,Solution manual for Juvenile Delinquency Theory,
Practice, and Law, 14th Edition Larry J. Siegel
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you 10 or five pages.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel
sheet if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make
update at every time. There are many
new editions waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file
You can contact us at every time, we can
replace it with true one.
Our email:
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 1: Childhood and Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 1: CHILDHOOD AND DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is it fair to have a separate legal category for youths? Considering how dangerous young people
can be, does it make more sense to group offenders based on what they have done and not on
their age?
Solution
This is a tough question that is open to some interpretation. One hand, it is absolutely fair to have
a separate legal category for youths, as research indicates that brain development is not
complete until age 25, so rational decision making might not exist. On the other hand, a valid
argument exists for crime being a crime regardless of age. Whether a 17-year-old murders
someone or a 26-year-old murders someone, the crime is still murder. Either point of view is
valid.
2. At what age are juveniles truly capable of understanding the seriousness of their actions?
Solution
According to Timothy v. Superior Court, an 11-year-old child is not capable of understanding the
legal proceedings or assisting in their own defense. Delinquent behavior is sanctioned less
heavily than criminality because the law considers juveniles as being less responsible for their
behavior than adults. As a class, adolescents are believed to (a) have a stronger preference for
risk and novelty, (b) assess the potentially negative consequences of risky conduct less
unfavorably than adults, (c) have a tendency to be impulsive and more concerned with short-term
than long-term consequences, (d) have a different appreciation of time and self-control, and (e)
be more susceptible to peer pressure. All of these qualities should be considered when
determining if a juvenile is capable of understanding the seriousness of their actions.
3. Is it fair to institutionalize a minor simply for being truant or running away from home? Should the
jurisdiction of status offenders be removed from juvenile court and placed with the state
department of social services or some other welfare organization?
Solution
The answer in past years would have been yes. Additionally, opposition to institutionalizing status
offenders was common in the past. However, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) made it a top priority to encourage the removal of status offenders from
secure lockups, detention centers, and post-disposition treatment facilities that also housed
delinquent offenders. Such incarceration has been found to be harmful to some status offenders.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 1: Childhood and Delinquency
Evidence supports positive outcomes when status offenders receive assistance from social
service organizations.
4. Should delinquency proceedings be confidential? Does the public have the right to know who
juvenile criminals are?
Solution
Again, this is another difficult question. Either side has a valid argument, but realistically, in an era
when we as a society are attempting to become more transparent, the public may have some
right to know who the juvenile criminals are, especially if the juvenile has committed a number of
crimes and these crimes are serious felonies. But, first time delinquents and less serious
delinquents could reasonably have their proceedings be secret.
5. Can a get-tough policy help control juvenile misbehavior, or should parens patriae remain the
standard?
Solution
The parens patriae policy should remain the standard. Research in all areas indicates that get-
tough policies are not effective for a variety of reasons, and there is no reason to make this
change.
6. Should juveniles who commit felonies such as rape or robbery be treated as adults?
Solution
This is not a straightforward question and hence does not have a straightforward answer. Each
case should be looked at separately when the decision comes as to whether or not a juvenile who
commits a felony such as rape or robbery should be treated as an adult. Generally, first-time
delinquents, regardless of offense, should be treated as juveniles in juvenile court where
rehabilitation is still the goal. However, should a juvenile commit a subsequent offense of the
same or similar nature that is a serious and violent offense, then perhaps these cases are in need
of being waived to adult court.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 2: THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF
DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. What factors contribute to the aging-out process?
Solution
A variety of factors contribute to the aging-out process: increased personal
responsibility/autonomy, increased psychosocial maturity, and freeing oneself from delinquent
influences (e.g., individuals going to college and leaving behind their life course persistent
offending peers who do not go to college).
2. Why are males more likely to get involved in delinquent behavior than females? Is it a matter of
lifestyle, culture, or physical traits?
Solution
This is not an easy question to answer. Realistically, it’s probably a combination of all three.
Males are more physical than females, so they get into more physical altercations. In addition to
higher levels of testosterone (which is linked to aggression), males are socialized to act
aggressively and also have more risky lifestyles as a rule.
3. Discuss the racial differences found in the delinquency rate. Explain the effect of institutional and
cultural racism and relate their effect to differences in delinquency rates.
Solution
Based on work by many notable scholars, this question has a variety of answers. Some believe
that African Americans are just involved in more crime, whether because they are inherently more
criminogenic, live in areas where crime is a necessity for survival, or just because they are. The
other factor that is likely more valid or at least equally as valid are structural inequities within the
system, such as socioeconomic status and poverty, are geared against Blacks, with the result
that Blacks are arrested and charged with crimes at greater rates than Whites, regardless of what
the reality is.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of Delinquency
4. Should kids who have been arrested more than three times be given mandatory incarceration
sentences?
