The Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

This paper highlights the problem of violence and delinquency among youth in our society. It presents research involving regression analysis of data available at the state level. A cross-sectional design is utilized for the 50 states. Results indicate that juvenile incarceration is impacted by demographics-i.e., magnitude of the juvenile population, number of African Americans, and educational achievement. However, juvenile incarceration is primarily affected by child maltreatment patterns across the various states. Evidence suggests this to be the primary focus of prevention. Two policy variables are also considered in the study.

Key Words:

• Juvenile delinquency
• prevention
• violence