Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control

About this book

An essential resource for exploring juvenile delinquency in the twenty-first century Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control Fourth Edition offers a clear and concise overview of the latest theories and research on the causes and control of delinquency. Instead of attempting to provide a sweeping view of the entire subject Robert Agnew and new coauthor Timothy Brezina organize the text around three major questions: What is the nature and extent of delinquency? What are the causes of delinquency? What strategies should we employ to control delinquency? These thought-provoking questions draw students into the text challenging them to use major theories to explain the basic facts about delinquency to understand the research on its causes and to develop and evaluate programs and policies for its control. FEATURES Rich pedagogy including in-chapter activities review questions lists of key terms discussion questions excerpts of controversial cases and lively "Teaching Aids" exercises Coverage of leading theories--strain social learning social- and self-control labeling and situational Discussion of agencies--including the police the juvenile court and juvenile corrections--and of recent efforts to increase their effectiveness Discussion of strategies for controlling delinquency: deterrence incapacitation rehabilitation and prevention NEW TO THE FOURTH EDITION New coauthor Timothy Brezina New "Special Topics" boxes that discuss and analyze current events controversies and case studies related to juvenile delinquency Expanded coverage of youth crime school violence punishment and deterrence zero-tolerance policies in U.S. schools the role of personal agency adolescent drug use rehabilitation and desistance from delinquency and the impact of media violence Fully updated with the latest research and statistics