NCJ Number
134673
Date Published
1990
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Data from 9,945 males born in Philadelphia in 1945 and 13,160 males born in Philadelphia in 1958 showed that about one-third of the youths in both cohorts had police contacts for felonies or misdemeanors before age 18 and that race, socioeconomic status, school achievement, and other factors were associated with the likelihood of delinquency.
Abstract
Among the youths born in 1945, 16.2 percent were one-time offenders, 12.4 percent committed 2 to 4 offenses, and 6.3 percent committed 5 or more offenses. For the 1958 cohort, 13.7 were one-time offenders, 11.6 percent committed 2 to 4 offenses, and 7.5 percent were chronic offenders. In both groups, nonwhite males had higher rates of delinquency than did whites, especially with respect to recidivism. However, the gap between the races narrowed from the first cohort to the second. Lower socioeconomic status, greater residential mobility, lower school achievement, and higher dropout rates were also associated with higher rates of delinquency. In addition, dropping out of school was related not only to the existence, but also to the level of delinquent involvement. Overall, the relationships were similar for both cohorts. Tables