FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDES CRIM 243 YOUTH CRIME & JUSTICE

CHAPTER 4

1. Jack and his family moved to a new town when Jack was 14 years old. Prior to moving, Jack
and his family had lived in the same town since Jack was born and Jack never engaged in any
type of delinquent acts. When school started, Jack had only been in town for a few weeks and had
not made friends. Not really knowing anyone, Jack began hanging out with a group of kids who
were into having a “good time.” These kids, Jack noticed, always seemed to have money. They
drank alcohol, sold their own or their siblings' ADHD medication, and stole from the local
superstore. Jack also noticed that they never, as far as he could tell, got caught. If they did, they
never suffered any negative consequences. After a while Jack, too, began to engage in the same
activities as his new friends. Which theory best explains Jack’s behavior?

Strain Theory or Nurture Theory

2. If you were to look for a theory that views delinquency as a result of a youth’s dysfunctional or
destructive relationship with the critical elements of socialization in his or her life—family, peers,
schools, community—where the dysfunctionality causes the youth to see delinquency as a
feasible alternative, which theory should you choose?

Social Process Theory or Social Control Theory

3. If you were to look for a theory of delinquency that links a youth’s engagement in delinquent
acts to the struggle of being locked out of the economic mainstream, thereby creating anger and
frustration and ultimately leading to delinquency, which theory would best fit this description?

Strain Theory

4. What, according to Durkheim, undermines society's social control function?

Anomie

5. Your friend is interested in researching delinquency and gangs. Your professor suggested
investigating the theory that combines the principles of strain and social disorganization theories
into a portrayal of a gang-sustaining delinquent culture. Following the professor's advice, which
theory should your friend investigate?

Differential Opportunity Theory (Cultural Deviance Theory?)

6. Cultural deviance combines the elements of what two theories?

Relative Deprivation & Differential Opportunity Theories

 7. What is the view that lower-class people form a separate culture with their own values and
norms, which are sometimes in conflict with conventional society?

Culture of Poverty

8. Subcultural values are handed down from one generation to the next through what process?

Cultural Transmission

9. What is a form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions
prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society?

Status Frustration

10. What area or zone, according to social disorganization theory, has the heaviest concentration
of delinquency rates?

Zone 1

11. According to the text, the social process approach has two independent branches; each branch
has its own assumption. These assumptions are (1) that youth are born good and learn to be bad,
and (2) that youth are born bad and must be controlled to be good. What are the theories that best
fit the assumptions?

1) Social Learning Theory

2) Social Control Theory

12. What is the ability of communities to regulate the behavior of their residents through the
influence of community institutions (i.e., family and school) called?

Collective Efficacy

13. What adaptation, according to Merton, is most closely associated with delinquency?

Innovation

14. Messner and Rosenfeld presented the view of antisocial behavior as a function of cultural and
institutional influences in U.S. society; this view is a macro-level version of what theory?

Anomie Theory

15. What is the concept through which youth are able to use their wits to feel safe by avoiding
violent confrontation?

Street Efficacy
 16. Residents of a community become extremely suspicious of authority, and this suspicion
develops into a view in which the outside world is the enemy out to destroy the neighborhood.
What is this view called?

Siege Mentality

17. According to the text, lacking a particular bond may foreshadow a condition in which risk
becomes a reasonable behavior alternative. A deficit in which of the following bonds describes
this outcome?

Commitment

18. What is the process by which people learn to adopt the behavior patterns of the community
and develop the skills necessary to participate and function within their culture and environment?

Socialization

19. Jill is a senior in high school. All through her academic career she has made good grades and
has never engaged in delinquent acts. Two months prior to graduation, Jill's mother was in an
automobile accident; a man under the influence of alcohol ran a red light and crashed into Jill's
mother's car, killing her on impact. Jill was close to her mother and her death strongly impacted
Jill's behavior. She began staying out late, her grades started slipping, and she began drinking
alcohol. What negative affective state, according to Agnew, is Jill experiencing?

Removal of Positively Valued Stimuli

20. What is the name of the process whereby youth move between behavior that is sometimes
unconventional or deviant and at other times restrained and thoughtful?

