CHAPTER 9
Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Violence
SUMMARY
In this chapter we discuss (a) the nature and scope of conduct disorder, antisocial
behavior, delinquency, and gang activity; (b) the roots of conduct disorder; (c) the
development and consequences of delinquency; (d) youth gangs; and (e) school shooters.
The developmental and ecological model of antisocial behavior (see Figure 9.1) has
OUTLINE
The Scope and Nature of Antisocial Behavior and Delinquency
♦ Family Aggression and Violence
♦ School Problems
♦ Juvenile Delinquency and Vandalism
Origins of the Problem
Box 9.1 Beat the System
♦ Media
o Television and film
o Video Games
o Music: Rap and Acid Rock
o Internet Cyberspace
Box 9.2 When Adults Fail
Box 9.3 Training for Violence
♦ Peer Group Environment
♦ Onset of Delinquent Behavior
♦ Gang Involvement
School Shooters
♦ Identifying Potential Shooters
Box 9.4: The Words of a Shooter: Kip’s Journal
o Emotional Pain and Confusion
Box 9.5: The Words of a Shooter: Kip’s Letter
o Aggressive Hatred Toward Self and Others
Specific Intervention: Reality Therapy
• Assumptions of Reality Therapy
• Theoretical Components of Reality Therapy
o Involvement
Box 9.6 Mikey the Menace
o Rejection of Irresponsible Behavior
o Relearning
♦ The Seven Principles of Reality Therapy
o Involvement
o Current Behavior
Conclusion
ACTIVITY
1) Have students fill out the “concerns and strengths” checklist in the “Factors of
SUPPLEMENTS
PowerPoint: Chapter 9 Summary Points
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Using the progressive, developmental model of aggression and violence (as
2. Describe some of the targets of intervention for preventing school shootings.
Which are related to some of the variables found among school shooters?
3. What assumption is Reality Therapy based on? Do you believe that this
4. Using the framework of the ecological model, discuss how the microsystems of
community and neighborhood impact youth. Illustrate your answer with a Case
5. What are the seven principles of Reality Therapy? How do they intersect with one
another?
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
The following questions conform to the standards required by CACREP, EPAS, and other
accrediting agencies.
1. LGBTQ youth are uniquely subject to violence resulting from:
A. schools lacking in funds to provide tolerance training.
B. family demographics.
C. social homophobia.
D. antisocial parents.
2. What is not a principle in Glasser’s three-stage framework of Reality Therapy?
A. Current behavior
B. Involvement
C. Punishment
D. Accept no excuses
3. Youth who begin delinquent activities early are at greatest risk:
A. to become homeless.
B. for becoming chronic offenders.
C. of alienating themselves from the community.
D. to be on the autistic spectrum.
4. Which of the following statistics is not supported?
A. The overall rate of arrests for juvenile delinquency is decreasing.
B. The rate of girls in the juvenile justice system is increasing.
C. In 2008, juveniles accounted for over a quarter of property crime.
D. The rate of juveniles under 14 is increasing.
5. Students who experience high rates of peer rejection often:
A. demonstrate high rates of passive-aggressive behavior.
B. reject peer group norms.
C. get caught in a circle of aggression and rejection.
D. lack an adult male role model.
6. When children view the world as hostile and inconsistent, they often attempt to
get their way regardless of social rules. These children are:
A. usually children from single parent households.
B. potentially violent later in life.
C. never going to fit socially in the school.
D. likely to develop responsible social behavior upon reaching puberty.
7. The origins of conduct disorder, delinquent activity, and gang involvement are:
A. family aggression and violence.
B. television and media viewing.
C. developmental and ecological.
D. based in the peer group environment.
8. Relying on metal detectors in schools to prevent weapons from entering the
building provides:
A. false security.
B. a security for staff and students.
C. a way of greeting entering students to make them feel safe.
D. a method of keeping all weapons out of the schools.
9. One study found that school shooters listened to acid rock and rap about:
A. 20 hours a week.
B. 15 hours a week.
C. 40 hours a week.
D. 60 hours a week.
10. The primary social environments for most children are:
A. family and friends.
B. family and church.
C. family and community activities.
D. family and school.
11. Chronic exposure to violence would not lead to:
A. identification with the aggressor.
B. enhanced moral development.
C. adaptation to violence.
D. detrimental development effects.
12. Less serious problem behaviors precede more serious problem behaviors.
A. True
B. False
13. Disruptive and delinquent behavior usually progresses:
A. sporadically and in a disorderly manner.
B. in an orderly, sequential fashion.
C. from covert actions to authority conflict.
D. from overt action to covert action.
14. Children in classrooms with higher levels of aggression are not described as being
at increased risk of:
A. injury.
B. aggressive fantasies.
C. hostile attributions.
D. aggressive strategies.
15. Young people who engage in vandalism often engage in assaultive behavior.
A. True
B. False
16. Most people believe that:
A. juvenile crime is decreasing.
B. juvenile crime is increasing.
C. 14-year olds should be tried as adults.
D. the media are soft on crime.
17. Which model emphasizes the importance of the microsystems of community and
neighborhood?
A. Historical
B. Sociological
C. Ecological
D. Generational
18. There is empirical evidence that increased aggressive behavior is linked with
watching violence on television.
A. True
B. False
19. Playing violent video games is not linked to:
A. increased aggressive thoughts.
B. decreased attention.
C. increased aggressive behavior.
D. increased aggressive feelings.
20. The unreleased video game “School Shooter” had players target:
A. security guards.
B. students of color.
C. gay students.
D. armed students.
21. Being poor is directly correlated to the incidence of delinquency.
A. True
B. False
22. Conduct disorder does not include:
A. lying.
B. stealing.
C. passivity.
D. disobedience.
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Answer: C
A-head: Origins of the Problem
23. Older children with antisocial behavior problems display rates of aggression that
are more typical of:
A. felons.
B. poor people.
C. gun owners.
D. younger children.
24. More recent school shooting massacres have involved a young adult as a killer.
A. True
B. False
25. Which of the following is not identified as a basic human drive by Reality
Therapy?
A. Power
B. Hope
C. Freedom
D. Survival