Juvenile Delinquency Quiz #4

Culture, opportunity, and the “underclass”

Culture of Poverty, Underclass and Why it Matters

Resources → Opportunity → Norms → Youth Outcomes

Culture of Poverty

Oscar Lewis used this phrase to separate the lower class with values and norms that may conflict with conventional society

Underclass

Urban poor, little opportunity for upward mobility & improvement

Why it Matters

Theory directs attention toward opportunity structures, social isolation and environment surrounding youth

Poverty and Children of Color

1 in 6 adolescents (under 18) live in poverty, underclass life → unrepresented groups, large race and ethical differences in family income, poverty and unemployment

Economic Disparities

More African Americans live in poverty than Non-Hispanic White, unemployment rate for Black citizens is presented twice the amount of Non-Hispanic White

Education

White and Asian high-school completion rates are presented higher than those for Black and Latino youth

Age + Poverty

Child poverty varies by age and race/ethnicity the youngest children are described as the poorest

Human toll of Racial and Economic Disparity

Income Inequality, Segregation, Institutional Racism and Trust in Justice

Income Inequality

Unequal access to economic resources can shape neighborhood conditions and opportunity

Segregation

The source material contrasts sheltered/gated communities with segregated low-income areas

Institutional Racism

Race-based disparity is connected in the slides to broader institutional conditions

Trust in Justice

Communications of color may perceive the justice system as biased and racist

Social Disorganization Theory

One in which institutions of social control have broken down or no longer serve their expected function

Unemployment (work), Dropouts (school), Housing (decay), Low income (no money), Family (strain)

The Concentric Zone Model

1. Central business district

2. Zone of transition

3. Working class residence

4. Better residences

5. Commuter zone

Social Ecological Perspective

Disorder, Poverty, Alienation, Dissociation, and Fear

Collective Efficacy

The ability of communities to regulate behavior through strong institutions and shared expectations

Collective Efficacy Factors

Informal Social Control (Peers, families express approval or disapproval of behavior), Institutional Social Control (Justice system, churches, schools and community centers respond to delinquency), Public Social Control (Neighborhood activity protect and supervise shared public spaces)

Strain Theory

Valued Goals → Legal Means → Strain

Anomie and Merton’s Adaptations

Conformity (Plays by the rules) , Innovation (Finds a different way to get there), Ritualism (Goes through the motions), Retreatism (Checks out) and Rebellion (Tries to create a new system)

General Strain Theory

Failure to achieve goals, Expectation-achievement gap, Loss of positive stimuli, Presentation of negative stimuli

Anomie

State of Normalness