Value Drift

21. Alice is 16 and lives with her mother and four younger siblings in an impoverished
neighborhood. Alice does well in school and will be the first of her family to graduate from high
school. She knows she could have a better life by getting a college degree, but she does not have
the means to go to college and no one ever talks to Alice about furthering her education. Like
many teenage girls her age, Alice wants trendy clothes, fashionable shoes, and expensive
handbags. Alice works part-time at the local grocery store, but her earnings go to her mother to
help with family finances. Alice is approached and asked to carry drugs to the dealers around
town. She agrees; after all, she is not the one selling the drugs so she really is not hurting anyone.
The money Alice makes allows her to quit her job at the grocery store, help her mother, and buy
clothes, shoes, and handbags. She now thinks that is not necessary to finish school. According to
Merton's social adaptation theory, which mode of adaptation best describes Alice?

Innovation
 22. What theory maintains that all people have the potential to violate the law, as modern society
presents many opportunities for illegal activities that promise immediate reward and gratification?

Social Control

24. Most likely responsible for the exceedingly high rate of delinquency, what distinctive feature
in American society has been allowed to develop to an extraordinary degree, according to
Messner and Rosenfeld?

Anomic Condition

25. What theory links the onset of delinquency to the weakening of the ties that bind people to
society?

Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory

26. Mechanisms such as direct criticism, ridicule, ostracism, desertion, or physical punishment
are considered what form of social control?

Informal Social Control

28. Focusing on conditions within the urban environment that affect delinquency rates is known
as what theory?

Social Disorganization Theory

29. Many of the buildings are boarded up and left to decay, the majority of the residences in the
area are apartment buildings with a transient population, no one seems to care about their
neighborhood, and according to statistics, the area is densely populated. What zone does this
describe?

Zone in Transition

30. According to Walter Miller, clinging to what promotes illegal or violent behavior?

Lower-class Focal Concerns

31. According to GST, child abuse and neglect, school failure, family and/or peer conflicts,
racism, and discrimination are experiences associated with what source of strain?

Presentation of Negative Stimuli

29. Who applied Durkheim's ideas to the onset of crime and delinquency in contemporary
society?

Robert Merton
 30. What refers to the process by which an established culture teaches an individual its norms
and values, thus enabling the individual to become an accepted member of society?

Enculturated

31. Unlike others who are involved in similar criminal activities, gangs openly engage in the sale
of drugs as well as other types of criminal activities. What does this promote?

Community Fear

32. What do community-level institutions provide that has been ascertained as a key determinate
of neighborhood delinquency rates?

Informal Social Control

33. What is said to exert pressure toward delinquency by encouraging an anomic cultural
environment, one in which people are encouraged to adopt an “anything goes” mentality in the
pursuit of personal goals?

Capitalistic Culture

3 independent yet overlapping theories that reside within the social structure perspective

Social disorganization theory, strain theory, cultural deviance theory

CHAPTER 5

1. If you were to investigate a theory that views sustained delinquent behavior resulting from
destructive social interactions and encounters, which theory should you choose?

Social Reaction Theory

2. The roots of social reaction theory can be found in what branch of sociology?

Symbolic Interaction

3. Jill is interested in understanding the theory that focuses on power in contemporary society.
What theory should Jill investigate?

Merton’s Theory of Anomie

 4. Alice is considered introverted. She has never engaged in any type of delinquent activities. A
student at Sabre High School, her social skills are not commensurate with her age, prompting
classmates to call her stupid. Her manner of dress is viewed by her peers as "weird." She is
shunned in the cafeteria and is never chosen for group assignments or as a lab partner. As a result
of Alice's social condemnation by her classmates, she begins to commit minor and then more
serious acts of delinquency. The process experienced by Alice is best associated with which
theory?

Labeling Theory

5. What leads to a damaged self-image and an increase in antisocial behaviors?

Labeling

6. Labels become the basis of personal identity; as the labels become more and more negatively
enforced by feedback from significant persons in the youth's life, the youth's identity transforms.
What is this process called?

Stigmatization

7. Roscoe stole a Match-Box car to give to his cousin who is in the hospital. Roscoe is not caught
and his cousin, who is dying from cancer, is happy for a short period of time. What type of
deviance applies in this situation?

Primary Deviance

8. In addition to assuring reintegration of the offender, what is the intended process of restorative
programs?

Repair injuries suffered by victims & community

9. What source of labeling is extremely damaging because it may cause adolescents to seek
deviant peers whose behavior amplifies the effect of the label?

