TRENDS IN FEMALE DELINQUENCY

National arrest statistics combined with juvenile court, self-report, and field observational data are used to evaluate current conceptions of the changing nature of female delinquency. Adolescent females made arrest gains in the categories of larceny (e.g., shoplifting). liquor law violations (e.g. underage drinking), and runaways. Studies of juvenile gangs show no increase in female violence or gang-related delinquencies while self-report data show that, with the exception of marijuana use and drinking, female delinquency has remained generally stable over the past decade. We conclude that patterns of female delinquency, especially as revealed in nonofficial sources of evidence, have changed very little in recent years and that female delinquency continues to reflect traditional sex roles. The evidence suggests that the Women's Movement has had little or no effect on female delinquency. At the end of the report. we suggest alternative views regarding female delinquency and the forces shaping it.     

青少年犯罪原因解析及其预防

青少年犯罪是中国乃至世界所关注的一个社会问题,因为它不仅关乎一个社会的稳定与安宁,更关系到一个国家的未来。现阶段,青少年犯罪还处于上升趋势,并且还呈现出新的特点．我们必须在分析现阶段青少年犯罪原因和特点的基础上提出针对性的措施,建立有效的青少年犯罪的防控机制,来预防和控制青少年犯罪现象的发生。     

论加强耻感文化教育对防治少年犯罪的价值

导致当前少年犯罪增多的因素有很多,其中一个很重要的因素就是耻感文化教育缺失。因此,探讨加强传统耻感文化教育对防治少年犯罪的积极作用具有非常重要的意义。本文从分析耻感文化教育缺失是少年犯罪增多的重要因素入手,阐述了加强耻感文化教育有利于防治少年犯罪,提出了对少年加强耻感文化教育的方法。     

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.     

Sex,Gender, Multidimensional Value Space,and Social Cultural Resistance—Afrocentrism

This article examines the applicability of the theory of multidimensional value space by Lynn A. Curtis and the theory of social cultural resistance—Afrocentrism by Daniel E. Georges-Abeyie for explaining so-called Black crime and Black juvenile delinquency in general and Black female crime and Black female juvenile delinquency in particular. It notes that the increase in so-called Black crime and Black juvenile delinquency in general and Black female crime and Black female juvenile delinquency in particular may be illusion, not fact. This article notes that perception, at times illusion, may have, and frequently does have, real outcomes, including criminal justice outcomes and delinquency outcomes. It notes that the so-called Black racial monolith is a fiction that race and ethnicity are distinct entities, as are sex and gender that the so-called Black racial monolith consists of distinct Black ethnic identities. The article notes that Black crime, female and male, and adult and juvenile delinquency may be manifestations of primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and dyssocial psychopathy, as noted in the theory of social cultural resistance—Afrocentrism.     

Gender differences in effects of teen courts on delinquency: A theory-guided evaluation

Teen Court (TC) is an innovative juvenile diversion program that has spread rapidly across the United States in recent years. Despite its popularity, rigorous research on TC effectiveness is lacking. This study used data from a recent randomized trial of the effectiveness of TCs to examine gender differences and mediators anticipated by labeling theory. The study found gender differences in the effect of TC on delinquency. TC was found to increase delinquency for males and to have no effect for females. Implications related to the findings are discussed.     

无聊症候群与青少年犯罪

随着青少年犯罪率的猛增,青少年犯罪问题越来越受到社会及学术界的关注。同时青少年无聊症候群作为一个新兴的研究热点进入了人们的视野。通过对无聊的研究及无聊与青少年犯罪之间的相关研究,发现无聊可能从情绪、药物成瘾等多方面影响青少年的犯罪行为。     

Effects of Hurricane Katrina and Other Adverse Life Events on Adolescent Female Offenders: A Test of General Strain Theory

This study tested Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) by examining the roles of anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping in mediating the relationship between strain and three outcomes (serious delinquency, minor delinquency, and continued involvement in the juvenile justice system) among adolescent female offenders (N = 261). Strains consisted of adverse life events and exposure to Hurricane Katrina. Greater exposure to Hurricane Katrina was directly related to serious delinquency and maladaptive coping. Hurricane Katrina also had an indirect effect on minor delinquency and Post-Katrina juvenile justice involvement mediated through maladaptive coping. Adverse life events were associated with increased anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping. Anger mediated the relationship between adverse life events and serious delinquency. Anxiety mediated the relationship between adverse life events and minor delinquency. Maladaptive coping strategies were associated with minor delinquency and juvenile justice involvement. Findings lend support to GST.     

