Teens, drugs, and delinquency: a partial test of American institutional explanations of crime

dc.contributor.advisorStafford, Mark C.en
dc.creatorDeibert, Gini Reneen
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-28T22:05:23Zen
dc.date.available2008-08-28T22:05:23Zen
dc.date.issued2005en
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractThis study tests two macro-sociological theories of crime, which focus on the effects of perceptions of American social institutions. Both institutional legitimacy theory and institutional anomie theory contend that American social institutions are uniquely organized to affect American crime rates. Previous tests of these theories have focused on adult, serious offenses using aggregate units of analysis. The current tests focus on juveniles and low seriousness offenses. Using data from the Monitoring the Future Survey, the findings show that delinquency is associated with juveniles’ perceptions of three key American social institutions: the political system, the economic system, and the family. Although the results show mixed support, there is stronger evidence for institutional legitimacy theory than institutional anomie theory. The future directions of this research are discussed.
dc.description.departmentSociologyen
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifierb59825066en
dc.identifier.oclc61205607en
dc.identifier.proqst3174426en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/1534en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.subject.lcshJuvenile delinquency--United Statesen
dc.subject.lcshChildren and violence--United Statesen
dc.subject.lcshTeenagers--Drug use--United Statesen
dc.titleTeens, drugs, and delinquency: a partial test of American institutional explanations of crimeen
dc.type.genreThesisen

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