犯罪地理学文献.pdfVIP

Available online at International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice 40 (2012) 100e114 /locate/ijlcj Youth crime and family disruption in Canadian municipalities: An adaptation of Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory Siu Kwong Wong Department of Sociology, Brandon University, 270 18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9, Canada Abstract Using an adaptation of Shaw and McKay’s (1942) theory, the present study examined the effects of social disorganization and family disruption on youth crime. Based on data from 483 Canadian munici- palities, the results revealed that low income, mobility and ethnic heterogeneity had the expected positive effects on youth crime, particularly in municipalities with smaller population and lower prevalence of low income. The effect of single parenthood was positive as expected whereas that of divorce was unex- pectedly negative. The findings suggest the importance to specify the conditions for the effect of social disorganization and differentiate the effects of divorce and single parenthood. The unexpected negative effect also raises the possibility of divorce as law mobilization, thus underscoring the roles of planning and legal intervention in social disorganization. In terms of policies, the findings suggest early intervention for social disorganization, support for single-parent families, and the incorporation of divorcees in productive activities. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social disorganization theory; Family disruption; Divorce; Youth crime; Mobilization of law 1. Introduction Shaw and McKay (1942) have demonstrated in their study that poverty, declining population