Behavioral Science Influences on Legislation: The Case of Delinquency Prevention

Abstract

Discusses issues and problems in the area of delinquency prevention. Three views of deviance and how these perspectives influence the definition of delinquency are included. Research methods and the results of 3 types of delinquency prevention are reviewed: (a) programs for improving community life styles; (b) programs for redirecting potential delinquents by working with them before their difficulties become too serious; and (c) programs for reducing recidivism and rehabilitating delinquents, thus preventing further delinquency. Four major problems are discussed (accurate problem identification, reexamination of concepts of intervention, the role played by social control agencies, and the need to weigh the relative contributions of practitioners and researchers) that will affect the future development of prevention programs, and methods of influencing the legislative process are considered. (97 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)