Citation

Matza D, Sykes GM. Am. Sociol. Rev. 1961; 26(5): 712-719.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1961, American Sociological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Current explanations of juvenile delinquency place a heavy stress on the delinquent's deviance, not only with regard to his behavior but also with regard to his underlying values. It can be argued, however, that the delinquent's values are far less deviant than commonly portrayed and that the faulty picture is due to an erroneous view of the middle-class value system. A number of supposedly delinquent values are closely akin to those embodied in the leisure activities of the dominant society. To view adolescents in general and delinquents in particular as members of the last leisure class may help us explain both the large amount of unrecorded delinquency and the occurrence of delinquency throughout the class structure. (Abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1961. Copyright © 1961 by the American Sociological Association)

Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Offender
Delinquency Causes
Juvenile Male
Male Delinquency
Male Offender
Social Class
Class Factors
Juvenile Values
07-02