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The Group Context of Delinquent Behavior

The Group Context of Delinquent Behavior Abstract Cumulative empirical evidence suggests that the majority of offenses for which juveniles are apprehended involved more than one offender. Evidence supporting this claim has generally been interpreted as support for the theoretical assertion that “delinquency is predominantly a group phenomenon.” However, most of the studies reported in the literature are based exclusively on official records (either police or juvenile court records), and thus the question arises whether the proportion of offenses committed by groups would also be high if other sources of data were utilized. This paper reports the results of a study of “self-reported” delinquent behavior with specific emphasis on the extent to which offenses that individuals report having committed took place in a “group context.” The relationship between “group violation rates” (proportion of self-reported offenses that were committed in a group context) and other characteristics of offenses are examined. An analysis is made of the relationships between group violation rates, seriousness of offense, frequency of violation, frequency of arrest, and arrest rates. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * Special appreciation is expressed to James F. Short Jr., Vernon Davies, and La-Mar T. Empey for their evaluations and criticisms of earlier drafts of these materials. Grateful acknowledgement is also expressed to Provo High School, Provo, Utah, Utah State Industrial School, and the Utah Juvenile Court Judges Council, and to Judge Monroe J. Paxman formerly of the Fourth District Juvenile Court in Utah for cooperation in conducting this research. This work was in part financed by grants from the Ford Foundation, the Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development, and the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Grant NI 71-034. Grateful acknowledgement is expressed to all of them. © 1971 Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Social Problems Oxford University Press

The Group Context of Delinquent Behavior

Erickson, Maynard, L.
Social Problems , Volume 19 (1) – Jul 1, 1971
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References (40)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© 1971 Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc.
ISSN
0037-7791
eISSN
1533-8533
DOI
10.2307/799944
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract Cumulative empirical evidence suggests that the majority of offenses for which juveniles are apprehended involved more than one offender. Evidence supporting this claim has generally been interpreted as support for the theoretical assertion that “delinquency is predominantly a group phenomenon.” However, most of the studies reported in the literature are based exclusively on official records (either police or juvenile court records), and thus the question arises whether the proportion of offenses committed by groups would also be high if other sources of data were utilized. This paper reports the results of a study of “self-reported” delinquent behavior with specific emphasis on the extent to which offenses that individuals report having committed took place in a “group context.” The relationship between “group violation rates” (proportion of self-reported offenses that were committed in a group context) and other characteristics of offenses are examined. An analysis is made of the relationships between group violation rates, seriousness of offense, frequency of violation, frequency of arrest, and arrest rates. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * Special appreciation is expressed to James F. Short Jr., Vernon Davies, and La-Mar T. Empey for their evaluations and criticisms of earlier drafts of these materials. Grateful acknowledgement is also expressed to Provo High School, Provo, Utah, Utah State Industrial School, and the Utah Juvenile Court Judges Council, and to Judge Monroe J. Paxman formerly of the Fourth District Juvenile Court in Utah for cooperation in conducting this research. This work was in part financed by grants from the Ford Foundation, the Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development, and the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Grant NI 71-034. Grateful acknowledgement is expressed to all of them. © 1971 Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc.

Journal

Social Problems – Oxford University Press

Published: Jul 1, 1971

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