ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the social ecology of delinquent behavior is examined, and three central themes are developed. First, adolescent criminal activity is embedded within several systemic contexts (e.g., family, peers, school, and neighborhood) that influence such behavior and are influenced by the behavior. Second, the consideration of variables within adolescents’ broader social environments increases the explanatory power of models of delinquency. And third, the social ecology of delinquency has important implications for the development of effective treatment strategies. In contrast to most existing treatments of delinquency, which focus on the individual adolescent or one pertinent system, the social–ecological perspective suggests that broad-based treatments are more appropriate. Before turning to these issues, the significance of delinquency as an area of research and the correlates of delinquency are briefly reviewed.