Parental Labeling

10. Youths who engage in delinquency and get caught and labeled are referred to as pure
deviants, whereas youths who continually break rules and avoid labeling are referred to as secret
deviants. What models of labeling would best fit these descriptions?

Falsely Accused, Secret Deviants

11. Labeling alienates parents from their children and negative labels reduce children's
self-image and increase delinquency. What is this process called?

Reflected Appraisals
 12. Lizzy is 16 years old; she was recently waived to adult court, charged with stabbing her
father 60 times and her mother 61 times. Friends and neighbors said they always knew something
"wasn't right with that girl." NCC ran a week's worth of debates on their various discussion
formats dissecting Lizzy's past behaviors and current situation with their legal analysts. What is
this discussion concerning the link between Lizzy's past and present behaviors called?

Retrospective Reading

13. If someone were interested in researching the theory that holds the view that society is in a
constant state of internal conflict as different groups strive to impose their will on others, what
theory would best fit their research interest?

Critical Theory

14. Alicia shoplifted in a boutique known for its trendy clothes. Alicia is caught with a $200.00
purse and a $75.00 tank top. After the charges are read aloud in court, Alicia is severely scolded
by the judge who states that Alicia's actions were greedy and tells Alicia it is obvious that she is
self-absorbed. Alicia is adjudicated delinquent. What process is exemplified by Alicia's encounter
with the juvenile justice system?

Degradation Ceremony

15. King has been in and out of the juvenile court for a variety of minor offenses. Some within
the court refer to the court as King's revolving door as adjudication does not appear to inhibit his
delinquent behaviors. His court-appointed counselor has suggested that the justice system may
actually be sustaining rather than inhibiting King's behavior. What theory aligns with the court
counselor's view?

Social Conflict Theory or Critical Theory

16. What theorists view the law and justice system as vehicles for controlling the have- not
members of society?

Critical Theorists

17. Jack is researching delinquency and capitalism; specifically, that delinquency is a normal
response to the conditions created by capitalism. What theory should Jack be researching?

Social Conflict Theory

18. What two concepts do social reaction theorists indicate apply to labeling?

Primary & Secondary Deviance

 19. Jack is captain of the football team, the criminal justice student association president, and has
an outstanding GPA. He was just notified that he had received a full-ride scholarship to an Ivy
League university. The week before the big playoff game, it was discovered that Jack had cheated
on his history exam. Upon review of several of his essays, it was also discovered that he had
plagiarized a lot of the material included in the papers. Everyone was shocked when Jack’s
academic dishonesty became known throughout the school. Jack was removed as president of the
student organization as well as captain of the football team, he could not participate in the playoff
game, and worst of all, he was stripped of the scholarship. Jack dropped out of high school rather
than return and face everyone; he eventually wound up a petty thief who was in and out of prison.
Jack’s academic dishonesty essentially created a new identity for Jack; this is what type of
labeling?

Secondary Deviance

6. What term refers to the use of humanistic, nonpunitive strategies to right wrongs and restore
social harmony?

Restorative Justice

21. By focusing attention on the social interactions and reactions that shape individual behavior,
what does labeling theory recognize about delinquency?

Delinquency is not a Disease

22. What is the policy that substitutes alternative, community-based sanctions for state training
schools?

Deinstitutionalization

23. Techniques used to allow offenders to understand and recognize their wrongdoing and to
shame themselves refers to what process?

Reintegrative Shaming

24. What is the peacemaking technique in which offenders, victims, and other community
members are brought together in an effort to formulate a sanction that addresses the needs of all
concerned parties?

Sentencing Circle

25. Jack lives with both biological parents in a middle-class neighborhood. Jack was caught with
alcohol in his locker at school and ended up in juvenile court. What theory acknowledges
middle-class delinquency?

Conflict Theory
 26. What is seen as a set of principles, a philosophy, an alternate set of guiding questions, and
questions that provide an alternative framework for thinking about wrongdoing?

Restorative Justice

27. What are significant predictors of serious delinquent behaviors?

Perceptions of Negative Labels

28. What occurs when a deviant event comes to the attention of significant others or social
control agents who apply a negative label?

Secondary Deviance

29. What refers to the reassessment of a person’s past to fit a current generalized label?

Retrospective Reading

31. What is the process of removing juveniles from adult jails and placing them in
community-based programs to avoid the stigma attached to these facilities?

