Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control Book

Pt. 1 The Nature and Extent of Delinquency 1

1 What Is Delinquency and How Does It Differ from Adult Crime? 3

2 How Is Delinquency Measured? 19

3 How Much Delinquency Is There and Is Delinquency Increasing? 37

4 Who Is Most Likely to Engage in Delinquency? 57

Pt. 2 The Causes of Delinquency: Theories 83

5 What Is a Theory and How Do We Test Theories? 87

6 Strain Theory: Does Strain or Stress Cause Delinquency? 104

7 Social Learning Theory: Do Individuals Learn to Be Delinquent from Others? 116

8 Control Theory: Do Weak Controls Result in Delinquency? 131

9 Labeling Theory: Does the Reaction to Delinquency Lead to Further Delinquency? 145

10 The Life Course: How Do We Explain Different Patterns of Offending over the Course of a Lifetime? 162

11 Is Delinquency More Likely in Certain Types of Situations? 175

12 Group Differences in Delinquency: How Can We Explain Group Differences, Particularly Community Differences in Rates of Delinquency? 189

Pt. 3 The Causes of Delinquency: Research 209

13 Individual Traits: What Impact Do Individual Traits Have on Delinquency? 211

14 The Family: What Impact Does the Family Have on Delinquency? 223

15 The School: What Impact Does the School Have on Delinquency? 240

16 Delinquent Peers and Gangs: What Impact Do Delinquent Peer Groups and Gangs Have on Delinquency? 251

17 Other Social Influences: What Effects Do Religion, Work, the Mass Media, Drugs, and Guns Have on Delinquency? 273

18 Pulling It All Together: Is It Possible to Construct a General Theory of Delinquency? 292

Pt. 4 The Control and Prevention of Delinquency 309

19 Policies and Programs: HowIs It Determined if a Policy or Program Is Effective in Controlling or Preventing Delinquency? 313

20 The Police: What Do the Police Do to Control Delinquency? 325

21 Juvenile Court and Corrections: What Do the Juvenile Court and Juvenile Correctional Agencies Do to Control Delinquency? 343

22 The Juvenile Justice System: Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against Certain Groups in Its Efforts to Control Delinquency? 368

23 The Strategies of Deterrence and Incapacitation: Is It Possible to Control Delinquency by Punishing More Offenders and Punishing Them More Severely? 380

24 The Strategies of Prevention and Rehabilitation: Is It Possible to Prevent Delinquency and to Rehabilitate Delinquents? 404

25 What Should We Do to Reduce Delinquency? 432

References 439

Photo Credits 517

Name Index 518

Subject Index 528