Uberto Gatti

Deviant Youth Groups in 30 Countries: Results From the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study

In this study, the authors explored the link between deviant youth group (DYG) membership and antisocial behavior through a large student survey conducted by means of the same questionnaire in 62 cities in 30 countries. The sample (N = 40,678) was made up of 7th-, 8th-, and 9th-grade students, both boys and girls, attending different types of schools. The definition of DYG that the authors used was the one drawn up by the Eurogang network: “Any durable, street-oriented youth group whose own identity includes involvement in illegal activity.” About 4.4% of youths were considered as DYG members according to this definition, with prevalence rates differing markedly among different countries, from less than 1% to more than 16%. In general, DYG membership implied a higher prevalence of delinquency, violence, and alcohol and drug use. Differences between DYG members and nonmembers were greater with regard to more serious antisocial behavior. Although the prevalence of DYG membership varies in different countries, the association between DYG membership and antisocial behavior is quite similar in the different national contexts.

ETHICAL ISSUES RAISED WHEN EARLY INTERVENTION IS USED TO PREVENT CRIME

The European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, was focused on early intervention and prevention of juvenile delinquency. The author comments on the issue and focuses on the ethical problems involved with early intervention, such as the labelling effect, the risks of prediction, consent, and undesired effects.

Delinquency and alcohol use among adolescents in Europe: The role of cultural contexts:

This paper presents cross-cultural research using data from the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) to evaluate the strength and characteristics of the relationship between different kinds of juvenile delinquency and alcohol use, and to investigate whether, and how, different drinking cultures may influence this relationship. The setting is a school-based survey with a self-report questionnaire in a sample of 7th, 8th and 9th grade students (comprising 12–16 year olds) from 25 European countries. After recording data on alcohol consumption among young people in different European countries, we assessed the degree to which property offences, violent offences and gang membership were associated with the use of alcohol. In addition, a multilevel analysis (MLA) was carried out to ascertain whether the association between delinquency and alcohol use was influenced by variations in drinking cultures. Different drinking patterns were observed in Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries. Alcohol consumption was more closely related to involvement in violent crimes than to property offences, and correlated with the frequency and seriousness of delinquent behaviour everywhere. MLA showed that gang membership increased the probability of alcohol abuse to a greater degree in non-Mediterranean countries, while involvement in delinquency proved to be associated with alcohol abuse to a similar degree in the different cultural contexts considered. With regard to cultural influences on the relationships between juvenile delinquency and alcohol use, we ascertained that cultural attitudes towards alcohol influence the delinquency–alcohol relationship at the group level rather than the individual level.

Longitudinal Research from the Point of View of Clinical Criminology

The authors examine the methods employed by longitudinal research from the point of view of clinical criminology, in order to study the problems connected with the construction of “data” and with the interpretation of results. They underline the differences and similarities between the two approaches and, in particular, the time dimension, which is fundamental for both perspectives.