Solution
This is not an easy answer and is situationally-based. Should an adolescent who is arrested three
times for truancy be incarcerated? Probably not. Should one who is arrested three times for
robbery be arrested? Most likely. The main point to take away here is that it depends and should
primarily be driven by the severity of the offenses rather than just the frequency.
5. Do you believe that self-reports are an accurate method of gauging the nature and extent of
delinquent behavior?
Solution
Yes, to some extent. No one measure/source of delinquency data is completely without
limitations. Nevertheless, self-reports can provide useful information about delinquency and the
factors associated with involvement in juvenile delinquency. Also, self-reports can provide some
‘light’ into the dark figure of crime that goes unreported to law enforcement.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 3: Individual-Level Views of
Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND LAW, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 3:
INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL VIEWS OF DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is there such a thing as the “born criminal”? Are some people programmed at birth to commit crimes?
Solution
There are people who have certain personality traits and certain genetic influences that make those
individuals more predisposed to committing crimes. But to completely ignore the importance of
environmental and social influences is problematic. Criminal behavior is most likely a function of
biological, environmental, and social influences.
2. Is crime psychologically abnormal? Can there be “normal” crimes?
Solution
While crime has its psychological components, making criminal behavior all about an individual’s
psychology absolves them in some aspects of personal responsibility. There can most certainly be
“normal” crimes; most crimes that have utilitarian motives would fit under this category.
3. How would psychodynamic theory view delinquent acts such as shoplifting and breaking and entering
a house?
Solution
Shoplifting fulfills some intra-psychic need to take something back that has been stolen from you or is
not yours in the first place (or perhaps taking your mother back from your father, if you are a boy,
from a pure Freudian perspective). Breaking and entering is more or less payback for individual levels
of autonomy being taken.
4. Can delinquent behavior be deterred by the threat of punishment? If not, how can it be controlled?
Solution
It depends on the crime. For certain crimes and certain individuals, yes, delinquent behavior can be
deterred by the threat of punishment, but for some people (such as those with conduct disorder, for
example), deterrence makes no difference. Delinquent behavior cannot and will never be fully
controllable because some of the more minor forms of delinquency are just part of the
aging/developmental process (drinking, smoking, etc.).
5. Should we incarcerate violent juvenile offenders for long periods of time—10 years or more?
Solution
This question is situationally dependent. While there are some violent juvenile offenders who should
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 3: Individual-Level Views of
Delinquency
be incarcerated for this time frame, others should not be. This should be determined on a case-by-
case basis. Also, this type of punishment should be reserved for cases that involve youth who have
committed prior serious offenses and have “failed” previous attempts at rehabilitation.
6. Does watching violent TV and films encourage youth to be aggressive and antisocial? Do
advertisements for beer featuring attractive, provocatively dressed young men and women encourage
drinking and precocious sex? If not, why bother advertising?
Solution
Not really, on either account. TV violence and provocative dressing creates some level of warped
perception (and desensitization) in youth, but it is not the whole story. It is not likely the case that a
normal and well-adjusted youth would suddenly become aggressive and violent because of
something they watched on TV. Rather, it is more likely that youth who are predisposed to or are
already involved in violence choose to watch violent TV and films. Advertising does help to move
products and is a large part of our capitalist system, however, so there will always be a need for it—
that’s why bother.
7. Discuss the characteristics of antisocial youths. Do you know anyone who fits the description?
Solution
Antisocial youths are violent, aggressive, and sensation-seeking. Thankfully, there are not many
individuals who exhibit all of these traits. I have come across some of these youth in my experience,
and it is readily apparent that their behavior is atypical.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 4: Structure, Process, Culture, and
Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND LAW, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 4:
STRUCTURE, PROCESS, CULTURE, AND DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is there a transitional neighborhood in your town or city, and if so, is it in decline or being
gentrified?
Solution
Transitional neighborhoods are those undergoing a shift in population and structure,
typically from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed use. In this case, they often
include abandoned buildings, renters not owners, high residential turnover, and high
population density. If the neighborhood is being gentrified, the opposite may be
occurring—an influx of upper/middle-class buy and refurbish or construction of buildings
in areas formerly inhabited by lower-class populations. Individual student answers will
vary dependent upon their location. Their evidence to confirm the state of their example
neighborhood may include some of the details above.
2. Is it possible that a distinct lower-class culture exists in the social media age? How can
lower-class values differ from those of the middle class when social media blankets all
classes equally?
