Juvenile Delinquency

The Ninth Edition includes a number of new features and has been substantially updated, to include the most recent studies and statistics relevant to the study of juvenile delinquency.

New! The text is now unified with a theme of delinquency prevention—this theme is especially pertinent to the study of delinquency, as great deal of recent research has focused on effective prevention programs.

• The chapters also build on the theme of delinquency across the life course, one of the most important theoretical developments in delinquency studies in the past 20 years
• A number of chapters now focus on evidence-based findings, and include evidence of best practices in prevention programs.

New! New learning aids have been added—all chapters include new Review Questions, Discussion Questions, and Group Exercises to help students review, practice, and master chapter content.

• These resources are also excellent for stimulating in-class discussion.

New! People in the Know features look at real people in criminology—interviews with real criminologists, a gang leader, and subject experts give students personal insight into current developments and issues related to criminology.

New! Ongoing case study—each chapter concludes with an ongoing hypothetical case study called The Life Course of Amy Watters, which explores the path of a fictional young woman’s life.

Revised! Chapters have been reorganized to better suit the revised content.

• Chapter 12 on prevention has been removed since prevention is now a focus in every chapter.
• The former Chapter 16 on juvenile corrections has been divided into two chapters, Chapter 15, Community-Based Corrections and Chapter 16, Juvenile Institutions and Aftercare.

Updated! Data and statistics have been updated throughout—including:

• updated data on juvenile court statistics, the co-occurrence of substance abuse behaviors in youth, juvenile offense, and statistics from the Monitoring the Future study
• statistical updates from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

New! Extensive updates throughout the text—include new and revised discussions of:

• model programs identified by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• victimization of children
• Positive Youth Development (PYD)
• evidence-based policy decisions
• gender-responsive policy and practice
• new expressions of family life (including the foster family; the adopted child; children with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parents; and cohabitating parents)
• bullying and delinquency
• terrorism and gangs
• graduated sanctions in juvenile justice
• police and the prevention of delinquency
• community-based corrections
• improving juvenile facilities
• and much more

For courses in Juvenile Delinquency.

A sociological exploration of the causes and consequences of delinquent behavior.

Juvenile Delinquency, Ninth Edition, explores what delinquency is, its causes and influences, and strategies for delinquency prevention. Beyond simply analyzing the problems of delinquency in American society, the authors also examine what can be done about delinquent behavior. The text follows a strong sociological focus and discusses how delinquency develops across a life course, including how it begins, persists, and/or how it terminates in the lives of individuals. The text is unified by the theme of delinquency prevention and offers evidence-based policy recommendations and suggestions for possible treatment interventions.

Hallmark Features

Helps students understand how delinquent behavior originates and how it either continues into adult criminality or terminates.

• Each chapter includes a theme of delinquency across the life course, which is one of the most promising and exciting perspectives in the study of delinquency.
• The root causes of delinquency, along with the environments in which it either flourishes or is discouraged–including family, school, peers, and community–receive major emphasis.
• Discussions include the roles that gender, race, social class, and place of residence play in the formative adolescent years.

Encourages readers to solve problems. Prevention of delinquency is emphasized throughout the text. The text explores past efforts and exciting new ventures in prevention of delinquency, encouraging readers to consider not just what problems exist with delinquency but how those problems might be addressed.

• In the midst of national soul-searching about what to do with serious and repeat juvenile offenders, nearly every chapter of this text offers evidence-based policy recommendations on prevention and suggests possible treatment interventions.

Provides up-to-date, comprehensive coverage. The text covers all the major theories and issues surrounding juvenile delinquency, including examination of the juvenile justice system, providing a well-rounded resource.

Makes content memorable with cases and examples. The authors use real examples to make text material memorable and relevant to students.

• An ongoing, fictional case study is included in each chapter, following the hypothetical life course of a young girl from childhood through her highschool years. The events of each segment in Amy’s life are tied directly to the chapter concepts, and resources are provided for further research into the issues raised.

Promotes learning with extensive online resources. 15 Juvenile Justice Videos available online.  And Voices in the American Juvenile Justice System supplement available online which includes personal stories from those who have gone through the juvenile justice system.