NCJ Number
238931
Journal
.SIAK - International Edition Volume: 2 Dated: 2012 Pages: 68-81
Date Published
2012
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reviews recent German research on violent juvenile delinquents.
Abstract
German research shows that male adolescents engage in a higher level of violence than female adolescents; however, some researchers question whether female adolescent violence has received the same attention from researchers as male adolescent violence. Race/ethnicity has also been shown to correlate with adolescent violent behavior. One study reports that the prevalence of offenses that involve bodily injury and extortion was higher among the children of guest workers than children with German parents and ethnic German repatriate children. This pattern was not observed for robbery, however. Studies have found that being part of a delinquent peer group apparently promotes serious and violent delinquency and aggression. In addition to examining the causes and correlates of youth violence in German studies, changes in youth violence over time have also been examined. According to a trend study conducted in four German cities, the violent crimes examined (robbery, extortion, armed threats, and bodily harm) declined significantly among youth ages 15-17 over the years 1998, 2000, and 2005/2006. The study was based on a survey of students in the ninth grade during those years. This study also presents the findings of the Crime in the Modern City (CRIMOC) panel study. Some predictors identified from violence research were tested for their association with violence prevalence and violence incidence using two multivariate analyses of the data from the CRIMOC study. In the comparative observation of the cross-sections over time, the spontaneous desistance from delinquency was clearly observed. 2 figures, 3 tables, 17 notes and 73 references