Solution
According to theorists such as Cloward and Ohlin, Cohen, and Anderson, yes, a distinct
lower-class culture exists. Within this culture, there is a different value system. Years of
poverty, oppression, and being cut off from resources and opportunity psychologically
changes a person, and those changes are passed down through generations. This
process develops a culture with its own set of distinct values and norms. While social
media is used by individuals of all classes, online access may be more limited for lower-
class populations. Additionally, there may be some replication of class-value clustering
on social media platforms as well.
3. Have you ever perceived strain anomie? What causes anomie? Is there more than one
cause of strain?
Solution
Much of what is going on in our present society is anomic. Anomie is caused by a lack of
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 4: Structure, Process, Culture, and
Delinquency
societal values. In today’s society in which technology has taken over people’s lives,
face-to-face human interaction is becoming rare. Because of texting, Facebook, etc.,
individuals are more connected than ever, but also less connected, and there is far from
a general consensus on what to do in many situations and how to act; this, in and of
itself, is anomie. There are many causes of strain (death, loss of a job, academic strain,
etc.), and events/experiences that may result in strain may be differentially experienced
by certain groups (e.g., acculturation for immigrants).
4. How does poverty cause delinquency?
Solution
Pure and simple, poverty causes delinquency by cutting off opportunity. As the late
rapper Tupac Shakur responded when asked why someone would deal drugs: “They
had to!” When every attempt to do the “right” thing and try to make it out of poverty is
met with a blocked opportunity, then delinquency is often an unavoidable result. This
becomes a feedback loop of sorts as delinquency in an impoverished area leads to more
delinquency and so on.
5. Do upper-class youths become delinquent for the same reasons as lower-class youths?
Are rich kids just as likely to feel strain as the less affluent because more is expected
from them by parents, peers, teachers, and so on?
Solution
Yes, and no. Just because someone is upper class does not mean that opportunity and
some level of delinquency does not surround them and influence their behavior.
However, one could venture to guess that upper-class youths become delinquent more
often out of boredom with conventional life and wanting to rebel from the expectations of
their parents and teachers than lower-class youth.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
Practice, and Law, 14th Edition Larry J. Siegel
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you 10 or five pages.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel
sheet if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make
update at every time. There are many
new editions waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file
You can contact us at every time, we can
replace it with true one.
Our email:
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 1: Childhood and Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 1: CHILDHOOD AND DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is it fair to have a separate legal category for youths? Considering how dangerous young people
can be, does it make more sense to group offenders based on what they have done and not on
their age?
Solution
This is a tough question that is open to some interpretation. One hand, it is absolutely fair to have
a separate legal category for youths, as research indicates that brain development is not
complete until age 25, so rational decision making might not exist. On the other hand, a valid
argument exists for crime being a crime regardless of age. Whether a 17-year-old murders
someone or a 26-year-old murders someone, the crime is still murder. Either point of view is
valid.
2. At what age are juveniles truly capable of understanding the seriousness of their actions?
Solution
According to Timothy v. Superior Court, an 11-year-old child is not capable of understanding the
legal proceedings or assisting in their own defense. Delinquent behavior is sanctioned less
heavily than criminality because the law considers juveniles as being less responsible for their
behavior than adults. As a class, adolescents are believed to (a) have a stronger preference for
risk and novelty, (b) assess the potentially negative consequences of risky conduct less
unfavorably than adults, (c) have a tendency to be impulsive and more concerned with short-term
than long-term consequences, (d) have a different appreciation of time and self-control, and (e)
be more susceptible to peer pressure. All of these qualities should be considered when
determining if a juvenile is capable of understanding the seriousness of their actions.
3. Is it fair to institutionalize a minor simply for being truant or running away from home? Should the
jurisdiction of status offenders be removed from juvenile court and placed with the state
department of social services or some other welfare organization?
Solution
The answer in past years would have been yes. Additionally, opposition to institutionalizing status
offenders was common in the past. However, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) made it a top priority to encourage the removal of status offenders from
secure lockups, detention centers, and post-disposition treatment facilities that also housed
delinquent offenders. Such incarceration has been found to be harmful to some status offenders.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 1: Childhood and Delinquency
Evidence supports positive outcomes when status offenders receive assistance from social
service organizations.
4. Should delinquency proceedings be confidential? Does the public have the right to know who
juvenile criminals are?
Solution
Again, this is another difficult question. Either side has a valid argument, but realistically, in an era
when we as a society are attempting to become more transparent, the public may have some
right to know who the juvenile criminals are, especially if the juvenile has committed a number of
crimes and these crimes are serious felonies. But, first time delinquents and less serious
delinquents could reasonably have their proceedings be secret.
