Study Of Delinquency Research Articles

The contemporary relevance of “Ragazzi difficili”. Educational dispositives and rehabilitation practices

The work of Piero Bertolini crucially influenced the pedagogical study of juvenile delinquency in Italy. His theoretical contribution changed the dominant interpretative paradigm, which had previously been informed by a psychological/medical and corrective model. By redefining rehabilitation and introducing the key notion of “intentional consciousness” as a basis for helping subjects to take responsibility for their conduct, Bertolini prompted educators to adopt a new perspective and to reconsider their own stance within their educational work with teenage offenders. Although this novel educational focus demands a different emphasis on the young person’s subjectivity, it is not enough to reflect on the “subject”: the importance attributed by Bertolini to “education as a field of experience” means that, in engaging with his “tough kids”, we must also take due account of the “materiality” of education, while remaining within a phenomenological framework. This is one aspect of the contemporary relevance of “Per una pedagogia del ragazzo difficile” (Pedagogy for troublesome juvenile, 1965) for a book that speaks directly and meaningfully to the professional development of today’s new generations of education practitioners.

Polemics on the Etiology of Juvenile Delinquency: A Review of Some Multiple-Perspective Attacks on Travis Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory

Influenced by Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan (1957 [1651]) and Emile Durkheim’s Le Suicide (1966 [1897]), criminologist Travis Hirschi wrote Causes of Delinquency (1969) in which he hypothesized that the more a juvenile is bonded to conventional society, the less likely he will become delinquent. Hirschi described four elements of the “social bond” (attachment, commitment, involvement and belief) and detailed the methodology he used to develop what is commonly referred to as “social bonding theory.” Although this enduring classic work has been seriously tested and highly praised for almost five decades for its classic contribution to the study and prevention of delinquency (and crime), it has also been sharply criticized from many theoretical and methodological perspectives. This paper provides an identification and review of several of those attacks.

An exploratory study of childhood adversity and delinquency among youth in the context of child-to-parent and sibling-to-sibling violence

ABSTRACTVery little research has been conducted on the role of childhood adversity in child-to-parent (CPV) and sibling-to-sibling violence (SSV). Exposure to childhood adversity places adolescents at risk for negative outcomes later in life. This exploratory study examined childhood adversity in adolescents who have committed violence directed toward a family member, analyzing whether there were differences with respect to perpetrator type (CPV and SSV). The sample included 83 adolescents who perpetrated CPV and 44 adolescents who perpetrated SSV. Findings suggest that adolescents who perpetrated violence against CPV and SSV experienced a high amount of childhood adversity. MANOVA results revealed that adolescents who perpetrated CPV and SSV reported significantly different experiences with childhood adversity. Intervention efforts should be tailored to the individualized needs of families impacted by adolescent perpetrated family violence.

Routine activities and adolescent deviance across 28 cultures

PurposeThe current study tested the links between routine activities and deviance across twenty-eight countries, thus, the potential generalizability of the routine activities framework. MethodsData were collected as part of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) from 28 cultures, from seventh, eighth, and ninth grade adolescents (N = 66,859). Routine activities were operationalized as family, peer, solitary, and community activities. Country-level predictors included unemployment rate, prison population, life expectancy, and educational attainment. ResultsThree-level, hierarchical linear modeling (individual, school, and country) was used to test both individual and country-level effects on deviance. Findings supported predictions by the routine activities framework, where routine activities explained 3.1% unique variance in deviance, above and beyond effects by background variables as well as low self-control. Models showed that the effects of family activities, solitary activities, and peer activities were stronger in countries with higher life expectancies. In addition, mean educational attainment increased the effect of solitary activities on deviance, while the effect of family activities on deviance was lower in countries with higher levels of unemployment. ConclusionsThe routine activities framework generalized across these 28 countries in how it explains deviance; some unique country-level effects were found that conditioned person-context links.

Incomplete family as a factor of crime in adolescents and youth

This work is devoted to one of the most important problems of our time, the problem of juvenile delinquency. The study of juvenile delinquency now has a special significance, since in many regions of our country the percentage of crimes committed by adolescents and young people is quite large, the crime rate is on the rise. The article aims to address the problem and the causes of crime. The publication touches on the topic of crime in the youth and adolescent families. Particular attention is paid by the author to the fact that the family is the main factor in the upbringing and socialization of children. Considerable attention is paid to an incomplete family, as a factor and a source of increased criminality. It is important not only to find out what are the causes of the increase in crime in adolescents and youth, but also to understand which preventive measures are the most effective one in combating crime.

