinquency research. The 10 papers on the distribution and correlates of delinquency pertain to age, sex, and versatility; race; class; family; school; peers; gangs; and drugs. The 31 papers on what causes delinquency and how it is controlled consider the interdependence of theory and practice in the following areas: psychological control, early identification, and intervention; risk factors and prevention; ecology, enculturation, and community organization; cultural deviance and gang work; social learning and behavior modification; opportunity, strain, and rehabilitation/reintegration; social control, social development, and prevention; and labeling, diversion, and radical nonintervention. Thirteen papers on juvenile justice reform consider judicial reform, the legal legacy, the system legacy, the program legacy, and prospects for reform. 210-item bibliography, a subject index, data analysis exercises, and a data diskette