5. Can a get-tough policy help control juvenile misbehavior, or should parens patriae remain the
standard?
Solution
The parens patriae policy should remain the standard. Research in all areas indicates that get-
tough policies are not effective for a variety of reasons, and there is no reason to make this
change.
6. Should juveniles who commit felonies such as rape or robbery be treated as adults?
Solution
This is not a straightforward question and hence does not have a straightforward answer. Each
case should be looked at separately when the decision comes as to whether or not a juvenile who
commits a felony such as rape or robbery should be treated as an adult. Generally, first-time
delinquents, regardless of offense, should be treated as juveniles in juvenile court where
rehabilitation is still the goal. However, should a juvenile commit a subsequent offense of the
same or similar nature that is a serious and violent offense, then perhaps these cases are in need
of being waived to adult court.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 2: THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF
DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. What factors contribute to the aging-out process?
Solution
A variety of factors contribute to the aging-out process: increased personal
responsibility/autonomy, increased psychosocial maturity, and freeing oneself from delinquent
influences (e.g., individuals going to college and leaving behind their life course persistent
offending peers who do not go to college).
2. Why are males more likely to get involved in delinquent behavior than females? Is it a matter of
lifestyle, culture, or physical traits?
Solution
This is not an easy question to answer. Realistically, it’s probably a combination of all three.
Males are more physical than females, so they get into more physical altercations. In addition to
higher levels of testosterone (which is linked to aggression), males are socialized to act
aggressively and also have more risky lifestyles as a rule.
3. Discuss the racial differences found in the delinquency rate. Explain the effect of institutional and
cultural racism and relate their effect to differences in delinquency rates.
Solution
Based on work by many notable scholars, this question has a variety of answers. Some believe
that African Americans are just involved in more crime, whether because they are inherently more
criminogenic, live in areas where crime is a necessity for survival, or just because they are. The
other factor that is likely more valid or at least equally as valid are structural inequities within the
system, such as socioeconomic status and poverty, are geared against Blacks, with the result
that Blacks are arrested and charged with crimes at greater rates than Whites, regardless of what
the reality is.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency, 9780357763834; Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of Delinquency
4. Should kids who have been arrested more than three times be given mandatory incarceration
sentences?
Solution
This is not an easy answer and is situationally-based. Should an adolescent who is arrested three
times for truancy be incarcerated? Probably not. Should one who is arrested three times for
robbery be arrested? Most likely. The main point to take away here is that it depends and should
primarily be driven by the severity of the offenses rather than just the frequency.
5. Do you believe that self-reports are an accurate method of gauging the nature and extent of
delinquent behavior?
Solution
Yes, to some extent. No one measure/source of delinquency data is completely without
limitations. Nevertheless, self-reports can provide useful information about delinquency and the
factors associated with involvement in juvenile delinquency. Also, self-reports can provide some
‘light’ into the dark figure of crime that goes unreported to law enforcement.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 3: Individual-Level Views of
Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND LAW, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 3:
INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL VIEWS OF DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is there such a thing as the “born criminal”? Are some people programmed at birth to commit crimes?
Solution
There are people who have certain personality traits and certain genetic influences that make those
individuals more predisposed to committing crimes. But to completely ignore the importance of
environmental and social influences is problematic. Criminal behavior is most likely a function of
biological, environmental, and social influences.
2. Is crime psychologically abnormal? Can there be “normal” crimes?
Solution
While crime has its psychological components, making criminal behavior all about an individual’s
psychology absolves them in some aspects of personal responsibility. There can most certainly be
“normal” crimes; most crimes that have utilitarian motives would fit under this category.
3. How would psychodynamic theory view delinquent acts such as shoplifting and breaking and entering
a house?
Solution
Shoplifting fulfills some intra-psychic need to take something back that has been stolen from you or is
not yours in the first place (or perhaps taking your mother back from your father, if you are a boy,
from a pure Freudian perspective). Breaking and entering is more or less payback for individual levels
of autonomy being taken.
4. Can delinquent behavior be deterred by the threat of punishment? If not, how can it be controlled?
Solution
It depends on the crime. For certain crimes and certain individuals, yes, delinquent behavior can be
deterred by the threat of punishment, but for some people (such as those with conduct disorder, for
example), deterrence makes no difference. Delinquent behavior cannot and will never be fully
controllable because some of the more minor forms of delinquency are just part of the
aging/developmental process (drinking, smoking, etc.).
