Authors : 1Bob Regoli, 2John D. Hewitt , and 3Matt DeLisi
Abstract: Juvenile delinquency is a serious social problem. For many years, criminologists have explained that children engage in delinquency for a variety of reasons (e.g., biological, psychological, sociological). These theories have led to the implementation of social policies that have had only a negligible impact on the reduction of juvenile delinquency. In this paper we further develop an alternative explanation for delinquency in the form of differential oppression theory. We argue that delinquency is the result of the gap in power and privilege between the statuses of adult and child. Delinquency is thus a product manufactured by adults. Policy recommendations for preventing juvenile delinquency are discussed.
1Bob Regoli, , 2John D. Hewitt , and 3Matt DeLisi , 2003. A New Direction for Juvenile Justice Policy in the 21st Century: The Application of Differential Oppression Theory. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 1: 65-69.