Deinstitutionalization

32. People communicate via symbols that stand for or represent something else. To what does
this refer?

The interpretation is different for everyone and they internalize it to themselves

CHAPTER 8

Nonmarital childbearing increased dramatically in the United States during the latter half of the
twentieth century, giving rise to families defined as unmarried couples with children. What is this
family type called?

Fragile Families

The “traditional family” could be considered something from the past; changing sex roles have
restructured the American family, expanding the role of women. What is the process in which women
are now playing a much larger role?

Economic Role

families that are the product of divorce and remarriage which contain children from each of the
marriages are called broken homes.

Blended Families
 What refers to an environment of discord and conflict within the family?

Intrafamily violence/conflict

What can lower the risk of engaging in delinquent acts by children living in high-crime areas?

Effective/Good Parenting

Families in which parents are able to integrate their children into the household unit while at the same
time helping them assert their individuality and regulate their own behavior refers to ___________.

Parental Efficacy

Which factor is reported to take the worst toll on children?

Parental Incarceration

The non-accidental physical injury of children by their parents or guardians is called _________.

Battered Child Syndrome

Any physical, emotional, or sexual trauma to a child, including neglecting to give proper care and
attention, for which no reasonable explanation can be found, is called ____.

Child Abuse

The association between parental deviance and children’s delinquency may be related to labeling and
_____.

Stigma

When a parent fails to provide adequate food, shelter, or medical care for their children, it is called
_____.

Physical Neglect

When parents physically leave their children with the intention of completely severing the
parent–child relationship, it is called _____.

Abandonment
 The _____ has been the impetus for the states to improve the legal frameworks of their child
protection systems.

Child Abuse prevention & Treatment act

Mass murders in which a spouse and one or more children are slain are called _____.

Family-cide (Homocide)

The court held in which case that parents are protected against government interference with certain
fundamental rights and liberty interests including parent’s fundamental right to make decisions
concerning the care, custody, and control of their children?*

Troxel vs. Granville

The Supreme Court recognized in _____ the child’s right to be free from parental abuse.*

Santoski vs. Kramer

A lawyer appointed by the court to look after the interest of those who do not have the capacity to
assert their own rights is referred to as a ______.

Guardian ad litem

_____ is a condition that occurs when parents have such large families that their resources, such as
time and money, are spread too thin, causing lack of familial support and control.

Resource Dilution

Depriving children of food, shelter, health care, and love is referred to as _____.

Neglect

Nuclear families that are the product of divorce and remarriage are called _____.

Blended Families

CHAPTER 10

The primary agent of socialization in the United States is the _____.

School
 Those who fail to meet expected levels of school achievement are referred to as _____.

Underachievers

Researchers commonly find that _____ is a stronger predictor of delinquency than such personal
variables as economic class membership or peer group relations.

School Failure

A dysfunctional home life or psychological abnormalities are examples of what type of correlate of
school failure?

Personal issues/problems

_____ refers to dividing students into groups according to their ability and achievement levels.

Tracking

The high school dropout rate would be highest in what type of school?

Inner city/minority students

Research shows that the _____ is one of the most important predictors of campus crime and violence.

The School Climate

The first, and best-known, intervention program to reduce bullying among school children was
launched in _____.

Norway

Which federal agency has developed a profile of school shootings and school shooters?

US Secret Service

In the case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., the court dealt with the issue of ______.

Searches and Seizures of a students

In _____ , the courts held that schools were allowed to administer drug-testing programs to student
athletes.

Veronia school district vs. Acton

 In Ingraham v. Wright, the courts ruled on the issue of _____.*

Corporal punishment, spanking students

A feeling of being alone and "away" from others is an example of what type of correlate of school
failure?

Alienation

A student from a low-income household is an example of what type of correlate of school failure?

Social class

The largest contingent of police officers in city schools, numbering 5,000, is in New York City. These
officers are called _____.

School safety agent

Establishing a school policy of locker searches and other related security activities is an example of
what kind of school-based prevention program?

Behavioral prevention program

Under the concept of _____, discipline is one of the assumed parental duties given to the school
system.

In local parentis

School failure may also be linked to _____ that might actually be treatable if properly identified.

Learning Disabilities

Repeated, negative acts committed by one or more children against another are defined as _____.

Bullying

_____ policies mandate specific consequences for delinquent acts and do not allow anyone to avoid
these consequences.

Zero tolerance policy