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Linking Local Labor Market Opportunity to Violent Adolescent Delinquency

NCJ Number
198970
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 40 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 6-33
Author(s)
Paul E. Bellair; Vincent J. Roscigno; Thomas L. McNulty
Date Published
February 2003
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the effects of local labor market conditions and adolescent attachment to violent delinquent behavior.
Abstract
The authors explain that while previous research has looked at both micro- and macro-level conditions that may lead to juvenile delinquency, it has failed to examine local labor market conditions as a contributing factor to delinquency. The authors fill this gap by examining the effects of the labor market on violent juvenile delinquency. The authors analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and determined that there was a significant positive relationship between low wage, service sector employment and violent juvenile behavior. The authors next assessed whether this relationship could be mitigated by micro-level processes such as family well-being and adolescent attachment to family, school, and delinquent peers. Their findings show that even when these micro-level processes were controlled for, local labor market conditions directly affected violent delinquency. The authors suggest that future research should focus on whether the local labor market consistently affects violent behavior across the life course. Furthermore, attention should focus on how educational processes intervene in the relationship between violence and the local labor market. Appendix, notes, references