"Attracted by the Khaki": War Camps and Wayward Girls in Virginia, 1918-1920

This article examines the reactions of Virginia’s public welfare reformers to fears about the rise of prostitution and sex delinquency near state military training facilities during World War I. By visualizing data derived from the admissions logs of Virginia’s two segregated female reformatories, this article argues that the war provided the needed rationale to fund the expansion of state institutions and their programs to reform delinquent girls. Additionally, maps of the data show that the social engineering that targeted delinquent girls in Virginia spread beyond both its war camps and its cities into the mountains and other rural areas of the state. Scholars studying the history of female delinquency have argued that the vast majority of girls targeted for behavioral rehabilitation in the early twentieth century were typically poor, urban-dwelling daughters of working-class or immigrant parents. Virginia’s predominantly rural setting complicates our understanding of female delinquency as a problem stemming primarily from the challenges of vast urbanization. The case of Virginia suggests that delinquency studies to date may have been too urban in their focus, failing to see that rural communities were also targeting girls for incarceration and reform.

Computer-assisted versus paper-and-pencil self-report delinquency surveys: Results of an experimental study

Self-report delinquency studies among adolescents are frequently conducted as paper-and-pencil studies. With the introduction of computers in schools, a new infrastructure for interviewing students is available. Until now only a few criminological studies deal with the question of whether paper-and-pencil and computer-assisted surveys lead to the same results. This question is analysed using a paper-and-pencil sample of 2033 adolescents and a netbook sample of 610 adolescents. In contrast to other experiments, not only are prevalence rates of delinquent behaviour compared but also prevalence rates of factors influencing delinquent behaviour, correlations between these factors and the behaviour, missing values and evaluations of the survey by the adolescents. Among others, the analyses differentiate between gender and educational groups. All in all, largely no differences were found between the two methods regarding all these topics. The netbook survey obtained the same results as the paper-and-pencil survey.

Crime, crime control and criminology in Germany

This article provides an overview of the situation of crime, crime control and criminology in Germany. Official crime data, victimization studies and self-reported delinquency studies consistently indicate that crime rates have been rather low in recent years, and that the amount of crime has decreased in recent years with respect to violent as well as most non-violent offences. In contrast, increasing right-wing extremist violence and Islamist terrorism are a cause for concern. After a long decline, fear of crime has recently started to increase again for certain offences such as burglary. An increase in punitive attitudes or punishment styles cannot generally be observed, and the prison rate is comparatively low. The situation of criminology in Germany is ambivalent: on the one hand, promising research is being conducted; on the other hand, the implementation of criminology within universities has been cut back.

Process-based model in adolescence. Analyzing police legitimacy and juvenile delinquency within a legal socialization framework

The empirical evidence on the process-based model of self-regulation shows that procedural justice evaluations and the perceived legitimacy of authorities impact law-abiding behavior. However, few studies analyze this theory from the perspective of adolescent legal socialization. The present study aims to examine the process-based model and other socializing agents such as family, school and peers that may have an effect on it. The sample comprised 2041 youths residing in Spain, aged between 13 and 18 years. The data form part of the Third International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-3). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to predict police legitimacy and juvenile delinquency. The results reveal that police legitimacy perceptions are not only influenced by procedural justice, but also by parental monitoring, school attachment, and delinquent peers. Moreover, perceptions of police legitimacy, parental monitoring, and delinquent peers predict juvenile delinquency. These findings complement and add new explanatory factors to the process-based model.

Cultural Links to Adolescent Weapon Carrying and Weapon Use

Although existing cross-cultural studies of adolescence have focused on topics including fighting, bullying, and gangs, little cross-national research has centered on weapon carrying. However, weapon carrying among youth has been identified as a worldwide concern, with significant variation by nation and region. This variation is not well understood. This article investigates the nation-level cultural and contextual determinants of adolescent weapon carrying, specifically focusing on human development, governmental corruption, and a nation’s orientation toward violence. Data are drawn from 27 countries in the International Self-Report Delinquency Study, Wave Two. Analyses use multilevel logistic and ordered logistic regression models to assess associations with weapon carrying frequency, likelihood of carrying a weapon with friends, and age of weapon carrying onset. Results show that residing in a nation with less corruption is associated with a decrease in weapon carrying frequency, a later age of onset, and a lower likelihood of carrying a weapon with friends. Mixed results were found for interactions with a nation’s orientation toward violence. Possible explanations for these results, practical implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

Predicting Self-Control Through Familial and Environmental Factors Among Immigrant and Native-Born Adolescents