当前青少年犯罪成因及对策研究——以东莞市青少年犯罪为研究模本

目前我国正处于社会转型时期,存在诸多容易诱发青少年犯罪的不良因素,青少年犯罪的形势依然严峻。作为新兴制造业城市的代表,东莞独特的经济结构和人口构成使其青少年犯罪在数量、主体、类型等方面具有明显特征。"东莞式"青少年犯罪既有着青少年自身原因,也有着家庭与学校教育缺位以及不良文化冲击的影响,更有着产业结构形成的外来人口盲目涌入而造成的城市不适应性方面的因素。     

Delinquent networks in Sweden

This study covers all persons under the age of 20 who were suspected of having committed a crime in the Swedish city of Borlänge (approx. 50,000 inhabitants) during the years of 1975–1977. The juveniles (575 in all) were followed up during a total of 10 years. A sociometric method based on police data was developed for studying co-offending patterns. The method was validated through a smaller number of interviews with the juveniles. This study shows that a large majority of the most delinquency active juveniles was associated with a large network of delinquent relations. The stronger the connection to this network, the more substantial, serious, and long-lasting were the delinquency and other asociality. This network also seemed to be very important with regard to the reproduction of juvenile delinquency in the municipality. At the end of the follow-up period juvenile delinquency in Borlänge had basically the same character as at the beginning, even though the juveniles included in the network were, to a large extent, new. The young offenders who were central figures in the new network had successively learned their roles from the network's old members.This paper is based on results published initially in a report entitledDelinquent Networks (Sarnecki, 1986).     

Correlates and predictors of juvenile delinquency in Ghana

Research on juvenile delinquency has focused almost exclusively on western societies with the consequence that very little is known about delinquency and its associated factors outside this context. The aim of this study is to investigate correlates and predictors of juvenile delinquency in Ghana, a developing country. Analysis of data from a sample of 264 boys showed theft as the most common juvenile offense in Ghana. Individual factors were strongly related to juvenile delinquency compared with family factors and perceived neighborhood condition. The best predictor of juvenile delinquency was academic difficulties. Most childrearing variables failed to predict delinquency in Ghana. The findings indicate not only similarities but also important differences particularly with regard to conceptualization and relation between parental childrearing and delinquency.     

少年违法犯罪生成的社会学分析

少年违法犯罪现象的日益严重引起了全社会的共同关注,从理论上分析和理解少年犯罪的成因是应对和处理少年犯罪的基础。本文从社会学宏观的角度分析了少年社会化过程中社会文化、社会互动以及社会依恋与少年违法犯罪生成的关系,以期揭示少年违法犯罪形成的原因,从而有助于保护少年的健康成长。     

惯常行为理论视野下青少年犯罪的犯罪学因果关系

我国青少年犯罪问题是困扰全社会的难题,需要运用各种措施对其进行治理。从青少年犯罪的类型特征来看,运用犯罪被害理论中的惯常行为理论进行调查被害,提出具体的被害预防措施来减少青少年犯罪是可行的。但这一调查必须以青少年犯罪的犯罪学因果关系的设立为前提。在惯常行为理论的视野下,青少年犯罪的犯罪学因果关系的成立必须具备特定的条件,这些条件也是通过实证调查证明这一因果关系的变量。     

Preventing Juvenile Delinquency in Taiwan

The people and government of Taiwan have made special efforts to curb the increasing juvenile delinquency of recent years. This report provides the most current statistics concerning juvenile delinquency, and describes the prevention programs administered by the different branches of the government and other organizations. Based on cultural tradition, the programs are mostly primary prevention directed at the general population and focus on improving family relationships.     

