Juvenile Delinquency

Adolescents commit a large proportion of crimes in the US and other nations. To investigate this, Roberson and Azaola furnish a comprehensive treatment of juvenile involvement in delinquent behaviors and how society responds to it. They begin by describing the uneven definitions of adolescence, followed by an overview of types of juvenile misconduct, ways researchers measure misconduct, and factors that influence these types of behavior. In chapters on delinquency theories, the authors provide a thorough overview of various explanations for juvenile misconduct, including those that address rational, biological, psychological, social structural, social process, and institutional factors. Although the book’s title suggests that these explanations are its key focus, the authors also discuss the juvenile justice system, including the major goals of and justification for a separate system for young people and how this involves policing, courts, corrections, and specialized institutions, such as training schools and group homes. In many ways, this is a standard textbook on juvenile delinquency, but one advantage is the authors’ inclusion of examples from Mexico, Canada, and elsewhere. The final chapter illustrates this benefit by furnishing a brief comparative review of the juvenile justice systems in several nations. Recommended. All undergraduates. * Choice Reviews *