The current study addressed a research gap regarding the influence of risk factors in predicting self-control among immigrant and nonimmigrant adolescents. Three research hypotheses were postulated to test the applicability of self-control theory across generational status groups, and the influence of family and environmental factors on youths’ self-control development. The hypotheses were evaluated through hierarchical multiple regression analyses using a school-based sample of 2,056 U.S. adolescents (4% first-generation immigrants, 13% second-generation immigrants, 83% native-born) from the Second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study Dataset. In partial support of self-control theory, the results demonstrated that nearly the same set of variables including family bonding, parental supervision, neighborhood disorganization, school disorganization, and delinquent peer associations significantly predicted self-control for all three generational status groups, but that school climate significantly predicted self-control for only native-born youth. The results also showed that factors across family, neighborhood, school, and peer contexts significantly contributed to immigrant and native-born youths’ self-control. The findings suggest both family and environmental factors shape youths’ self-control. However, the variation in the contribution of those factors on self-control development for immigrant and nonimmigrant youth may be due to cultural differences promoted by acculturation. Implications for future research and delinquency prevention are discussed.

Predicting Delinquency through Psychosocial and Environmental Variables among Immigrant and Native-Born Adolescents

The present quantitative, cross-sectional study addressed a research gap regarding the differential influence of risk factors in predicting delinquency among immigrant and nonimmigrant adolescents. One research question was evaluated using a school-based sample of 2,091 U.S. adolescents (4% first-generation immigrants, 14% second-generation immigrants, 82% native-born) from the Second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study Dataset. Multiple regression analyses demonstrate that delinquency for each generational status group is predicted by different sets of variables. The findings indicate individual factors such as level of self-control for first-generation immigrants, self-control and environmental factors for second-generation immigrants, and a combination of psychosocial, individual, and environmental factors for native-born youth may serve as critical risk factors of delinquency. Implications of these findings for future research and enhancing the cultural responsiveness of interventions are discussed.

Delinkvencinis elgesys ir lyčių skirtumai: situacinio veiksmo teorijos tikrinimas (pagal Tarptautinio jaunimo delinkvencinio elgesio, nuostatų ir viktimizacijos tyrimo (ISRD-3) duomenis)

Šiame straipsnyje, pasitelkiant Tarptautinio jaunimo delinkvencinio elgesio, nuostatų ir viktimizacijos tyrimo (The Third International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-3)1) Lietuvoje duomenis, tiriamos situacinio veiksmo teorijos prielaidos lyties aspektu. Siekiama patikrinti, ar situacinio veiksmo teorijos prielaidos pasitvirtina aiškinant nepilnamečių delinkvencinį elgesį Lietuvoje ir ar šios teorijos prielaidos gali vienodai paaiškinti tiek vaikinų, tiek merginų delinkvencinį elgesį. Gauti tyrimo rezultatai leidžia kalbėti apie tai, kad ne visos situacinio veiksmo teorijos prielaidos buvo patvirtintos, o merginų ir vaikinų delinkvencinį elgesį prognozuoja kiek skirtingi veiksniai.

非行の家族病理( 犯罪・非行と家族)

非行の家族病理( 犯罪・非行と家族)

Violent victimization of youth from a cross-national perspective

The article analyses cross-national variation in violent victimization of youth using data from the second sweep of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study. A multi-level approach is applied which takes into account individual factors as well as the characteristics of the immediate neighbourhood and the context of the given country. The routine activity theory suggested by Cohen and Felson is utilized to derive hypotheses about macro-level factors with the potential to explain differences in violent victimization rates. Specifically, the effects of homicide rates, the Gini coefficient, and the Human Development Index are analysed. The results reveal that the variation in violent victimization rates across countries is only partly attributable to the countries’ heterogeneity with respect to individual characteristics and lifestyle choices of youth, together with neighbourhood features. Furthermore, a significant effect is observed for a country’s Human Development Index, which relates higher levels of development to lower victimization risk, even when individual and neighbourhood characteristics are controlled for.

