NCJ Number
126780
Date Published
Unknown
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This study examines the unreported rates of delinquency among Japanese adolescents and tests hypotheses regarding the access of motivated offenders to suitable targets, the identifiability of motivated offenders, target control by capable guardians, and social bonds of intimate handlers with motivated offenders.
Abstract
The questionnaire used the Richmond Youth Study instrument, items on routine activity and social control theory, six crime item dependent variables, and eight items on status offenses as dependent variables. Three rates -- incidence, prevalence, and activity -- were calculated separately for the dependent variables. A sample of 1,044 high school students in the Osaka prefecture was used in the study. Although Japanese self-reported delinquency rates are higher than official crime rates, they remain lower than those in the United States; the rates varied with year in school rather than with age. The students' reduction of age and status identifiability by changing out of school uniform was the strongest offense predictor from routine activity theory. The proportion of delinquent friends was the strongest predictor found in the study. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 19 references