Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control

An essential resource for exploring juvenile delinquency in the twenty-first century, Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control, Fourth Edition, offers a clear and concise overview of the latest theories and research on the causes and control of delinquency. Instead of attempting to provide a sweeping view of the entire subject, Robert Agnew and new coauthor Timothy Brezina organize the text around three major questions: What is the nature and extent of delinquency? What are the causes of delinquency? What strategies should we employ to control delinquency? These thought-provoking questions draw students into the text, challenging them to use major theories to explain the basic facts about delinquency, to understand the research on its causes, and to develop and evaluate programs and policies for its control. FEATURES * Rich pedagogy including in-chapter activities, review questions, lists of key terms, discussion questions, excerpts of controversial cases, and lively "Teaching Aids" exercises * Coverage of leading theories-strain, social learning, social- and self-control, labeling, and situational * Discussion of agencies-including the police, the juvenile court, and juvenile corrections-and of recent efforts to increase their effectiveness * Discussion of strategies for controlling delinquency: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and prevention NEW TO THE FOURTH EDITION * New coauthor, Timothy Brezina * New "Special Topics" boxes that discuss and analyze current events, controversies, and case studies related to juvenile delinquency * Expanded coverage of youth crime, school violence, punishment and deterrence, zero-tolerance policies in U.S. schools, the role of personal agency, adolescent drug use, rehabilitation and desistance from delinquency, and the impact of media violence * Fully updated with the latest research and statistics SUPPLEMENTS * For adopting instructors: Updated Instructor's Resource CD, prepared by Beverly R. Crank and Stephanie J. Funk, containing a Test Bank; an Instructor's Manual with learning objectives, chapter outlines, teaching tips, multiple-choice questions, and short-answer and essay-/discussion-questions; and PowerPoint-based lecture slides * Companion Website (www.oup.com/us/agnew) featuring a downloadable Student Study Guide, learning objectives, a sample course syllabus, updated weblinks, and additional information about the book and its authors

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR INSTRUCTORS ; AN OVERVIEW OF THIS BOOK ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; PART 1: THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF DELINQUENCY ; 1. WHAT IS DELINQUENCY AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM ADULT CRIME? ; We View Juvenile Delinquents Differently than Adult Criminals ; We Treat Juvenile Delinquents Differently than Adult Criminals ; Older, Serious Juvenile Offenders as an Exception ; How Can We Explain the Invention of Juvenile Delinquency? ; 2. HOW IS DELINQUENCY MEASURED? ; Official Statistics-Especially Arrest Data from the Police ; Self-Report Data ; Overcoming the Preceding Problems ; Victimization Data ; 3. HOW MUCH DELINQUENCY IS THERE AND IS DELINQUENCY INCREASING? ; How Much Delinquency Is There? ; Is Juvenile Delinquency Increasing? ; How Can We Explain the Dramatic Decline in Serious Crime Since the Mid-1990s? ; 4. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN DELINQUENCY? ; IS SOCIAL CLASS RELATED TO DELINQUENCY? ; ARE RACE AND ETHNICITY RELATED TO DELINQUENCY? ; IS AGE RELATED TO DELINQUENCY? ; IS GENDER RELATED TO DELINQUENCY? ; ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DELINQUENTS? ; PART 2: THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY: THEORIES ; 5. WHAT IS A THEORY AND HOW DO WE TEST THEORIES? ; What Is a Theory? ; How Do We Test Theories of Delinquency (or Determine Whether Some Factor Causes Delinquency)? ; 6. STRAIN THEORY: DOES STRAIN OR STRESS CAUSE DELINQUENCY? ; What Are the Major Types of Strain? ; What Impact Does Strain Have on the Juvenile? ; Why Are Some Juveniles More Likely to Cope with Strain Through Delinquency? ; 7. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY: DO INDIVIDUALS LEARN TO BE DELINQUENT FROM OTHERS? ; Juveniles Learn to Engage in Delinquency from Others ; The Differential Reinforcement of Delinquency ; Beliefs Favorable to Delinquency ; The Imitation of Delinquent Models ; 8. CONTROL THEORY: DO WEAK CONTROLS RESULT IN DELINQUENCY? ; Why Do Juveniles Conform (and Sometimes Deviate)? ; How Is Control Theory Similar to and Different from Social Learning Theory? ; What Are the Major Types of Control (or Restraints to Delinquency)? ; 9. LABELING THEORY: DOES THE REACTION TO DELINQUENCY LEAD TO FURTHER DELINQUENCY? ; Background on Labeling Theory ; 10. THE LIFE COURSE: HOW DO WE EXPLAIN DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF OFFENDING OVER THE COURSE OF A LIFETIME? ; Why Do Most Individuals Increase Their Levels of Offending During