A Network Analysis of Factors Leading Adolescents to Befriend Substance-Using Peers

Our interest is in the systematic network selection processes that lead adolescents into friendships with substance-using peers. Theory suggests that adolescents with certain risk factors (i.e., weak attachments to conventional society and low self-control) are more likely to select substance-using friends. Our goal is to evaluate whether adolescents with particular risk factors have a greater risk for befriending substance-using peers, while controlling for common network selection processes that can produce the same friendship pattern. These selection processes are important as they help to set the stage for later peer influence on substance use. We use a Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model to examine network change among 1373 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We test whether low self-control and indicators of weak attachments (to family, school, and religion) predict selecting friends engaged in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. We find widespread evidence of the hypothesized friendship pattern within adolescent friendship networks. In most cases this pattern is a product of selection based on the risk factor and substance use, and not attributable to other selection mechanisms. We highlight the need to broaden the study of delinquency to account for how adolescents come to acquire friends who may be negative sources of peer influence. We offer theoretical and methodological insight to this question, ultimately finding that only in limited cases are adolescents with particular risk factors more likely to select friends involved in substance use. We discuss implications for theory and future investigations of peer influence.

The Relationship Between Developmental Trajectories Of Girls’ Offending And Police Charges: Results From The Pittsburgh Girls Study

The current study is based on longitudinal self-reported data from the Pittsburgh Girls Study (N = 2,450). This is the largest follow-up delinquency study of girls in the USA; an inner-city population of girls, between the ages of 11 and 18. We first investigated self-reported developmental trajectories for delinquency, and we then examined the correspondence between these self-reported delinquency trajectories and later police charges. The results show three self-reported delinquency trajectories for the PGS participants: non-offenders, low-rate offenders, and high-rate offenders. Further, the high-rate offenders also differed in kind in addition to in degree as they were more versatile offenders demonstrating notable involvement in both property and violent offending relative to the low-rate offenders. Additional analyses revealed that these self-reported trajectories were significantly associated with the frequency and the odds of official offending according to police charges during this same time period (i.e., ages 11–18). Study limitations and implications for future trajectory-based research with female samples are discussed.

Sexual harassment and emotional and behavioural symptoms in adolescence: stronger associations among boys than girls.

To study the associations between subjection to sexual harassment and emotional (depression) and behavioural (delinquency) symptoms among 14-to-18-year-old adolescents, and gender differences within these associations. 90,953 boys and 91,746 girls aged 14-18 participated in the School Health Promotion Study (SHPS), a school-based survey designed to examine the health, health behaviours, and school experiences of teenagers. Experiences of sexual harassment were elicited with five questions addressing five separate forms of harassment. Depression was measured by the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory and delinquency with a modified version of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) instrument. Data were analysed using cross-tabulations with Chi-square statistics and logistic regression. All sexual harassment experiences studied were associated with both depression (adjusted odds ratios varied from 2.2 to 2.7 in girls and from 2.0 to 5.1 in boys) and delinquency (adjusted odds ratios 3.1-5.0 in girls and 1.7-6.9 in boys). Sexual name-calling had a stronger association with depression and with delinquency in girls (adjusted odds ratios, respectively, 2.4 and 4.2), than in boys (adjusted odds ratios, respectively, 2.0 and 1.7), but otherwise stronger associations with emotional and behavioural symptoms were seen in boys. Subjection to sexual harassment is associated with both emotional and behavioural symptoms in both girls and boys. The associations are mostly stronger for boys. Boys subjected to sexual harassment may feel particularly threatened regarding their masculinity, and there may be less support available for boys traumatised due to sexual harassment.

Examination of the Relative Effects of Neighborhoods and Schools on Juvenile Delinquency: A Multilevel Cross-Classified Model Approach

ABSTRACTThe main purpose of the present study is to examine the relative effects of neighborhoods and schools on adolescents’ delinquency involvement. A multilevel cross-classified modeling approach, which has never been applied to the study of juvenile delinquency, was employed. Analyses of the first wave of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health) data revealed that the effect of neighborhoods on delinquency is about two or three times larger than the effect of schools. Also, each of the social contexts has its own independent effect even after controlling for the other social context. These findings suggest that examination of the simultaneous effects of schools and neighborhoods applying a new analytical technique is important for a better understanding of the causes of juvenile delinquency.

Open access meta-analysis for psychotherapy research.

Meta-analysis has played a key role in psychotherapy research for nearly 40 years. There is now an opportunity for technology to assist with transparent and open meta-analyses. The authors describe an open-access database of effect sizes and a corresponding web application for performing meta-analyses, viewing the database, and downloading effect sizes. The initial databases provide effect sizes for family therapy for delinquency studies and for alliance-outcome correlations in individual psychotherapy. Disciplinary norms about data sharing and openness are shifting. Furthermore, meta-analyses of behavioral interventions have been criticized for lacking transparency and openness. The database and web application are aimed at facilitating data sharing and improving the transparency of meta-analyses. The authors conclude with a discussion of future directions for the database.