What were the most important structural causes?
The second section of this course focused on the causes and correlates of youth violence. Our discussion of youth violence examined the importance of broader correlates of youth violence, focused on the causes and correlates of school shootings and concluded with a discussion of juvenile corrections for violent and non-violent youth. This writing assignment will require you to think about the broader and more specific
causes and correlates of youth violence through the lens of Langman’s School Shooters and Humes’ No Matter How Loud I Shout. Langman’s discussion focused on a small subset of violent youth, while Humes discussion focused on a small subset of violent youth (the 16%) that mainstream society (media, politicians, average person) when discussing the problem of delinquency in the United States. The goal of this essay
is to encourage you to think about the similarities and differences of the source material and findings of Langman and Humes. Specifically, your answer should address the following questions: 1. Why did the youth discussed in each book engage in violent delinquency? What were the most important structural causes? What were the most important individual level characteristics associated with violence? It may be helpful to
consider the following sub-questions while writing your answer: a. Can we pin the cause of violent delinquency on social structural factors or individual level characteristics? b. Were the same factors or characteristics consistently associated with violence? 2. What strategies might be used to prevent/control violent juvenile delinquency? Who should be involved in these strategies? Why? Your answer could focus on broader strategies, strategies focused on specific groups or a combination of the two. 3. Will we ever be able to fully address the root causes of violent
delinquency? Your answers to these questions should connect with specific examples from the Langman and Humes books. These examples should include citations to the source material also. For example, Langman (page 45) or Humes (page 149). You are not required to include a reference page unless you cite additional materials in your essay. Your response to these questions should be presented in an essay format (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion). Do not frame your response in relation to bullet points. Your essay should be double-spaced and typed in Times New Roman 12-point font