Perspectives on Deviance and Social Control
SAGE Journal Articles
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Journal Article 1: Wong, S. K. (1997). Delinquency of Chinese-Canadian Youth: A test of opportunity, control, and intergeneration conflict theories. Youth & Society, 29(1). 112-133.
Abstract: Research shows that youth of Chinese descent in North America have a lower prevalence of delinquency than the average Canadian or American youth, probably due to the positive influence of Chinese culture. In this study, the relationship between acculturation and delinquency was examined based on a sample of Chinese youth and adolescents in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Related hypotheses derived from three theoretical perspectives—opportunity, control, and intergeneration conflict theories—were tested. The results showed that adherence to Chinese culture reduced the likelihood of delinquency involvement. However, the effect was not explained by Chinese cultural norms and traditions. These findings are not congruent with opportunity and control theories. Nonetheless, it was found that acculturation caused delinquency involvement to increase for those whose parents were less acculturated, suggesting the presence of a widened generation gap exacerbated by acculturation. To that extent, the findings lend considerable support to intergeneration conflict theory.
Journal Article 2: Renauer, B. C. (2012). Neighborhood variation in police stops and searches: A test of consensus and conflict perspectives. Police Quarterly, 15(3), 219-240.
Abstract: This study examines consensus and conflict approaches to explaining police stop and search rates in 94 neighborhoods. Police deployment, racial threat, race-out-of-place, and social conditioning perspectives were analyzed. Models were based on 206,083 stops and 38,493 searches controlling for racial/ethnic makeup, citizen calls for service, disadvantage, prior violent crime suspect rates, time of day, and spatial autocorrelation. The results supported both police deployment and race out of place arguments. Policy implications focus on the need for police and community to fully understand and mutually agree on the relevance of both consensus and conflict perspectives.