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The British Journal of Criminology 43:22-40 (2003)
© 2003 Centre for Crime & Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)
Civic Community and Juvenile Delinquency. A Study of the Regions of Italy
Director of Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Criminology at the University of Genoa in Italy
Professor of Psychiatry/Psychology and Director of the Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, Faculté des artes et des sciences, University of Montreal, CP 6128 succursale, centre-ville, Montreal H3C 3J7; e-mail: tremblar{at}grip.umontreal.ca
Associate professor Ecole des hautes études commerciales de Montréal.
‘Civicness’ may be defined as that property of the social fabric that is characterized by socio-political commitment, solidarity and mutual trust. From a social ecological perspective it is expected that civic traditions in a given geographical area will have an impact on criminality. The aim of the present study was to test the association between level of civicness and level of juvenile delinquency among the regions of Italy. For the purpose of this study, the term ‘delinquency’ encompasses all illegal acts, from minor offences to violent crimes. We hypothesized that regions with high levels of civic commitment would be more successful in the socialization of its youth, and would thus curb its involvement in delinquent behaviour. Results generally supported the hypothesis. Significant negative correlations were observed at three different time periods (in the 1970s, the 1980s, and in the 1990s) between civicness and official records of robbery and attempted murder by minors, and murder committed by both minors and adults. Analyses using data from a large victimization survey confirmed the significant negative correlations between civicness and violent crimes, but also revealed a significant negative correlation between civicness and theft. Finally, analyses which included socio-economic predictors revealed that they overlapped to a great extent with civicness, and thus indicated that the predominance of one over the other could not be determined. Nevertheless, it is concluded that the development of environments in which socio-political commitment, solidarity and mutual trust abound may facilitate the social integration of children and prevent the development of criminal behaviour.
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