Understanding Youth Crime
An Australian Study
Routledge Revivals Series

This title was first published in 2003. Adolescence is popularly understood as a transitional phase of turbulence and extremes. It is also often associated with 'trouble'. Criminal justice statistics, however, reveal that youth criminality remains a relatively rare phenomenon, less than one percent of the total adolescent population in any given year. This exceptional book is based upon a major Australian research programme to consider the key social factors impacting upon the lives of young people. A sample of 1,300 young people was divided into three major subgroups: a 'control' group, drawn from state secondary schools and closely approximating the general population; a chronically marginalized cohort representing a 'vulnerable group', and a group of offenders, most of whom were incarcerated at the time of the research. With its rich data source and highly integrated structure, the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of adolescent criminality and associated policy both in Australia and internationally.

Contents: The sibling study: theory, research and guiding principles, Mark Lynch, Stephanie McGrane, Emma Ogilvie and John S. Western; Offending behaviours: situated choices and consequences, John S. Western, Mark Lynch, Emma Ogilvie and Abigail A. Fagan; Age and offending: characteristics and criminological factors, Mark Lynch, Emma Ogilvie and Wing Hong Chui; Gender and offending behaviours: opportunity, motivations and manifestations, Emma Ogilvie and John S. Western; Gender and offending attitudes: criminality, compliance and complexity, Emma Ogilvie; Social inequality, alienation and socio-economic position, John S. Western; Family influences and delinquency, Lisa Kennedy, Ian O'Connor and John S. Western; The influence of siblings on substance use and delinquency, Denise A. Durrington, Abigail A. Fagan and David Chant; Urban indigenous young people: criminality, accommodation or resistance, Mark Lynch, Abigail A. Fagan, Emma Ogilvie and Robyn Lincoln; Adolescent victimization and involvement in crime, Abigail A. Fagan, Ross Homel, Ian O'Connor and Rosie Teague; Criminality and conformity: implications for the future, Mark Lynch, Emma Ogilvie and John S. Western; Bibliography; Subject index; Author index.

John S. Western is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Australia. Mark Lynch is Deputy Director of the Research and Prevention Division, Crime and Misconduct Commission, Australia. Emma Ogilvie is Principal Policy Officer in Criminal Justice Research at the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in the Queensland Government.