NCJ Number
50812
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 9 Issue: 4 Dated: (JUNE 1978) Pages: 407-432
Date Published
1978
Length
26 pages
Annotation
SOCIAL-CLASS DELINQUENCY THEORIES ARE EXAMINED TO DETERMINE THE RELEVANCE OF CLASS DISTINCTION AS IT IS RELATED TO DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENT.
Abstract
A REVIEW OF SELF-REPORT TECHNIQUES UTILIZED DURING THE LATE 1950'S AND EARLY 1960'S IN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES CONCERNING CRIME CAUSATION INDICATED VIRTUALLY NO CLASS DIFFERENCES RELATED TO DELINQUENCY INVOLVEMENT. THE PREVAILING IDEA THAT CRIME WAS PRIMARILY AN ACTIVITY OF THE LOWER CLASSES WAS QUESTIONED, AND A STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO TEST THE WISDOM OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASS IN CRIME INVOLVEMENT. THE SAMPLE USED IN THIS STUDY WAS DRAWN FROM 11 PUBLIC JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF WESTERN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY IN THE SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND (CALIFORNIA) METROPOLITAN AREA. THE FINAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 4,077 MALES AND FEMALES IN GRADES 7 THROUGH 12. THE PRESENT STUDY LOOKS ONLY AT THE 1,588 WHITE BOYS IN THE SAMPLE. THE MEASURE OF SOCIAL CLASS WAS DETERMINED BY THE OCCUPATION AND EDUCATION OF THE BOYS' FATHERS. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM SCHOOL AND POLICE RECORDS. SELF-REPORTING QUESTIONNAIRES, WHICH CONSISTED IN PART OF A DELINQUENCY INDEX SCORED BY THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE RESPONSES AND INDICATORS OF INVOLVEMENT WITH PEERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS, WERE GIVEN TO THE STUDENTS. ALTHOUGH THE MAJOR VARIABLE USED TO EXPLAIN INCIDENCE OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR WAS THE STRENGTH OF TIES TO CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS, TIES TO DEVIANT PEERS WERE ALSO STUDIED. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT MIDDLE-CLASS BOYS ENGAGE IN DELINQUENT ACTIVITIES IN ORDER TO ASSERT THEIR MALENESS WAS EXAMINED AND TESTED. THIS THEORY WAS BASED UPON THE IDEA THAT FAMILY VARIABLES, PARTICULARLY THOSE DEALING WITH REJECTION OF THE MOTHER AND TIME SPENT WITH THE FATHER, SHOULD BE RELATED TO SOCIAL CLASS, AND THEREFORE, DELINQUENCY. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE WAS USED TO TEST FOR THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF SOCIAL-CLASS LEVEL BY COMPARING THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP ITEMS AND DELINQUENCY WITHIN OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES. THE IDEA THAT DELINQUENCY OF BOYS FROM DIFFERENT CLASSES REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT RESPONSE TO DIFFERENT PROBLEMS WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE DATA. ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS WHICH STATED THAT PARTICIPATION IN NORMAL YOUTH CULTURE ACTIVITIES WILL LEAD TO INVOLVEMENT IN DELINQUENCY WAS DISPROVED. A TEST OF THE THEORY THAT CLASS DIFFERENCES EXIST IN THE TYPE OF DELINQUENCY COMMITTED BY BOYS FROM DIFFERENT CLASSES WAS CONDUCTED; THE DATA SHOWED A NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN FATHER'S OCCUPATION AND SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENCY AND BETWEEN FATHER'S OCCUPATION AND RECORDS OF OFFICIAL DELINQUENCY, INDICATING THAT NONE OF THE VARIANCE IN DELINQUENCY IS EXPLAINED BY SOCIAL CLASS. THUS, THE CLASS-BASED THEORIES TESTED WERE NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND SUCH THEORETICAL COMPARTMENTALIZATION MAY NOT BE NECESSARY. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE QUESTION OF BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES IN THE CAUSATION OF DEVIANCE SHOULD BE AN OPEN ONE. A GENERAL THEORY OF DELINQUENCY INVOLVEMENT EXTENDING ACROSS CLASSES MAY BE POSSIBLE. TABULAR DATA; NOTES EXPLAINING CATEGORIES, DELINQUENCY INDICES, AND INVOLVEMENT INDICATORS; AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. SURVEY INSTRUMENTS ARE NOT INCLUDED. (JCP)