Adolescence, Juvenile Delinquency, and Crime Statistics: Key Concepts and Historical Eras

Adolescence

The interval between childhood and adulthood.

Adolescent dilemma

The conflict created by adolescents having an immature brain, poor judgment, impulsivity, and difficulty considering long-term consequences.

Modern adolescence

Developed with the end of child labor, compulsory public schooling, and increased legal protections/support systems for youth.

Juvenile delinquency

An act committed by a minor that violates the penal code, would be a criminal offense if committed by an adult, and is adjudicated in juvenile court.

Three criteria for juvenile delinquency

1. The person is below a certain age. 2. The behavior would be a criminal offense if committed by an adult. 3. The charge is adjudicated in juvenile court.

Youth culture

The unique beliefs and behaviors of young people; it varies across generations, social class, gender, race, and ethnicity.

Problem behavior syndrome

A pattern in which multiple negative/problem-oriented factors cluster together, such as economic stress, abuse history, and educational skill deficits.

High-risk behaviors

Behaviors such as drug use, theft, shoplifting, and other problem behaviors.

Parens patriae

The juvenile court doctrine that allows the state to act as a parent and treat juveniles more leniently.

Status offense

An act that is considered illegal only because of the person's age and would not be a crime for an adult.

Examples of status offenses

Drinking alcohol, running away, certain drug offenses, and not attending school.

MINS

Minors in Need of Supervision.

CHINS

Children in Need of Supervision.

JINS

Juveniles in Need of Supervision.

PINS

Persons in Need of Supervision.

CHIPS

Children in Need of Protection and Services.

FINS

Families in Need of Supervision.

Cycle of status offenses

A pattern in which youth blame parents, parents see youth as defiant, parents feel powerless, conflict develops, police may become involved, and teachers/society may view the youth as resistant to authority.

Crossover youth

Youth who have involvement in both the child welfare system and juvenile justice system.

Why are crossover youth at greater risk?

They often experience mental health problems, substance abuse, poor school performance, suspensions/dropout, and out-of-home placements.

Colonial period (1636-1823)

Families were the primary source of social control; public discipline such as whipping and humiliation was used.

Houses of Refuge era (1824-1898)

Houses of refuge were used to control youth and emphasized firm, harsh discipline.

Juvenile Courts era (1899-1966)

Wayward children became "wards of the state"; youth were viewed as less responsible for their actions.

Juvenile Rights era (1967-1975)

Courts were criticized for arbitrary justice; the Supreme Court established greater due process protections for children.

Reform Agenda era (late 1970s)

Status offenses were diverted away from criminal settings, juvenile incarceration was discouraged, and community-based services were encouraged.

Social Control and Juvenile Crime era (1980s)

Society demanded tougher responses to serious juvenile crime and emphasized stronger parental control.

Delinquency and Growth of Fear of Crime era (1990-current)

Concerns increased over drug trafficking, gangs, youth murder rates, guns, and hate crimes.

Contemporary approach to delinquency control

Generally favors punishment-oriented responses, including curfews, parental responsibility laws, gang prevention, graduated sanctions, boot camps, gun restrictions, more detailed juvenile proceedings, transfers to criminal court, and expanded sentencing authority.

Why do statistics matter?

Statistics influence how people understand problems, social unrest, policy decisions, and allocation of resources.

Reliability

How consistently a questionnaire or interview produces the same results when the same juveniles are assessed multiple times.

Monitoring the Future

A cohort study widely viewed in the notes as useful for studying adolescents and delinquency.

Major sources of delinquency statistics

Uniform Crime Reports, National Incident-Based Reporting System, National Crime Victimization Survey, juvenile court statistics, self-report studies, and victimization surveys.

Prevalence of delinquency

The proportion of people in a specific age group who have committed delinquent acts.

Incidence of delinquency

The frequency or number of delinquent events.

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Crime data reported by police departments to the FBI across a range of crimes.

Major strength of UCR

It provides a broad measure of reported crime.

Major weaknesses of UCR

Many crimes are never reported, law enforcement practices influence statistics, and traditionally only the highest felony was counted.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

A more comprehensive system requiring police agencies to provide information about individual crimes, including victims, offenders, incidents, and arrests.

Juvenile court statistics

Data about youth who appear before juvenile courts.

Weakness of juvenile court statistics

They represent only cases that reach the courts and may have a long time lag.

Self-report studies

Surveys in which young people report their own delinquent behavior.

Why are self-report studies important?

Many youth offenders are never arrested, so self-reports can reveal crimes missed by official statistics.

Self-report findings

Illegal behavior occurs across social classes; serious crimes can escape police detection; females may engage in more delinquency than official statistics suggest.

Weaknesses of self-report studies

Reliability/validity problems, exaggeration or confusion, selective answers, and poor research designs.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

A large household survey conducted twice a year that asks people age 12+ about victimization experiences, including crimes not reported to police.

Strength of NCVS

Estimates crime that is both reported and unreported and is considered a relatively unbiased estimate.

Weaknesses of NCVS

Overreporting, underreporting, and sampling error.

