ABSTRACT
As noted in the United Nations Report on Juvenile Delinquency, it is impossible to develop effective prevention programs without understanding the reasons behind juvenile involvement in criminal activity. Different approaches are used in scientific and practical literature on juvenile crime and violence to define and explain delinquent behavior by young people. To criminologists, juvenile delinquency encompasses all public wrongs committed by young people between the ages of 12 and 20. Sociologists view the concept more broadly, believing that it covers a multitude of different violations of legal and social norms, from minor offenses to serious crimes, committed by juveniles. Included under the umbrella of juvenile delinquency are status offenses, so called because they are closely connected with the age status of an offender; a particular action or behavior is considered a violation of the law only if it is committed by a juvenile (e.g., truancy and running away). In an attempt to explain the theoretical underpinnings of delinquency, sociologists associate the specifics of youth behavior with the home, family, neighborhoods, peers, and many other variables that together or separately influence the formation of young people’s social environment.1