5. Should we incarcerate violent juvenile offenders for long periods of time—10 years or more?
Solution
This question is situationally dependent. While there are some violent juvenile offenders who should
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 3: Individual-Level Views of
Delinquency
be incarcerated for this time frame, others should not be. This should be determined on a case-by-
case basis. Also, this type of punishment should be reserved for cases that involve youth who have
committed prior serious offenses and have “failed” previous attempts at rehabilitation.
6. Does watching violent TV and films encourage youth to be aggressive and antisocial? Do
advertisements for beer featuring attractive, provocatively dressed young men and women encourage
drinking and precocious sex? If not, why bother advertising?
Solution
Not really, on either account. TV violence and provocative dressing creates some level of warped
perception (and desensitization) in youth, but it is not the whole story. It is not likely the case that a
normal and well-adjusted youth would suddenly become aggressive and violent because of
something they watched on TV. Rather, it is more likely that youth who are predisposed to or are
already involved in violence choose to watch violent TV and films. Advertising does help to move
products and is a large part of our capitalist system, however, so there will always be a need for it—
that’s why bother.
7. Discuss the characteristics of antisocial youths. Do you know anyone who fits the description?
Solution
Antisocial youths are violent, aggressive, and sensation-seeking. Thankfully, there are not many
individuals who exhibit all of these traits. I have come across some of these youth in my experience,
and it is readily apparent that their behavior is atypical.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
,Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 4: Structure, Process, Culture, and
Delinquency
Solution and Answer Guide
SIEGEL, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: THEORY, PRACTICE, AND LAW, 9780357763834; CHAPTER 4:
STRUCTURE, PROCESS, CULTURE, AND DELINQUENCY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End of Section Exercise Solutions............................................................................................1
END OF SECTION EXERCISE SOLUTIONS
1. Is there a transitional neighborhood in your town or city, and if so, is it in decline or being
gentrified?
Solution
Transitional neighborhoods are those undergoing a shift in population and structure,
typically from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed use. In this case, they often
include abandoned buildings, renters not owners, high residential turnover, and high
population density. If the neighborhood is being gentrified, the opposite may be
occurring—an influx of upper/middle-class buy and refurbish or construction of buildings
in areas formerly inhabited by lower-class populations. Individual student answers will
vary dependent upon their location. Their evidence to confirm the state of their example
neighborhood may include some of the details above.
2. Is it possible that a distinct lower-class culture exists in the social media age? How can
lower-class values differ from those of the middle class when social media blankets all
classes equally?
Solution
According to theorists such as Cloward and Ohlin, Cohen, and Anderson, yes, a distinct
lower-class culture exists. Within this culture, there is a different value system. Years of
poverty, oppression, and being cut off from resources and opportunity psychologically
changes a person, and those changes are passed down through generations. This
process develops a culture with its own set of distinct values and norms. While social
media is used by individuals of all classes, online access may be more limited for lower-
class populations. Additionally, there may be some replication of class-value clustering
on social media platforms as well.
3. Have you ever perceived strain anomie? What causes anomie? Is there more than one
cause of strain?
Solution
Much of what is going on in our present society is anomic. Anomie is caused by a lack of
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Siegel, Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law, 9780357763834; Chapter 4: Structure, Process, Culture, and
Delinquency
societal values. In today’s society in which technology has taken over people’s lives,
face-to-face human interaction is becoming rare. Because of texting, Facebook, etc.,
individuals are more connected than ever, but also less connected, and there is far from
a general consensus on what to do in many situations and how to act; this, in and of
itself, is anomie. There are many causes of strain (death, loss of a job, academic strain,
etc.), and events/experiences that may result in strain may be differentially experienced
by certain groups (e.g., acculturation for immigrants).
4. How does poverty cause delinquency?
Solution
Pure and simple, poverty causes delinquency by cutting off opportunity. As the late
rapper Tupac Shakur responded when asked why someone would deal drugs: “They
had to!” When every attempt to do the “right” thing and try to make it out of poverty is
met with a blocked opportunity, then delinquency is often an unavoidable result. This
becomes a feedback loop of sorts as delinquency in an impoverished area leads to more
delinquency and so on.
5. Do upper-class youths become delinquent for the same reasons as lower-class youths?
Are rich kids just as likely to feel strain as the less affluent because more is expected
from them by parents, peers, teachers, and so on?
Solution
Yes, and no. Just because someone is upper class does not mean that opportunity and
some level of delinquency does not surround them and influence their behavior.
However, one could venture to guess that upper-class youths become delinquent more
often out of boredom with conventional life and wanting to rebel from the expectations of
their parents and teachers than lower-class youth.
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