pt. 1. The concept of delinquency -- 1. Childhood and delinquency -- The adolescent dilemma -- Focus on delinquency : adolescent risk taking -- The study of juvenile delinquency -- The development of childhood -- The concept of delinquency -- Status offenders -- Case profile : Aaliyah's story -- Policy and practice : Orange County's Family Keys Program -- Policy and practice : increasing social control over juveniles and their parents -- 2. The nature and extent of delinquency -- Gathering information on delinquency -- Self-report surveys -- Secondary sources of delinquency data -- Crime and delinquency trends in the United States -- Focus on delinquency : shaping delinquency trends -- Correlates of delinquency -- Case profile : Jamesetta's story -- Chronic offending : careers in delinquency -- Juvenile victimization -- Focus on delinquency : adolescent victims of violence --

pt. 2. Theories of delinquency -- 3. Individual views of delinquency -- Rational choice theory -- Controlling delinquency -- Trait theories : biosocial and psychological views -- Contemporary biosocial theory -- Focus on delinquency : diet and delinquency -- Focus on delinquency : attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder -- Psychological theories of delinquency -- Focus on delinquency : disruptive behavior disorder -- Psychological characteristics and delinquency -- 4. Social structure, process, culture, and delinquency -- Social factors and delinquency -- Social structure and delinquency -- Social structure theories -- Social disorganization theory -- Strain theory -- Cultural deviance theories -- Focus on delinquency : the code of the streets -- Social process theories -- Social learning theory -- Social control theory -- Public policy implications of social theories -- Policy and practice : Homeboy Industries -- 5. Social reaction, conflict, and delinquency -- Social reaction theory -- Social conflict theory -- Case profile : Jay's story -- 6. Developmental theories of delinquency : life-course and latent trait -- Creating a life-course theory of delinquency-- Life-course concepts -- Focus on delinquency : the path to delinquency -- Theories of the delinquent life course -- Focus on delinquency : shared beginnings, divergent lives -- Latent trait theories -- Evaluating developmental theories -- Public policy implications of developmental theory -- Policy and practice : Across Ages --

pt. 3. Social, community, and environmental influences on delinquency -- 7. Gender and delinquency -- Gender differences in development -- Gender differences and delinquency -- Are female delinquents born that way? -- Socialization views -- Focus on delinquency : human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children -- Case profile : Laticia's story -- Liberal feminist views -- Critical feminist views -- Focus on delinquency : the honor killing of girls -- Focus on delinquency : power, gender, and adolescent dating violence -- Gender and the juvenile justice system -- 8. The family and delinquency -- The changing American family -- The family's influence on delinquency -- Focus on delinquency : for better or for worse : does divorce matter? -- Focus on delinquency : the chicken or the egg? -- Foster care -- Child abuse and neglect -- Focus on delinquency : relationship between substance abuse and child maltreatment -- The child protection system : philosophy and practice -- Case profile : Joey's story -- Abuse, neglect, and delinquency -- The family and delinquency control policy -- Policy and practice : fathering after violence -- 9. Peers and delinquency : juvenile gangs and groups -- Adolescent peer relations -- Youth gangs -- Contemporary gangs -- Focus on delinquency : getting high and getting by : drug dealing gangs and gang boys in Southwest Texas -- Case profile : Luis's story -- Why do youths join gangs? -- Controlling gang activity -- Policy and practice : Boston's youth Violence Strike Force (YVSF) -- Policy and practice : gang-control efforts in the city of Miami -- 10. Schools and delinquency -- The school in modern American society -- Academic performance and delinquency -- Case profile : Ciara's story -- Delinquency in the school -- Focus on delinquency : bullying in school -- The role of the school in delinquency prevention -- Policy and practice : Safe Harbor : a school-based victim assistance and violence prevention program -- Legal rights in the school -- Policy and practice : Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County et al. v. Earls et al. -- 11. Drug use and delinquency -- Frequently abused drugs -- Trends in teenage drug use -- Why do youths take drugs? -- Case profile : Fernando's story -- Pathways to drug abuse -- Focus on delinquency : problem behaviors and substance abuse -- Focus on delinquency : does drug dealing pay? -- Drug use and delinquency -- Drug control strategies -- Policy and practice : drug abuse resistance education (D.A.R.E.) -- What does the future hold? -- 12. Delinquency prevention : social and developmental perspectives -- The many faces of delinquency prevention -- Policy and practice : Head Start -- Early prevention of delinquency -- Focus on delinquency : public support -- Prevention of delinquency in the teenage years -- Future of delinquency prevention -- Policy and practice : blueprints for violence prevention --

pt. 4. The juvenile justice system -- 13. Juvenile justice : then and now -- Juvenile justice in the nineteenth century -- A century of juvenile justice -- Juvenile justice today -- A comprehensive juvenile justice strategy -- Focus on delinquency : similarities and differences between juvenile and adult justice systems -- Policy and practice : teen courts -- Future of juvenile justice -- Case profile : Jennifer's story -- 14. Police work with juveniles -- History of juvenile policing -- Community policing in the new millennium -- The police and juvenile offenders -- Police and the rule of law -- Discretionary justice -- Focus on delinquency : juvenile race, gender, and ethnicity in police decision making -- Police work and delinquency prevention -- Case profile : Rico's story -- Future of juvenile policing -- Policy and practice : Boston's Operation Ceasefire -- 15. Juvenile court process : pretrial, trial, and sentencing -- The juvenile court and its jurisdiction -- Juvenile court process -- Policy and practice : the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program -- Transfer to the adult court -- Focus on delinquency : are transfers to adult court effective in reducing violence? -- Juvenile court trial -- Case profile : Cliff's story -- Future of the juvenile court -- Policy and practice : should the juvenile court be abolished? -- 16. Juvenile corrections : probation, community treatment, and institutionalization -- Juvenile probation -- Probation innovations -- Case profile : Karen's story -- Policy and practice : three model nonresidential program -- Secure corrections -- Juvenile institutions today : public and private -- The institutionalized juvenile -- Correctional treatment for juveniles -- The legal right to treatment -- Juvenile aftercare and reentry supervision -- Focus on delinquency : the Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) model -- Future of juvenile corrections -- 17. Delinquency and juvenile justice abroad -- Delinquency around the world -- International comparisons -- Focus on delinquency : youth violence on the rise in Japan -- Juvenile justice systems across countries -- Policy and practice : precourt diversion programs around the world -- Policy and practice : the changing nature of youth justice in Canada -- A profile of juvenile justice in England -- Future of international juvenile justice -- Appendix -- Glossary -- Table of cases -- Name index -- Subject index -- Photo credits.