Exam 4: Who Is Most Likely to Engage in Delinquency

Some research suggests that the relationship between race and serious delinquency is due largely to race-related differences in social class and community context. Describe the research in this area.

Drawing on the text, list the dimensions used to distinguish the different types of juvenile offenders. Describe the major research findings on each dimension.

What has been the overall trend in arrest rates for males and females since the mid-1980s? How has this trend in offending affected the gender gap in arrest rates?

According to the textbook, has the police become more or less tolerant of female violent offenders? What consequences could this have for female offenders?

The National Youth Survey suggests that the higher rate of serious offending in the lower class occurs because:

What are some of the most common crimes for which female offenders are arrested? What are the two offenses that females commit at a higher rate than males?

Explain how methodological problems found in most early self-report studies could bias data on the relationship between social class and delinquency.

Early self-report studies found little or no relationship between social class and delinquency. How can one explain this, given that these findings contradict arrest data and commonsense ideas?

Findings of the National Youth Survey suggest that:

A small group of offenders who offend from early childhood well into adulthood are referred to as:

Until the 1960s, researchers measured delinquency using:

Do juvenile delinquents "specialize" in the type of crime they commit? Explain your answer.

Higher-class juveniles are more likely to engage in delinquency because they have greater "social power." This means that higher-class juveniles are:

Describe the relationship between age and delinquency with regard to property offenses and violent offenses.

Chambliss' study of the middle-class "Saints" and the lower-class "Roughnecks" indicated that both groups were about equally delinquent. Explain why the "Saints" were perceived to be less delinquent. How do Chambliss' findings compare with those you observed at your high school?

African Americans are _________ Whites to stop offending when they become adults.

According to the text, female violent offending tends to:

In examining the relationship between race and delinquency, arrest data indicate that African Americans are more likely than Whites to be arrested for:

Arrest data have led some researchers and people in the news media to conclude that female juveniles are becoming more violent. Are female juveniles really becoming more violent? Consider ALL measures of delinquency when answering this question.

What are the crucial differences between developmentally early conduct problems as opposed to developmentally late conduct problems?