Loyola Marymount University Criminological Theories Questions

Answer 3 of 5 questions. Answer ALL parts to each question. 15 points each. Length should be about 1.5 typed pages (double-spaced) per question. Feel free to use more space if you are not a concise writer. Do your own work. It is relatively easy to detect answers that are so similar that they suggest one did not do their own work!

Question 1. Discuss why students with learning disabilities are at significantly higher risk for offending behaviors and formal juvenile court involvement. Contrast the three prevailing hypotheses explaining this disparity. Elaborate and provide examples of each hypothesis in your response.

Question 2. Discuss the concept of supporting zero tolerance policies with the use of environmental security measures. What types of security countermeasures are typically used in schools? Which schools are more likely to see the use of security countermeasures? What are the negative effects of these “safe” environments? What are feasible alternatives to zero tolerance policies. Elaborate.

Question 3. Provide a brief description of Hirschi’s social bonds theory (be sure to include each of the bonds). What are the policy implications of social bonds theory for curbing delinquency? Give an example of a program based on this theory. Finally, describe three shortcomings of social bonds theory as an explanation for delinquency. Which do you feel is most important?

Question 4. Define primary and secondary deviance. Identify and discuss the juvenile justice policy implications of labeling theory (what are the ways labeling theory would suggest the juvenile should be handled) by citing examples from the assigned reading “Saints and the Roughnecks” and other sources. What is the difference between disintegrative and reintegrative shaming in responding to delinquent acts?

Question 5. Discuss how epidemiology is used to study mental health problems. What is epidemiology? How do prevalence rates, lifetime prevalence rates, and incidence rates differ from one another? Provides examples of each from a source of your choosing (be sure your examples apply to juvenile populations and please provide a citation of your source).