Abstract
It is, by now, trite to say that most theories of crime and delinquency are based on the notion that crime is found primarily in the lower classes. Because the crime-class relationship is so central to crime and delinquency theory it has been the focus of much sociological research in the field. This is especially so since the 1960s when the rising popularity of the self-report method of measuring delinquency called the basic relation between social class and delinquency into question (Short and Nye, 1958; Reiss and Rhodes, 1961; Dentler and Monroe, 1961; Clark and Wenninger, 1962; Slocum and Stone, 1963; Akers, 1964; Elmhorn, 1965; Christie, Andenaes and Skaerbekk, 1965; Gold, 1966; Empey and Erikson, 1966; Hirschi, 1969). A more recent study by Tittle, Villemez and Smith (1978) reviews selected literature concluding that there is not now nor perhaps has there ever been a relation between class and delinquency.
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Van Dusen, K.T., Mednick, S.A., Gabrielli, W.F., Hutchings, B. (1983). Social Class and Crime:Genetics and Environment. In: Van Dusen, K.T., Mednick, S.A. (eds) Prospective Studies of Crime and Delinquency. Longitudinal Research in the Behavioral, Social and Medical Sciences, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6672-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6672-7_5
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