Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

  • Describe how the concept of juvenile v delinquency developed over the course of U.S. history before culminating in the creation of the first juvenile justice system
  • Explain how different forms of popular culture have been the focus of moral panics about delinquency
  • Analyze the connections between social constructions of youth and mainstream ideas about juvenile misbehavior
  • Compare and contrast ideas about youth and juvenile delinquency related to one’s race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality