Social Class and Delinquency in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

In advanced industrial societies, the probability of delinquent status is associated with the lowest social strata, and the probability of lower-class status is associated with the most serious forms of delinquency. Otherwise, the class-crime relationship is a myth. Class-based theories are more likely to find empirical support in less developed societies where people are classified at birth into groups with distinct views of life, distinct values, and distinct socialization practices. Since education plays a part in minimizing these differences, access to the school system also plays a part in this minimization. In Korea, official statistics indicate that criminal behavior is largely confined to the lower class. The findings of a self-report study of 418 middle and high school youth in Seoul showed that access to the regular school system tended to reduce involvement of lower class boys in delinquent behavior. Apart from access to the educational system, the probability of delinquent status is associated with lower-class status, and the probability of lower-class status is associated with criminal or delinquent status. Thus, class remains an important factor in the explanation of delinquency when educational opportunity is lacking.