other types of violent and property crimes.
Though Howell (2003) contends that an overall decline in the amount and level of juvenile delinquency and its included criminal behaviors can be observed over the course of the past decade, the tragic fact is that there is a strong association between gang membership, juvenile delinquency, and youth gun violence. The problem is of enormous concern to all actors in the juvenile justice and law enforcement system and of equal concern to policymakers who are responsible for creating effective prevention and intervention strategies and programs (Bartollas, 2000).
It is within this general background that the present contextual analysis of juvenile delinquency and youth gun violence is positioned. The research question addressed herein is: to what degree is there an association between gun violence and juvenile delinquency? The secondary research question is: what policies, programs, or intervention efforts are most likely to be associated with a reduction in youth gun violence and, correspondingly, juvenile delinquency?
The theoretical context of the study centers upon the use of contextual analysis. According to Bartollas (2000), a contextual perspective is important in that context itself helps to understand the behavior and attitudes of delinquents and to identify the multidimensional influences on juveniles in the United States. Five contexts identified in early work by the Chicago School of Sociology in the 1920s and 1930s are employed in this approach: historical, sociocultural, legal, political, and economic contexts.
Bartollas (2000) noted that the definition of delinquency, the portrayal of delinquent events, the reform and punishment of delinquents, and policy decisions about delinquency occur in a particular social setting. It is this social setting that is shaped by the five contexts listed above. Historically, contextual analysis explores the treatment an...