Juvenile Delinquency: Why Do Youths Commit Crime? focuses on why juveniles commit crime. It includes discussions on what constitutes criminal behavior by juveniles, the general theories on delinquency, and discussions that tie the theories with real life situations. The book opens the students' eyes to the fascinating concepts involving juvenile delinquency, and is designed to provide a complete study of the behavior, beliefs, conditions, and reactions to deviance by young offenders.
Throughout Cliff Roberson and Elena Azaola gives students a detailed discussion of and what constitutes juvenile delinquency to allow for better understanding of this phenomenon. In each of the chapters, the authors encourage the student to develop new insights on criminal behavior of juveniles. The book makes the subject come alive by the generous use of "down to earth" examples of the issues involved in the area. While each chapter builds on the previous chapters, the book is written in a manner to reduce the necessity of memorization by students. Each chapter begins with chapter objectives that highlights key points for the student and brief chapter outlines. Each chapter closes with a practicum, chapter summary, and discussion and review questions which enhance student learning. The book closes with a glossary where student may refer to they key terms and words throughout the text.