Cohort studies

Longitudinal studies that follow people born during a particular period/place over time.

Strength of cohort studies

They help researchers examine development and the life course and compare police records, community records, interviews, and self-reports.

Weakness of cohort studies

They are expensive and time-consuming and findings cannot necessarily be generalized beyond the cohort.

Peer influence and delinquency

Peer behavior is consistently correlated with delinquency, including co-offending, although neighborhood context and opportunities also matter.

Gender and delinquency

Males are arrested more often, especially for drugs and serious violent crimes; females have higher rates for offenses such as running away and prostitution.

Age of onset

One of the best predictors of the length and intensity of a person's delinquent/criminal career.

Adolescent-limited offenders

Youth with relatively low psychosocial and individual risk who may become involved in delinquency because of the adolescent maturity gap and influence from deviant peers.

Life-course-persistent offenders

Offenders whose risks are centered on individual vulnerabilities and are evident early in childhood.

Chronic offenders

A relatively small group responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime; they often begin offending early and maintain high levels of offending.

Three categories of offenders

Innocents, amateurs, and persisters.

Seven predictors of chronic offending

Conviction before age 13, low family income, being troublesome to teachers/peers at ages 8-10, poor school performance at age 10, psychomotor clumsiness, low nonverbal IQ, and having a convicted sibling.

Loeber's pathways to crime

Authority conflict pathway, covert pathway, and overt pathway.

Authority conflict pathway

Stubbornness and defiance.

Covert pathway

Minor behaviors that progress toward shoplifting and property offenses.

Overt pathway

Fighting, aggression, and bullying.

Classical school

Views crime as connected to rationality; people choose crime after weighing its costs and benefits.

Classical view of punishment

Increasing the consequences of crime should discourage people from offending.

Jeremy Bentham

Developed ideas about punishment based on preventing offenses, discouraging more serious offenses, matching punishment severity to crime severity, and preventing crime economically.

Rational choice theory

Crime is a decision based on weighing risks and rewards.

Factors in rational choice

Risk of apprehension, seriousness of punishment, potential rewards, immediate need, and ability to succeed.

Structuring criminality

Crime can involve choices about peers, guardianship, excitement, economic need, location, targets, timing, and type of crime.

Routine activities theory

Crime occurs through the interaction of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and absence of capable guardians.

Three elements of routine activities theory

Motivated offender + suitable target + absence of capable guardian.

General deterrence

Punishment is intended to discourage other people from committing crimes.

Specific deterrence

Punishment is intended to prevent a particular offender from committing another crime.

Incapacitation

Isolating offenders to protect society.

Marginal deterrence

The relative effectiveness of punishment.

Restrictive deterrence

The threat of punishment can reduce, but not completely eliminate, the frequency, severity, or duration of crime.

Swiftness of punishment

Punishment should be applied rapidly and closely connected to the crime.

Certainty of punishment

The likelihood that punishment will actually occur; the notes emphasize certainty as more important than severity for deterrence.

Severity of punishment

How harsh the punishment is; research in the notes suggests certainty is more important than severity.

Problems with harsh punishment

It can increase crime, create defiance, produce stigma, contribute to psychological problems, and have little effect in communities where criminal records are common.

Positivism

Positivism

Views delinquency as determined by biological, psychological, or environmental causes rather than simply rational choice.

Three basic assumptions of positivism

1. Personal characteristics and backgrounds explain delinquent behavior. 2. Delinquency is determined by prior causes. 3. Delinquents differ because of physical makeup, psychological impulses, or social environment.

Biological positivism

Examines biological/genetic factors that may contribute to delinquency.

Twin and adoption studies

Research used to examine possible genetic influences on criminality.

Intelligence and delinquency

Intelligence may influence delinquency through its effects on school performance and interactions with home, school, and peer factors.

Psychological positivism

Suggests juvenile delinquency can result from underlying emotional problems or disturbances.

Cognitive theory

Explains development through stages of cognitive development.

Four stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), and formal operational (11-adulthood).

Formal operational stage

Ability to use abstract and logical thinking effectively.

Sensation seeking

Seeking stimulation or arousal.

Reinforcement theory

Behavior is influenced by rewards and punishments.

Possible rewards of crime

Material gain, revenge, peer approval, and sexual gratification.

Possible consequences of crime

Guilt, peer disapproval, revenge by victims, and punishment.

Conduct disorder

The term used in the notes in place of older stigmatizing labels such as psychopath/sociopath.

Traits associated with conduct disorder

Manipulativeness, lack of remorse/guilt, lack of empathy, unrealistic long-term goals, impulsivity, and failure to accept responsibility.

Propensity

An inclination or tendency to behave in a particular way.

Latent trait

A characteristic present from birth or shortly afterward that can make a person more crime-prone.

Developmental life-course theory

Integrates biological, psychological, social, family, school, peer, and community influences across a person's life.

Population heterogeneity

The idea that a person's propensity to commit delinquency/crime can remain relatively stable over the life course.

State dependence

The idea that a person's propensity to commit delinquency/crime changes and develops as they mature.