Juvenile Delinquency Causes and Control

by Agnew, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780195330366
• ISBN10: 0195330366
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Second Edition of Agnew's popular text is thoroughly updated. The coverage of delinquency theories is expanded, more examples are provided, and a Teaching Aids section appears at the end of each chapter. The four sections of this text examine: 1. The nature and extent of delinquency. Includes chapters on the nature and origins of the juvenile justice system; the extent of and trends in delinquency, including reasons for the recent decline in delinquency; and the characteristics of delinquents. 2. The major theories of delinquency. Discusses strain, social learning, control, and labeling theories; as well as efforts to use these theories to explain patterns of offending over the life course, why delinquency is more likely in some situations than others, and why some groups and communities have higher rates of delinquency than others (e.g., why males have higher rates of delinquency than females). 3. The major research on the causes of delinquency. Includes research on the relationship between delinquency and biological factors, individual traits, family factors, school experiences, delinquent peer groups and gangs, the mass media, religion, work, drugs, and guns. 4. The efforts of the police, juvenile court, and juvenile correctional agencies to control delinquency. Examines the effectiveness of these agencies, ways to increase their effectiveness, and the extent to which they discriminate against certain groups. Also, examines four general strategies for controlling delinquency--the "get tough" strategies of deterrence and incapacitation, and the strategies of rehabilitation and prevention.

Table of Contents

The Nature and Extent of Delinquency

What Is Delinquency and How Does It Differ From Adult Crime?

How Is Delinquency Measured?

How Much Delinquency Is There and Is Delinquency Increasing?

Who Is Most Likely to Engage in Delinquency?

The Causes of Delinquency: Theories

What Is a Theory and How Do We Test Theories?

Strain Theory

Does Strain or Stress Cause Delinquency?

Social Learning Theory

Do Individuals Learn to Be Delinquent From Others?

Control Theory

Do Weak Controls Result in Delinquency?

Labeling Theory

Does the Reaction to Delinquency Lead to Further Delinquency?

How Do We Explain Different Patterns of Offending Over the Life Course?

Is Delinquency More Likely in Certain Types of Situations?

How Can We Explain Group Differences in Delinquency

Particularly Community Differences in Rates of Delinquency?

The Causes of Delinquency

Research

Individual Traits

What Impact Do Individual Traits Have on Delinquency?

The Family

What Impact Does the Family Have on Delinquency?

The School

What Impact Does the School Have on Delinquency?

Delinquent Peers and Gangs

What Impact Do Delinquent Peer Groups and Gangs Have on Delinquency?

What Effects Do Religion, Work, the Mass Media, Drugs, and Guns Have on Delinquency?

Pulling It All Together

Is It Possible to Construct a General Theory of Delinquency?

The Control and Prevention of Delinquency

How Is It Determined if a Policy or Program Is Effective in Controlling or Preventing Delinquency?

The Police

What Do the Police Do to Control Delinquency?

Juvenile Court and Corrections

What Do the Juvenile Court and Juvenile

Correctional Agencies Do to Control Delinquency?

Does the Juvenile Justice System Discriminate Against Certain Groups in Its Efforts to Control Delinquency?

Is It Possible to Control Delinquency by Punishing More Offenders and Punishing

Them More Severely?

The Strategies of Deterrence and Incapacitation

Is It Possible to Prevent

Delinquency and to Rehabilitate Delinquents?

The Strategies of Prevention and Rehabilitation

What Should We Do to Reduce Delinquency?

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.