Ten Ways to Reduce Detention Population

“Juvenile detention is regularly overlooked, maligned, and misunderstood. Its embattled condition is best described as severely abused and neglected. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded and largely ignored.”¹ “Detention caseloads increased 38 percent between 1987 and 1996. The increase in the number of delinquency cases handled by the courts has driven the growth in the number of juveniles in the detention system. In 1987, 1.2 million delinquency cases were disposed of in juvenile courts. By 1996, this number had risen 49 percent, to almost 1.8 million. This increase in the volume of juveniles in the justice system resulted in a 38 percent increase in the number of delinquency cases that involved the use of detention. The number of juvenile delinquency cases detained in 1996 was 89,000 more than in 1987. This has resulted in increased demand for juvenile detention bed space across the country.”² “Changes in statutes allowing more detainable offenses have significantly increased the number of youths admitted to regional detention centers.”³ “Although minority youth constituted about 32 percent of the youth population in the country in 1995, they represented 68 percent of the juvenile population in secure detention…⁴     

About the authors

In recent years, afterschool programs have received support for their potential to reduce juvenile delinquency and victimization. This support stems largely from reports based on police incident data indicating that juvenile crime and victimization peak during the afterschool hours. However, prior studies of victimization surveys and self‐reports of crime suggest that delinquency is more elevated during school hours. Utilizing self‐report data from a sample of juveniles participating in an evaluation of afterschool programs in Maryland, this study shows that juvenile victimization and delinquency peak during the school hours, while substance use peaks during the weekend. Disaggregating by offense reveals, however, that the more serious violent offenses are elevated during the afterschool hours, while simple assault offenses are most elevated during school hours. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A test of Hirschi's social bonding theory: juvenile delinquency in the high schools of Ankara, Turkey

Travis Hirschi's social bonding theory has mostly been tested in the West. In this study, the theory is tested on juvenile delinquency in a developing country, Turkey. Data were gathered from 1,710 high school students in Ankara by using two-stage stratified cluster sampling. Factor analysis was employed to determine the dimensions of juvenile delinquency (assault, school delinquency, and public disturbance), and regression analysis was used to test the theory. Similar to some other traditional societies, the social bonding theory plays an important role in the explanation of juvenile delinquency in Turkey.     

Effects of Delinquency on Alcohol use Among Juveniles in Europe: Results from the ISRD-2 Study

The existence of a correlation between the use of alcohol and juvenile delinquency has long been acknowledged. In order to evaluate the strength and the characteristics of this association in various cultural contexts, we analysed data collected as part of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study- 2 (ISRD-2). The sample consisted of of young people (N?=?57,771) of both sexes, aged between 12 and 16 years, in 25 European countries. After estimating the prevalence of alcohol consumption among young people involved in property offences and violent offences, we assessed the degree to which these types of delinquency were associated with the use of alcohol in the 25 countries. In addition, we attempted to ascertain the influence of belonging to various types of deviant groups on alcohol use. To this end, we used a Mokken Scale Analysis. With this method, we constructed a scale of “gangness” and correlated the scores with alcohol use among juveniles. The results yielded by the present study indicate that alcohol use and delinquency are closely related with one another. In particular, we observed that alcohol consumption seems to be strongly influenced by involvement in delinquent activities. The nature and characteristics of these relationships suggest that the associations between alcohol use and delinquency are reciprocal rather than one-directional. Consequently, alcohol use constitutes a risk factor for criminal behaviour. Likewise, involvement in delinquency increase the risk of alcohol consumption and, especially, of alcohol abuse.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Link Between Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency in Mexican American School-Age Youth

Students with Learning Disabilities (LD) are a heterogeneous group of children who share the common characteristic of school difficulty and failure. More students in American schools are identified as Learning Disabled than any other type of disability under current federal law. The present study is a longitudinal survey that was designed to (a) test four hypothesized mediating links within the School Failure Rationale connecting juvenile delinquency (JD) to LD, and (b) apply the School Failure Rationale in the context of a low Socioeconomic Status, all-Mexican American group of youngsters (n = 75; mean CA = 12.9; IQ = 88). A path analysis was conducted to determine significance between juvenile delinquency and the mediating variables of self-esteem, peer delinquency, school dissatisfaction, and locus of control. Results indicate that all of the mediating variables except self-esteem played either a direct or indirect role in self-reported delinquency in year one or in year three of this study.     

Fear and anxiety at the basis of adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors: a case study

Juvenile delinquency is rarely associated with success in psychotherapeutic treatment. Up until now, few data have been recorded regarding possible overlaps or common features of conduct disorders with anxiety disorders. This case report of a delinquent adolescent's presenting an obsessive-compulsive disorder discusses possible underlying common features of externalizing and internalizing disorders, mainly in terms of fear and anxiety regulation. The successful psychotherapy is discussed with regard to efficient psychological assessment and treatment of delinquent adolescents, and it underlies the importance of detailed analysis of psychopathology in cases of juvenile delinquency.