Adolescence? ; Why Do a Small Percentage of Individuals Offend at High Rates over Much of Their Lives? ; 11. IS DELINQUENCY MORE LIKELY IN CERTAIN TYPES OF SITUATIONS? ; What Types of Situations Are Most Conducive to Delinquency? ; What Factors Influence the Likelihood That Predisposed Offenders Will Encounter Situations Conducive to Delinquency? ; 12. GROUP DIFFERENCES IN DELINQUENCY: HOW CAN WE EXPLAIN GROUP DIFFERENCES, PARTICULARLY COMMUNITY DIFFERENCES IN RATES OF DELINQUENCY? ; Why Are Crime Rates Higher in Some Communities than in Others? ; What Are the Characteristics of High-Crime Neighborhoods and Cities? ; Are Communities with Characteristics Conducive to Crime Becoming More Common? ; Why Are Deprived Communities Higher in Crime? ; Overview of the Leading Theories of Delinquency ; PART 3: THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY: RESEARCH ; 13. INDIVIDUAL TRAITS: WHAT IMPACT DO INDIVIDUAL TRAITS HAVE ON DELINQUENCY? ; Are Juveniles with Certain Traits More Likely to Engage in Delinquency? ; Why Are Some Individuals More Likely than Others to Possess These Traits? ; 14. THE FAMILY: WHAT IMPACT DOES THE FAMILY HAVE ON DELINQUENCY? ; The Effect of the Family on Delinquency ; Family Structure ; Parental and Sibling Crime/Deviance ; The Quality of Family Relationships ; Parental Socialization ; Why Do Some Parents Employ Poor Parenting Practices? ; 15. THE SCHOOL: WHAT IMPACT DOES THE SCHOOL HAVE ON DELINQUENCY? ; What School Experiences Contribute to Delinquency? ; School Characteristics and Delinquency ; 16. DELINQUENT PEERS AND GANGS: WHAT IMPACT DO DELINQUENT PEER GROUPS AND GANGS HAVE ON DELINQUENCY? ; What Impact Do Delinquent Peers Have on Delinquency? ; What Impact Do Gangs Have on Delinquency? ; 17. OTHER SOCIAL INFLUENCES: WHAT EFFECTS DO RELIGION, WORK, THE MASS MEDIA, DRUGS, AND GUNS HAVE ON DELINQUENCY? ; Does Religion Reduce Delinquency? ; Does Work Reduce Delinquency Among Juveniles Attending School? ; Does Mass Media Violence Cause Violence Among Juveniles? ; Do Drugs Increase the Likelihood of Delinquency? ; Do Guns Increase the Likelihood of Delinquency? ; 18. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT A GENERAL THEORY OF DELINQUENCY? ; A Brief Review of the Theories and Research on the Causes of Delinquency ; A General Theory of Delinquency ; Explaining Patterns of Offending over the Life Course and Group Differences in Delinquency ; Using the General Theory to Explain Why Males Have Higher Rates of Delinquency than Females ; The Special Role of Sexual Abuse in Explaining Serious Female Offending ; An Overview of the General Theory of Delinquency ; PART 4: THE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF DELINQUENCY ; 19. POLICIES AND PROGRAMS: HOW IS IT DETERMINED IF A POLICY OR PROGRAM IS EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING OR PREVENTING DELINQUENCY? ; The Experimental Model for Determining Program Effectiveness ; 20. THE POLICE: WHAT DO THE POLICE DO TO CONTROL DELINQUENCY? ; How Do the Police Operate? ; How Effective Is Preventive Patrol? ; How Can the Police Increase Their Effectiveness? ; 21. JUVENILE COURT AND CORRECTIONS: WHAT DO THE JUVENILE COURT AND JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL AGENCIES DO TO CONTROL DELINQUENCY? ; What Happens When Juveniles Are Sent to Juvenile Court? ; Juvenile Corrections: What Happens to Juveniles Who Receive a Disposition or Sentence from the Court? ; An Overview of the Juvenile Justice Process ; 22. THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM: DOES THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CERTAIN GROUPS IN ITS EFFORTS TO CONTROL DELINQUENCY? ; Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against African Americans? ; Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against the Poor and Against Males or Females? ; 23. THE STRATEGIES OF DETERRENCE AND INCAPACITATION: IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONTROL DELINQUENCY BY PUNISHING MORE OFFENDERS AND PUNISHING THEM MORE SEVERELY? ; Are the Juvenile Court and Correctional System Tough Enough in Dealing with Offenders, Especially Serious Offenders? ; Efforts to Get Tough with Serious Offenders ; How Effective Are These Get-Tough Measures, and What Can Be Done to Increase Their Effectiveness? ; 24. THE STRATEGIES OF PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION: IS IT POSSIBLE TO PREVENT DELINQUENCY AND TO REHABILITATE DELINQUENTS? ; A Brief History of Prevention and Rehabilitation ; How Effective Are Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs? ; What Are the Characteristics of Successful Prevention/Rehabilitation Programs in Different Areas? ; Selected Other Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs ; The Critical Role of Larger Social Forces in Preventing Delinquency ; 25. WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO REDUCE DELINQUENCY? ; We Should Place More Emphasis on Prevention and Rehabilitation ; We Should Hold Juveniles Accountable for Their Behavior and Protect the Community ; REFERENCES ; PHOTO CREDITS ; NAME INDEX ; SUBJECT INDEX