THE CASCADING EFFECTS OF ADOLESCENT GANG INVOLVEMENT ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE*

The short‐run deleterious effects of gang involvement during adolescence have been well researched. However, surprisingly little empirical attention has been devoted to understanding how gang involvement in adolescence influences life chances and criminal behavior in adulthood. Drawing on the life‐course perspective, this study argues that gang involvement will lead to precocious transitions that, in turn, will have adverse consequences on the fulfillment of adulthood roles and statuses in the economic and family spheres. Moreover, problems fulfilling these conventional roles are hypothesized then to lead to sustained involvement in criminal behavior in adulthood. Using data from a sample of males from the Rochester Youth Development Study, results from structural equation models support the indirect link between gang membership and noncriminal and criminal outcomes in adulthood. Specifically, gang involvement leads to an increase in the number of precocious transitions experienced that result in both economic hardship and family problems in adulthood. These failures in the economic and family realms, in turn, contribute to involvement in street crime and/or arrest in adulthood. Implications for the criminal desistance process are discussed.     

FAMILY VIOLENCE,TELEVISION VIEWING HABITS,AND OTHER ADOLESCENT EXPERIENCES RELATED TO VIOLENT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR*

This study employs multivariate analyses with retrospective self-report data to assess the relative importance of certain childhood and adolescent experiences to the commission of violent crimes as an adult. Specifically, the relationship is examined between violent criminal behavior and exposure to family violence, exposure to television violence, school performance, other adolescent activities, and differential reinforcement for previous illegal acts. The exploratory model is based on data collected on 100 male inmates incarcerated for violent crimes and 65 nonincarcerated, nonviolent males matched in terms of age, race, and neighborhood. Findings, from analyses which estimate both additive and interactive effects, indicate that the background experiences associated with violent crime vary depending upon an individual's race. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for further research on the causes of violent criminal behavior.     

Locke on Toleration and Inclusion

As the product of liberalism's first encounter with the theoretical problems posed by legal discrimination and unequal treatment of minority groups, Locke's argument for religious toleration foreshadowed contemporary democratic theory's emphasis on non‐coercive discussion of diverse rights claims and broadly inclusive public deliberations. This study tries to illuminate the democratic dimension of Locke's toleration theory by focusing on his crucial account of the church as a voluntary association. Here Locke presented discursive possibilities for the articulation of diverse beliefs and interests that he believed would not only benefit both society as a whole and the minority religious groups contained in it, but also weave principles of contestation and deliberation into the very fabric of the liberal polity.     

Kant and the Transnational Order: Towards a European Community Jurisprudence*

Abstract. This paper seeks to suggest a jurisprudential grounding for the European Community, and seeks to do so by using a specifically Kantian philosophy of law. Kant's observations on the nature of transnational orders, like so much of his political theory, have tended to be overlooked. To do so is to overlook one of the great political and jurisprudential treasures in modern western thought. It will be suggested that a proper understanding of a Kantian normative order, and the application of such a model to the European Community will serve to dispel much of the confusion and sometimes near histrionic commentaries which have characterised recent attempts to understand the jurisprudence of the Community.     

Two Schools of Legal Idealism: A Positivist Introduction*

Abstract. The author focuses his attention on two schools of legal idealism: the so‐called Sheffield School and the “discourse ethics” school. In order to emphasize the valuable facets of each school, the author analyzes four different points: (1) the claim to correctness as a necessary feature of law, (2) the connection between correctness and validity, (3) the qualifying or classifying status of this connection, (4) and the desirability of adopting the “Radbruch’s Formula.” Finally, the author analyzes the weaknesses of each theory. **