Instruction
A team of researchers wants to study the high incidence of juvenile delinquency among youth aged 8-17. Their research question is what factors influence juvenile delinquency in large metropolitan cities? They created an indices for juvenile delinquency which includes minor crimes to more serious crimes. The results of their study show the following:
Families with single heads of household are more likely to have children involved in higher and more serious levels of delinquency. Low self-esteem, low poor academic performance, numerous out of school suspensions, delinquency among their peer group, and high drop-out rates all predict higher and more serious levels of delinquency.
They need the expert advice of a social scientist to help them with their analysis and results. In your Discussion Post 7 respond to the following questions.
Do you note any “time order” problems? List two.
Is there a spurious relationship? What do you believe is an important indicator of juvenile delinquency that has not been considered by this model?
What do you see as the mechanism (causal process) between the independent variables and juvenile delinquency?
Is there a larger sociological context for understanding the relationship between juvenile delinquency and the independent variables (or other independent variables that were not considered) used in this model?
Please use your book as a guide, but think beyond their examples! Remember, that you are social scientists!