ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to the topic of nondelinquents—youth who do not get in trouble. Tom Aiken has reviewed the psychological literature on nondelinquents. He found that most studies focused on nondelinquents chiefly as a comparison to delinquent youth. The chapter deals with a preliminary formulation of nondelinquency. Nondelinquents are strongly influenced in a noncriminal direction by a significant other. Nondelinquent boys and girls develop a remarkable “invulnerability.” Their parents are highly involved: they closely supervise their child’s everyday life. In general they reported few alternatives to choose from; there was little challenge in or reinforcement for these nondelinquent behaviors. Nondelinquents learn a set of social skills: assertiveness to say “no” to delinquent peer influences, they find and are influenced by nondelinquent friends, they find reinforcement for productive noncriminal behavior, and they learn when to leave or avoid a potentially troublesome situation.
